Category: People

  • Ministry of Retirement

    I wish Minister Lui Tuck Yew a deservedly happy retirement, and I appreciate the things he’s done during his tenure as Minister of Transport. I have no doubt it is a very, very tough job, made harder by some of the problems and missteps inherited from previous ministers. Think COE miscalculations, and if you’ve forgotten…

  • What I Want For My Birthday: You’ll Be Shocked (Hopefully)

    This Guardian video is just the tip of the iceberg. Thousands have died, hundreds more have been and remain in slavery, and thousands and thousands more are being persecuted, marginalised and unwanted by the countries the Rohingya straddle – Bangladesh, Myanmar – and because this crisis is growing as they put themselves to sea, the…

  • I Have Old Stuff From My Dad’s Office Too: Part 1

    The picture above is of former Minister of Culture Mr Jek Yuen Thong giving a speech at the opening of the Oriental Development Corporation Limited (Marble And Plastic Factories) in 1972. My father is seated at the extreme left in the photo.

  • Merely A Near Namesake

    I remember him telling me how in 1965 when he watched the televised announcement of Separation, that he was sure “we were finished”, and how he had expected to have to knuckle down and prepare for hard times.

  • A Comrade of The Workers

    "On behalf of the Labour Movement, farewell comrade, farewell" – S.R. Nathan #RememberingLKY A photo posted by Benjamin "Mr Miyagi" Lee (@miyagisan) on Mar 27, 2015 at 4:24am PDT Lee Kuan Yew began his political career representing trade unions while as a young lawyer with the firm Laycock & Ong. Mr Lee started winning over…