Thank you, Mr Lee Kuan Yew

How nice of Mr Lee to write back to my father!


This is just a short note about Mr Lee Kuan Yew, founding father of Singapore.

I am writing about him not because I want to pay tribute to him - better writers have done so with much better aplomb. So I leave the tributes to these people. 

I am writing this because of the profound influence he has over my family, not in the nation building sense, but in how my son ended up in Catholic High School.

This story starts with my father. He has always been an admirer of Mr Lee. I would say that he admired him so much that when Mr Lee decided to send his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong to Catholic High, my father decided to send me there. While I am not entirely sure, I think that my father was in the Ministry of Education at that time, so it was not too difficult. 

There was absolutely no reason for him to do so. We did not live near town (Catholic High was still at Queen Street). We were not Catholics. And Catholic  High, while it was quite good, was not the top school it is now. Yet, my schooling destiny was decided thanks to Mr Lee's decision. 

On hind side , it is a blessing. My son basically just strolled into the school. No stress, no volunteer work, no balloting. While there are no guarantees that he will make it to the secondary section, he is off to a great start.

So while all the world leaders and Singaporeans from all walks of life thank Mr Lee and give him the accolades that he deserves. As a father, I would like to thank him for his subtle influence on my family. 

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