To remember Mr Lee is to remember the Singapore Spirit

It was with much sadness that I read yesterday's reports ("PM Lee 'deeply saddened' by Dr Lee Wei Ling's allegations" and "Family feud over how to mark LKY's death spills out online").

The allegations are serious and border on defamation.

Dr Lee Wei Ling is right in saying that our founding father Lee Kuan Yew would not have wanted any hero worship.

However, if we had forgotten him in the course of one year, I doubt Mr Lee would have been truly happy.

To remember him would be to also remember the values he stood for, ones that helped build our nation's remarkable success.

His death last year saw the awakening of the Singapore Spirit on full display, a level of mourning that surprised even Singaporeans.

There were also many stories of sacrifice and selflessness, as the people rallied together to help ease the discomforts of the long wait that people had to endure to pay their last respects to Mr Lee.

In the course of a year, people may have wondered if the Singapore Spirit was still alive in our busy, preoccupied lives.

The commemoration of the first anniversary of Mr Lee's death celebrated this Singapore Spirit that Mr Lee would have been proud of.

Remembering him also meant being grateful and not trivialising the values that led to our success.

I believe he would have been happy that we have remembered him thus.

We are remembering, not hero worshipping; it would be very sad for Singapore if we were to forget.

Some of us chose to remember him quietly in our hearts, while others chose to express that in action. I hope that Dr Lee understands.

I can scarcely imagine how Mr Lee, as a father, could be pleased about a feud between his children.

I hope Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Dr Lee may have the privacy and space to resolve their differences as siblings, bearing in mind their father's heart for his children and his people.

Steve Chiu Shih Tung

This article was first published on April 12, 2016.
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