To Mr. Lee

On 23rd March 2015, one of Singapore's really important person passed away.

While I have shunned away from reading political news for some time (a result of studying Political Science and coming across political spin, etc.), I cannot deny the amount of respect I have for this man.

Mr. Lee is like a grandfather. You know he will pass soon, and you are, in a way, glad that he does not have to suffer anymore, but you still feel sad. For that whole week, there was just this tightness in my chest whenever I passed by a billboard, a poster, or a post on social media about this man. In fact, I couldn't bring myself to watch all the tribute shows dedicated to him. It just made it more real.

Many countries, and even some Singaporeans, have this mindset that Singapore was under dictatorship and we have sacrificed our freedom for this peace.

But really?

I feel that despite the wrong decisions that this man and his government seemed to make, he made many right ones, and some wrong decisions that we felt he made were actually the right decisions.

It takes a man with foresight to do what Mr. Lee did. If not for him, Singapore wouldn't know what it is like to be friends with people of different races. If not for him, Singapore would not have developed to where it is today. If not for him, what is education for women in Singapore? If not for him, women would not dare to go out of their homes alone.

I wouldn't even mention the names of the countries, but if Mr. Lee had not been harsh on the people involved in racial riots, we would see ghettos, and we would probably still see fights and news of people being injured or dead as a result. If Mr. Lee had not pushed for multiculturalism, we wouldn't know what harmony is.

And I take this moment to voice my opinion about freedom of speech. Granted, freedom of speech is the freedom to speak anything you are thinking of, and not face legal consequences. But really, take some time to think through what would happen amongst citizens if we spoke freely about our dislike for each others' behaviours or comments about others. What if your protest was about being against the existence of another culture? You are exercising your right to have your freedom of speech, but the social consequences thereafter is what you did not see. Would you rather have your protest be approved before protesting or would you rather having to hide at home because it is too dangerous outside? To be honest, I feel that I have a comfortable level of freedom of speech in Singapore. I can speak to the opposite gender without being judged. I can speak about what I want to speak to with my friends. Isn't that also freedom of speech? If your freedom of speech is going to cause disharmony for no reasonable reason, it probably is because it is unreasonable. Then, you can't exactly blame the law for correcting you.

Like every political leader, some would not like him, and that's absolutely normal. However, if not for all the things he had done, Singapore would not be complaining about the things that the government did which are not in favour for them. They would be contented that they have survived the day. Ultimately, he has done his best for the country, and we should take a moment to appreciate all that he has done. I trust that he made decisions then based on whatever resources he had, to the benefit of Singaporeans.

Thank you Mr. Lee.