Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew: Citizen Singapore: How to Build a Nation

171 Pages·2013·1.4 MB·English

by  Tom Plate

Praise for
Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew and the
‘Giants of Asia’ series
“Thank you for sending me an inscribed copy of Conversations with Lee Kuan
Yew, which I have been reading with interest and enjoyment. You have done a
superb job of capturing the many facets of this extraordinary man, whom I have
known and admired for some fifty years. That he is the first to be portrayed in
the forthcoming ‘Giants of Asia’ series seems only right. I appreciate your
thinking of me and will look forward to your conversations with the other Giants
you propose to include in the series.”
Dr Henry A. Kissinger, 56th U.S Secretary of State, 1973–77
“Thank you for your autographed book on Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew. It
is a fascinating read, even though I am familiar with much of his thoughts and
philosophy, having the privilege of working closely under and with him. He is a
great teacher, not just for me but also for the younger generations of leaders he
brought in.”
Goh Chok Tong, former Prime Minister of Singapore, 1990–2004
“Many thanks for sending me your book—Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew. I
have been a great admirer of Mr Lee ever since I served as former president
Chiang Ching-kuo’s secretary in the late 80s. I find myself inspired even more
today by many of his remarks in your book.”
President Ma Ying-jeou, Republic of China (Taiwan)
“There are two types of courage among journalists. Some might risk their lives
crossing paths with an IED on an arid back road in Afghanistan. Many fewer
risk their reputation by going against the herd of conventional opinion. Tom
Plate, America’s only syndicated columnist who focuses on Asia, … has taken
the second risk in his Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew. And it has been a risk
well worth taking.… His book could not be more relevant at a moment when
recession, debt and dysfunction are plaguing the West while Asia strides boldly
into the future.… Much to the credit of Plate’s talent, this book reads breezily,
despite its heavy themes. It is broken into many easily digestible chapters with
titles mimicking movies or television shows…. Overall this was the right choice
to make what could easily have been a wonkish drudge into an enjoyable read….
Lee Kuan Yew’s wisdom makes sense. Tom Plate has done a fine job of
conveying it for a Western audience that ought to be paying attention.”
Nathan Gardels, columnist, The Huffington Post
“…a scintillating insight into the private—and brutally candid—beliefs and
thoughts of the 86-year-old Minister Mentor on a wide range of topics, from his
temper and children to various countries and his ‘authoritarian’ ways.… These
are captured in a writing style that is fast-paced and conversational over 24
chapters that are peppered with Mr Plate’s views….”
Zakir Hussain, The Straits Times (Singapore)
“For veteran American journalist Tom Plate, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew is
‘the director of the blockbuster that is Singapore’. The book is written in Mr
Plate’s trademark humorous, witty and candid style. The conversations in the
book cover a wide range of topics. There are serious discussions on philosophy,
international relations and governance…. During a break, author and interviewee
even banter about what Mr Lee would do if he were to take on the post of United
Nations secretary-general. ‘I try to get a bit more of [Mr Lee] as a man, as well
as a brainiac and as a leader,’ said Mr Plate, who also described the politician as
‘warm, trusting and open’.”
Rachel Chan, TODAY (Singapore)
“Singapore is an economic success story of the modern era, and the man behind
this tremendous success is none other than Lee Kuan Yew [who] agreed to give a
two-day interview to American journalist Tom Plate.… The author has painted a
picture of Yew as a political genius who believes in pragmatism and common
sense rather than ideology. Tom Plate’s brilliant navigation skills [have
produced] many … not-known facets of Yew’s leadership and personality.”
Dr Ahmed S. Khan, The Dawn (daily newspaper of Pakistan) “Tom Plate may be
one of the few writers able to brag that he once received a note from Lee Kuan
Yew saying ‘you deserve to be read’. Singapore’s senior statesman sent the fax
after reading a column Plate had written on China. That might explain why the
veteran journalist, who has been writing a weekly syndicated column on
America’s relationship with Asia since 1996, found it relatively easy to get
access to the Minister Mentor for his latest book, Conversations with Lee Kuan
Yew.”
Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, The South China Morning Post “...Plate’s “Gee
shucks, did they really say that about you?” style has a huge upside. His subjects
open up to him in a way they may not have intended to, and the insights the
reader gains into their characters are considerable ... incomparable ... for
historians, biographers and anyone who ever wants to figure out what made
these men, who do deserve to be called ‘Giants of Asia’, tick.
Sholto Byrnes, The National (Abu Dhabi)

© 2013 Thomas Gordon Plate
First published 2010 (reprinted 2010, 2011)
Photographs courtesy of Yeong Yoon Ying / Research by My Lu
Editor: Lee Mei Lin
Design by Bernard Go Kwang Meng / Cover illustration by P. K. Cheng
This 2013 edition published by
Marshall Cavendish Editions
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National Library Board Singapore Cataloguing in Publication Data
Plate, Tom.
Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew : citizen Singapore : how to build a nation / Tom Plate. – [2nd ed.] –
Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2013.
p. cm. – (Giants of Asia)
eISBN : 978 981 4435 67 3
1. Lee, Kuan Yew, 1923--Interviews. 2. Lee, Kuan Yew, 1923--Political and social views. 3. Prime
ministers--Singapore --Interviews. I. Title. II. Series: Giants of Asia.
DS610.73
959.5705092 -- dc23 OCN823521335
Printed in Singapore by KWF Printing Pte Ltd
To
Andrea Darvi Plate, MSW, LCSW,
who endured the not inconsiderable efforts and author’s isolation that produced
this book with her customary knowing stares, stoic wails and quiet pain. She
holds academic degrees from UC Berkeley, USC and UCLA, but her work with
the severely challenged veteran population at the U.S. Veterans Administration
Hospital in West Los Angeles, California, was too all-consuming to permit her
time to read any drafts. Even so, without her … well, probably there might be no
book, for she is greatly responsible for the wonders of my life and the steadiness
of my career as an international journalist.
She is my wife, and who wouldn’t be lucky to have her?

“Lee Kuan Yew can justifiably be called the Father of Modern Singapore. He has
steered through policies that have been copied across Asia, and have greatly
lifted the profile and representation of Singapore. It is a legacy that will endure.”
John Major, Prime Minister of Britain, 1990–97
“He is a big frog in a small pond. He is not satisfied with what he has. He had
ambitions to become Prime Minister of all Malaysia. He tries to lecture people
but people dislike that. People do regard him as an intellectual, as something
more than just an ordinary politician. He’s always invited to give his views on
things and, to that extent, he is something bigger than Singapore. But the fact
remains that he is [only] the Mayor of Singapore. This is something he doesn’t
like. You see, he wants to be big. And he feels that we [in Malaysia] took away
his opportunity to lead a real country. But I think he will go down in history as a
very remarkable intellectual and politician at the same time, which is not a very
often thing.”
Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad,
Prime Minister of Malaysia, 1981–2003
“Is a leader the product of his times, or does a leader make his times? Lee Kuan
Yew is a living testimony to the truth of both assertions: the birth of a new
nation-state—Singapore—was the unique moment in time which drove this man
to rise to the call of history; and in his single-minded resolve to wrestle his city-
state from the Third World into the First, he shaped his times, creating the
Singapore way of development, which some look up to, and some decry. It is a
fact, however, that if two names could be indissociable, these would be
Singapore & LKY, and LKY & Singapore.”
Ton Nu Thi Ninh, former Vietnamese Ambassador to the European Union, and
founder of Tri Viet University, Vietnam
“President and Mrs. Carter’s full agenda makes it impossible for them to respond
positively to the many requests to contribute to books.”
Jimmy Carter, U.S. President, 1977–81.