Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew



a. The birth and growing up of years
· Family Background
Lee Kuan Yew was born in Singapore on September 16th 1923 in a wealthy and rich Chinese family. He was a fourth-generation Chinese Singaporean. His Hakka great-grandfather, Lee Bok Boon (born 1846), emigrated from the Dapu county of Guangdong province to the Straits Settlements in 1862.
The eldest child of Lee Chin Koon and Chua Jim Neo was Lee Kuan Yew who was born at 92 Kampong Java Road in Singapore, in a large and airy bungalow. As a child, he was strongly influenced by British culture because of his grandfather, Lee Hoon Leong, who had given his sons an English education. His grandfather then gave him the name of "Harry" in addition to his Chinese name (given by his father) Kuan Yew. Thus Lee Kuan Yew is known informally as "Harry" to his close friends and family and his name is sometimes called as Harry Lee Kuan Yew, although this first name is never used in official settings.
Lee Kuan Yew and his wife Kwa Geok Choo were married on September 30, 1950. They have two sons, Lee Hsien Loong, a prime minister of Singapore since 2004 and Lee Hsien Yang, a former Brigadier-General, was the President and Chief Executive Officer of SingTel, a pan-Asian telecommunications giant and Singapore's largest company by market capitalisation (listed on the Singapore Exchange, SGX) as well as one daughter, Lee Wei Ling who is still unmarried. His wife, Kwa Geok Choo, used to be a partners of the prominent legal firm Lee & Lee

Several members of Lee's family hold prominent positions in Singaporean society, and his sons and daughter hold high government and government-linked posts. His younger brothers, Dennis, Freddy, and Suan Yew were partners of the same firm. He also has a younger sister, Monica.
Lee has consistently denied charges of nepotism, arguing that his family members' privileged positions are based on personal merit. However, these charges have persisted and international publications such as The Economist, International Herald Tribune and the Far Eastern Economic Review have been threatened, sued or banned in Singapore for implying the existence of nepotism.


· Early child hood years
Lee Kuan Yew was educated at Telok Kurau Primary School, Raffles Institution, and Raffles College. His university education was delayed by World War II which occurs from the 1942 to 1945 Japanese occupation of Singapore. During the occupation, he operated a successful black market business selling tapioca-based glue called Stikfas. Having taken Chinese and Japanese lessons since 1942, he was able to collaborate as a transcriber of Allied wire reports for the Japanese, as well as being the English-language editor on the Japanese Hodobu from 1943 to 1944.[2][3]
After the war, he studied law at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge in the united Kingdom, of which he became an honorary fellow, graduating with Double Starred First Class honours, and briefly attended the London School of Economics. He returned to Singapore in 1949 and work as a lawyer in Laycock and Ong, the legal practice of John Laycock, a pioneer of multiracialism who, together with A.P. Rajah and C.C. Tan, had founded Singapore's first multiracial club open to Asians.
Websites:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Kuan_Yew
2. http://www.answers.com/lee%20kuan%20yew



b. Contribution to Singapore

Formation of PAP
Fifty years ago on 21 November 1954, a group of young men and women launched the PAP at the Victoria Memorial Hall. They had a clear mission: to fight for independence and build a multi-racial Singapore based on justice, equality and democracy.
Six months later, the PAP fought its first elections. It won three of the four seats it contested. Four years later, it won the 1959 General Elections to form the Government. The PAP has won every general election since then and the person who set up PAP is Lee Kuan Yew

Contribution to Singapore(with and without the PAP)
1. He built a building of Singapore which one of the world wealthiest building, despite the current economic turmoil. However, historically, Singapore always had good infrastructure; as a crown colony and an entrepot, it had a head start. Lee merely pushed this city state to its full potential.

2. Lee Kuan Yew was the president of a one-party system (PAP), and worked hard to keep it going on. So in a sense, he fought against democracy, since he effectively disallowed opposition parties. On the other hand, he had successfully converted Singapore from a third world country to a prosperous international place. That's the dilemma of his rule.

Lee Kuan yew fought for independence from the British so that Singapore will no longer be controlled by a British and be a independent country.

Lee Kuan yew introduced the CPF (Central Provident Fund) for those that had retired from their job and they could still get an amount of money every month for survival.


His Thoughts and His words
He said although Singapore is small in size but we shouldn’t bow our heads to those bigger-sized countries. For example, we have a better army.
“To remind a new generation of Singaporeans that being small does not mean that we must be compliant to bigger neighbours”
He also said that to transform Singapore to what we are today, we need a strong government and their loyal government offices.
“To make the transformation from what we were in 1959 or 1965, to what we are requires an extraordinary government with extraordinary government officers to support it.”
He was very sad when Singapore separated as he believed that Malaysia and Singapore are connected. Therefore should merge.
“For me, it is a moment of anguish. All my life, my whole adult life, I have believed in merger and unity of the two territories."
“On our island of 224 square miles were two million people. We inherited what was the capital of the British Empire in Southeast Asia, but dismembered from the hinterland which was the empire. The question was how to make a living? How to survive? This was not a theoretical problem in the economics of development. It was a matter of life and death for two million people. The realities of the world of 1965 had to be faced. The sole objective was survival. How this was to be achieved, by socialism or free enterprise, was a secondary matter. The answer turned out to be free enterprise, tempered with the socialist philosophy of equal opportunities for education, jobs, health, housing.”
He means that although our island is only a small dot, we can still survive.

What did he do after becoming Prime Minister
He was the prime minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. During his long rule, Singapore became the most prosperous nation in Southeast Asia.



Websides:
1. http://www.malaysia-today.net/Blog-n/2006/10/kuan-yews-comments-why-did-he-say-it.htm
http://www.straitstimes.com/Pioneers+Of+Singapore/Lee+Kuan+Yew/Lee+ Kuan+Yew.html
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=contributions+of+lee+kuan+yew&hl=en&rlz=1T4SUNA_en___SG235&um=1&oi=scholart



C. Later years

Lee kuan yew was now the minister mentor of Singapore ever since 12th August 2004 when Goh Gok Tong stepped down into Senior Minister and his elder son Lee Hsian Loong took over the place of Prime Minister. However his words now still carry much weight with the public and the cabinet and is always ready in use . Alhough his position is different now but he is still treat with respect and admiration.


Webites:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Kuan_Yew#Senior_Minister_.E2.80.93_1990_to_2004



Done by: Chan Yun Xin, Ng You Pin, Yap Hui Shan

2 Faith

HISTORY OF HAJJAH FATIMAH
Hajja fatimah was a malaccan born tradeswomen. Her family was very well-known amongst Singaporeans in those days. She got married to a Bugis prince who was from the Celebes. She was so wealthy that she would be, at times, called Sultana of Gowa.
Unfortunately, her husband had died when she was very young age.
Therefore, she had to continue her husband’s business alone. She had a large trade and owned many vessels and perahus. She also knew many Rajas from the homeland of her husband. This gave her a chance to make more money. And thus, the business flourished.
Hajja Fatimah had built her home at java road in kampong glam. This was a place where many glam trees grew. Those trees produced medicinal oil which had been used for several purposes.
Her house had been ransacked twice and burnt on the second. This was very common in that period of time. She then decided to abandon her house and donate her money to build a mosque and several houses for the poor on the same land instead.
The construction of the mosque took place from 1845 to 1846. She had by then, moved to a new place where she built a new home for her family.
Hajjah Fatimah, who was away when the arson attack occurred, was so relieved to have been spared any injury that she used the piece of land for a mosque.
She had also built some houses for the poor.
Her daughter, Raja Siti had been married off to Syed Ahmad Bin Abdul Rahman Alsagoff who was the son of an Arab merchant.
Syed Ahmad was a rich and wealthy trader.
The mosque represented a mix of local Islamic and European architecture having been design



The Hajah Fatimah Mosque in Singapore is named after the philanthropist Hajjah Fatimah who built houses and mosques for the needy and the destitute in Singapore. The Hajah Fatimah Mosque is situated at 4001 Beach Road. The Hajah Fatimah Mosque was constructed in the year 1846. The Hajah Fatimah Mosque distinctively exhibits a British architectural style.History of the Hajah Fatimah MosqueHajah Fatimah was a philanthropist of Singapore. She made grants and donations to the needy and the poor with the aim of alleviating their dire straits. She set up shelters and constructed mosques for the destitute and the under-privileged people. She contributed immensely for the benefit and welfare of the less fortunate people as well as for the Muslim community in Singapore as a whole. The mosque is named Hajah Fatimah Mosque to honor the generous and great soul, Hajah Fatima. She originally hailed from the state of Malacca in Malaysia. Hajah Fatima was married to an affluent Bugis Sultan.Architecture of the Hajah Fatimah MosqueThe Hajah Fatimah Mosque is a pretty unusual mosque. The architecture of the Hajah Fatimah Mosque does not follow the Middle Eastern pattern but distinctively exhibits a British architectural style. The Hajah Fatimah Mosque was built in the year 1846 and is dedicated to the great and generous lady, Hajah Fatimah. Photo exhibition at the front of the mosque showcases a glimpse of the development of Singapore recalled by the snaps of the Hajah Fatimah mosque and pictures of the neighboring areas of the mosque as well.Hajjah Fatimah mosque was built in 1986 which was named after Hajjah Fatimah herself, to commemorate her contributions to the community, of architectural influences from British as well& has the flavour of British in the mosque. Fatimah contributed to the making of Singapore as she had donated generously to the poor and needy in Singapore. She had also built mosques and houses to shelter the poor and needy. It was designed by a colonial architect John Turnbull Thomson. Through his knowledge of Hindustani and Malay, and designed a theory of racial diffusion based on philological evidence.He is also the arichitect and builder for horsburgh lighthouse,first bridge that was built across kallang river also known as thomson’s bridge,etc etc


. Hajja fatimah passed away at the old age of 98. She is buried behind the mosque in a private enclosure. The body of her daughter and her husband has been buried together with her behind the mosque also.
Masjid Hajjah Fatimah was gazetted as a National Monument on 6 July, 1973.
Today the mosque is owned by MUIS (Majilis Ugamg Islam Singapura).
Ii’m sure Hajjah Fatimah has had lived her life to the fullest, helping everyone she could. She would certainly be remembered for the generations to come.



BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/masjidhajjafatimah
http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_685_2005-01-02.html


name
Percentage contributed
Responsible for:
Clare chia pei xuan
33.33%
Sourcing for information
Chua sok kuang
33.33%
Searching for pictures
Khatijah begum
33.34%
Writing and compilation

2faith: clare chia, chua sok kuang, khatijah begum









Masjid Hajjah Fatimah


The minaret tower (centre) stands between the inam's residence (left) and the main entrance (right).


The mosque's onion dome.