WHEN a student asked him how he would like to be remembered in the future, the 86-year-old patriarch of Singapore said he had never given it any thought.

Instead, he preferred to remain focused on doing his job well, which was his motto in life.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew was asked to reflect on his own legacy during the annual Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum yesterday at the National University of Singapore.

MM Lee: Social divide inevitable

HAVING a minimum wage in place here to narrow the income gap could do more harm than good, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said last night.

In fact, every country that has set a minimum wage over what the market will bear has found that the move cuts jobs, he noted. Employers who are forced to deal with higher staff costs would simply find ways to hire less people.

That is why Singapore's approach has been to create as many jobs as possible, while leaving the market to decide the right level of pay. The rationale for this is that having any job is better than having no job at all. 'Never mind your Gini coefficient. If you don't have a job you get zero against those with jobs. So our first priority is jobs for everybody,' he said.

Cost of creating recycling culture high

IT WILL cost Singapore an arm and a leg to create a recycling culture in public housing estates, the way the Japanese have done in their homes, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew believes.

He was responding to a Singapore Management University student, who noted that Singapore fell behind other Asian countries like Japan, Taiwan and South Korea in recycling and energy efficiency.

Ms Ng Yi Qi, a first-year arts and social sciences student at the university, asked how Singapore could do more to mitigate against climate change.

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