SPH hosts memorial ceremony in honour of Lee Kuan Yew
PUBLISHED ONMarch 26, 2015 5:45 AM
SINGAPORE - Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has hosted a memorial ceremony in honour of Singapore's Founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at its News Centre auditorium in Toa Payoh.
More than 700 staff were present for the event, and attendees included Dr Lee Boon Yang, Chairman of SPH, directors and Mr Alan Chan, Chief Executive of SPH.
During the memorial ceremony, a two-part video produced by SPH Razor was screened. They chronicled the life story of Mr Lee and his political milestones.
SPH staff from the four major daily newspapers who had worked and interacted with Mr Lee in the course of their work also shared their personal thoughts and anecdotes.
They were Han Fook Kwang, Editor At Large, The Straits Times; Chairul Fahmy Hussaini, Deputy Digital Editor, Berita Harian; Yew Lun Tian, Correspondent, Lianhe Zaobao; Azhagiyapandiyan s/o Duraiswamy, Deputy Editor, Tamil Murasu; and Robin Chan, Manager, Media Strategy and Analytics. Robin was previously a journalist with The Straits Times and was part of the team that interviewed Mr Lee for his book "Lee Kuan Yew - Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going", published by Straits Times Press.
SPH CEO Mr Alan Chan also shared his personal experiences serving as Mr Lee Kuan Yew's Principal Private Secretary from 1994-1997, and how he had personally benefitted from Mr Lee's policies.
SPH Chairman Dr Lee Boon Yang, a former Cabinet Minister under Mr Lee, said in a statement to staff: "I have always thought of Mr Lee as the architect and founding father of Singapore. I had the privilege of serving in his government and continued to benefit from his wisdom and guidance after he stepped down. Mr Lee was always very focused and serious. He seldom engaged in small talk. He would drill deeply into every issue whether it was a policy revision or something new. It could be quite uncomfortable to be grilled by him. But I always got the feeling that it was nothing personal. He did it to get the best result for Singapore."
Dr Lee added: "Singapore is successful today because of many key policies he crafted such as attracting MNC investment, harmonious tripartite relations, education, housing and many other areas. Even after he stepped down, his advice helped to strengthen many public policies. His legacy is the strong foundation underpinning Singapore's success. In September 2000, he gave me a copy of his second volume, 'From Third World to First'. On the inside cover, he wrote 'Your generation has to write the sequel to this story'. We owe it to Mr Lee to build on his legacy and create the best possible sequel to the Singapore Story."