This is taken mostly from wikipedia about this great leader and founder of our thriving nation.

Lee Kuan Yew, born 16 September 1923; also Harry Lee Kuan Yew and Lee Kwan-Yew) was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 1959 to 1990.

As leader of the People's Action Party (PAP), he oversaw the separation of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965 and the subsequent transformation of Singapore from a volatile Third World country with no natural resources to a stable, First World Asian Tiger. He has remained one of the most influential political figures in the South-East Asian region. Under the administration of Singapore's second prime minister, Goh Chok Tong, he served as Senior Minister. He currently holds the post of Minister Mentor created when his son, Lee Hsien Loong, became the nation's third prime minister on 12 August 2004.

Lee was educated at Telok Kurau Primary School, Raffles Institution, and Raffles College. His university education was delayed by World War II and the 1942–45 Japanese occupation of Singapore. During the occupation, he operated a successful black market business selling tapioca-based glue called Stikfas. Having taken Chinese and Japanese lessons since 1942, he was able to collaborate as a transcriber of Allied wire reports for the Japanese, as well as being the English-language editor on the Japanese Hodobu (報道部 — an information or propaganda department) from 1943 to 1944.
After the war, he studied law at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge in the United Kingdom, of which he was subsequently made an honorary fellow, (graduating with Double Starred First Class honours), and briefly attended the London School of Economics. He returned to Singapore in 1949 to work as a lawyer in Laycock and Ong, the legal practice of John Laycock, a pioneer of multiracialism who, together with A.P. Rajah and C.C. Tan, had founded Singapore's first multiracial club open to Asians.

Lee's first experience with politics in Singapore was his role as election agent for his boss John Laycock under the banner of the pro-British Progressive Party in the 1951 legislative council elections. However, Lee eventually realised the party’s future looked bleak as it was unlikely to have mass support, especially from the Chinese-speaking working class masses. This was especially important when the 1953 Rendel Constitution significantly expanded the electoral rolls to include all local-born as voters, resulting in a significant increase in Chinese voters. His big break came when he was engaged as a legal advisor to the trade and Students' unions which provided Lee with the link to the Chinese-speaking, working class world (later on in his career, his party the People's Action Party (PAP) would use these historical links to unions as a negotiating tool in industrial disputes).

In the national elections held on June 1, 1959, the PAP won forty-three of the fifty-one seats in the legislative assembly. Singapore gained self-government with autonomy in all state matters except in defence and foreign affairs, and Lee became the first prime minister of the state of Singapore on June 3, 1959, taking over from Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock. Before he took office, Lee demanded and secured the release of Lim Chin Siong and Devan Nair who were arrested earlier by Lim Yew Hock's government.
Lee faced many problems after gaining self-rule for Singapore from the British, including education, housing, and unemployment. In response to the housing problem, Lee established the Housing and Development Board (HDB), an agency which began a massive public housing construction programme to relieve the housing shortage.

After Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman proposed the formation of a federation which would include Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak in 1961, Lee began to campaign for a merger with Malaysia to end British colonial rule. He used the results of a referendum held on September 1, 1962, in which 70% of the votes were cast in support of his proposal, to demonstrate that the people supported his plan. During Operation Coldstore, Lee crushed the pro-communist factions who were strongly opposing the merger and who were allegedly involved in subversive activities.
On September 16, 1963, Singapore became part of the Federation of Malaysia. However, the union was short-lived. The Malaysian Central Government, ruled by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), became worried by the inclusion of Singapore’s Chinese majority and the political challenge of the PAP in Malaysia. Lee openly opposed the bumiputra policy and used the Malaysian Solidarity Convention's famous cry of "Malaysian Malaysia!", a nation serving the Malaysian nationality, as opposed to the Malay race. PAP-UMNO relations were seriously strained. Some in UMNO also wanted Lee to be arrested.
Racial riots followed, such as that on Muhammad's birthday (21 July 1964), near Kallang Gasworks, in which twenty-three were killed and hundreds injured as Chinese and Malays attacked each other. It is still disputed how the riots started, and theories include a bottle being thrown into a Muslim rally by a Chinese, while others have argued that it was started by a Malay. More riots broke out in September 1964, as rioters looted cars and shops, forcing both Tunku Abdul Rahman and Lee Kuan Yew to make public appearances in order to alleviate the situation. The price of food also rose dramatically during this period, due to the disruption in transport, which caused further hardship.
Unable to resolve the crisis, the Malaysian Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, decided to expel Singapore from Malaysia, choosing to "sever all ties with a State Government that showed no measure of loyalty to its Central Government". Lee was adamant and tried to work out a compromise, but without success. He was later convinced by Goh Keng Swee that the secession was inevitable. Lee Kuan Yew signed a separation agreement on August 7, 1965, which discussed Singapore's post-separation relations with Malaysia in order to continue co-operation in areas such as trade and mutual defence.

On national television, Prime Minister Lee announces the separation of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia on 9 August 1965.
The failure of the merger was a heavy blow to Lee, who believed that it was crucial for Singapore’s survival. In a televised press conference, he broke down emotionally as he announced the separation to the people (this particular conference is used as evidence by supporters of Lee that he had not intentionally instigated the breakup of Malaysia):
"For me, it is a moment of anguish. All my life, my whole adult life, I believed in merger and unity of the two territories. ... Now, I, Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore, do hereby proclaim and declare on behalf on the people and the Government of Singapore that as from today, the ninth day of August in the year one thousand nine hundred and sixty-five, Singapore shall be forever a sovereign democratic and independent nation, founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of the people in a most and just equal society."
On that day, August 9, 1965, the Malaysian Parliament passed the required resolution that would sever Singapore's ties to Malaysia as a state, and thus the Republic of Singapore was created. Singapore's lack of natural resources, a water supply that was beholden primarily to Malaysia and a very limited defensive capability were the major challenges that Lee and the Singaporean Government faced.

This is a brief report and here is what I think that is great and the flaws of Lee Kuan Yew.

I think that Lee Kuan Yew is great as he displayed great patriotism after leaving Singapore for studies and came back to govern Singapore. Many others who received scholarships for education decides to migrate to that country permanently and they should learn from Lee Kuan Yew as the only resource Singapore has is manpower.

However, he made a big mistake while governing Singapore. Everyone makes mistake and at least he learnt from it. His mistake was the merger between Singapore and Malaysia but he showed much determination when he strived to make Singapore a better nation.

In my opinion, he is a good leader with more positive comments then negative ones. He definitly has the right of being included as a leader in the history of Singapore.

Arsenal fanatic,
Yee Hark

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