LKY on Governance, Management, Life: A Collection of Quotes from Lee Kuan Yew

“Why did I insist on Singaporeans all needing to learn their mother tongue? For the Chinese, why did I insist that they learn Chinese? ... Because I believe language transmits values. Learning the Chinese language means imbibing the core items of Chinese history, tradition and culture. The Confucianist values of loyalty, honour, discipline, filial piety, emphasis on family, respect for authority – all vital for nation-building and for cultivated citizens with honourable personal attributes. These values will provide cultural ballast to our people as we adjust to a fast-changing world.”
—Mr Lee Kuan Yew, quoted in My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore’s Bilingual Journey

Politician, prime minister, statesman, husband, father: Lee Kuan Yew was all these things and more in a life spanning 91 years and a political career that lasted more than half a century.

In that time, he and the other first-generation leaders of Singapore catapulted the country from the backwaters of the Third World into the ranks of the First.

This three-volume set brings together quotations from Lee’s speeches, books and interviews that sum up his views on subjects ranging from the political to the personal.

LKY on Governance, Management, Life: A Collection of Quotes from Lee Kuan Yew serves both as an introduction to the man widely regarded as Singapore’s founding father, as well as a reminder of what he stood and fought for.

It is the most accessible compendium ever published on the man, capturing his most piquant aphorisms and views. For every section, relevant photographs of Mr Lee are also featured alongside the quotes. This collection is published by Straits Times Press and curated by The Straits Times copy editor Janice Tay. Former Business Times sub-editor Ronald Kow assisted in the curation of the content for two of the three books – LKY on Management and LKY on Life.

Curated by: Janice Tay and Ronald Kow