New book on Lee Kuan Yew's policies, principles launched

Will Singapore Still Exist In 100 Years? is an update based on Chinese version published in 2023

- Samuel Devaraj Correspondent

During an official visit to Australia in 1988 to mark its bicentenary, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew wondered aloud if Singapore would exist in 100 years' time.

"In a hundred years from now... I'm not sure that this man-made artifice called Singapore will still be there," he said in an off-the-cuff speech in Sydney.

This question of whether the city-state would still be around in a century is the basis of a new book launched on Sept 30 that highlights Mr Lee's key policies in areas such as diplomacy, housing, education and defence.

Titled Will Singapore Still Exist In 100 Years?, the book is based on a Chinese version published in 2023 to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Singapore's first prime minister. It outlines 15 fundamental principles that the Government has been committed to since the country's founding, such as strong defence, clean governance and tripartism.

Speaking at the book's launch, Education Minister Desmond Lee said Mr Lee Kuan Yew's sobering question was his way of reminding Singaporeans that the country's survival is never guaranteed, and that each generation must take responsibility for safeguarding it.