Update | Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing leads tributes to ‘dear friend’ Lee Kuan Yew
Hong Kong’s richest man led tributes to Lee Kuan Yew as he described Singapore’s founding prime minister as a 'dear friend' and 'steadfast builder of a new nation committed to a true and ordered liberty'.
Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, led tributes to Lee Kuan Yew as he described Singapore’s founding prime minister as a “dear friend” and “steadfast builder of a new nation committed to a true and ordered liberty”.
Li, with his sons Victor Li Tzar-kuoi and Richard Li Tzar-kai, all grim-faced, were among the visitors to pay their respects to Singapore’s late founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, in the Lion City, according to media reports.
The trio attended the private wake yesterday at Sri Temasek, the official residence of Singapore's premier, located on the grounds of the Istana, the Singapore presidential palace.
Although this wake is open only to family and close friends, nearly 1,200 people were present, including the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah, Singapore President Tony Tan Keng-yam and Singapore cabinet ministers, local media reported.
Lee, who ruled Singapore between 1959 and 1990, died aged 91 after nearly a month in hospital with pneumonia.
Li and his sons were shown in photos flanked by Ho Ching, the wife of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the late Lee's eldest son.
Li Ka-shing, his companies and the Li Ka Shing Foundation have made significant donations in Singapore, including S$19.5 million (HK$110 million) to the Singapore Management University in 2002 and S$100 million to the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore in 2007, according to the foundation’s website.
In March 2011, Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison Port Holdings Trust raised US$5.8 billion from listing on the Singapore Exchange, which was then the biggest IPO in Southeast Asia.
In 2000, Singapore Telecommunications, whose chief executive officer at that time was Lee Kuan Yew’s younger son, Lee Hsien Yang, expected to acquire Hong Kong Telecom, but Richard Li unexpectedly beat Lee Hsien Yang to acquire Hong Kong Telecom.
In a condolence letter to Lee’s son, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Hutchison Whampoa chairman Li said the world would remember Lee as a “historical giant, a steadfast builder of a new nation committed to a true and ordered liberty, a humane and just society with fair and equal participation for all.”
“His courage and scholarship were readily apparent in all that he did – thoughtful, resolute and determined,” Li wrote.
“In life [Lee Kwan Yew] was a veritable force of nature, successfully accomplishing what few ever will; a vision of bold and majestic presence who never lost the common touch. He now rests in peace knowing what he has built will be with all of us always, never to be forgotten and forever missed.”
Li also added that he “will remember Lee Kuan Yew always as a dear friend, and it is in this capacity I mourn his loss the greatest.”
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying also wrote to Lee Hsien Loong, saying that Lee Kuan Yew’s “integrity, tenacity, vision and drive laid the most solid foundation possible for the impressive economic development, prosperity and social harmony that epitomises Singapore today.”
“Singapore and Hong Kong have long been partners for each other in the pursuit of excellence and we continue to look to Singapore as a close friend,” Leung wrote.
“This year, Singapore celebrates its 50th anniversary of independence. The man who was the central player in making that happen has sadly taken his untimely leave. But his legacy of how to build a thriving, proud, diverse and dynamic country will live on for generations, not just in Singapore or Asia, but the world over.”
A bouquet of chrysanthemums was placed outside the Singapore consulate-general’s doors in Admiralty yesterday morning after Lee died.
“Lee Kuan Yew (a good man). Goodbye!” read a message attached to the bouquet by a man named Tony.
Scores of mourners poured into the consulate to offer their condolences on the death of Singapore’s founding father.
The condolences-signing, which will last seven days, began at 2:30pm as a former foreign affairs minister from the country put down words of remembrance.
"Sharing the grief of the Singaporeans and the passing of our founding father. A light has gone out of our lives," the now chairman of Kerry Logistics Network, George Yeo Yong-boon, wrote.
SCMP Group chief executive Robin Hu, who is from Singapore, recalled that he once worked on an industrial park project in Suzhou and a book on Singapore language policies with Lee.
"That was a very humbling experience," he said, calling Lee the "architect of modern Singapore".
SCMP Group publishes the South China Morning Post.
Singaporean Jennete Yew learned about Lee’s death from her friends in the Lion City at 3am and arrived at the consulate early this morning to see if she could leave a message for Lee.
“We criticised him a lot when we were younger – why do we have to do this, why do we have to do that – but when we got older, travelled around the world and started to work we started to admire what he did,” Yew said, as she broke into tears.
“What Mr Lee did for us, was build a foundation ... We think that if he had not been so autocratic, not giving us such freedoms, we would not be what we are today.”
Yew, who works in finance and has lived in Hong Kong since 1998, said more Hongkongers could learn from Singaporeans’ respect for their country and pragmatism.
Another Singaporean, Kim Hor Toh, said most of his compatriots were sad to hear the news of Lee’s death, even if they were expecting it.
“I think everybody is grateful for LKY’s role in building Singapore to what it is right now,” he said.” Despite the loss of [Lee], succession planning has been considered years ago, and I don’t think the transition to the future will be impacted.”
University of Hong Kong vice-chancellor Professor Peter Mathieson praised Lee for being “a man of immense vision and leadership”.
Referring to the honorary doctorate of laws Lee received from HKU in 1970, Mathieson said “We will always regard Dr Lee as a member of the HKU family.”
Martin Lee Chu-ming, founding chairman of the Democratic Party, praised Lee Kuan Yew‘s contribution to Singapore’s nation-building and economic development. “But he didn’t trust his people because he refused to grant them genuine democracy and rule of law,” said Martin Lee, who met Singapore’s founding prime minister for the first time after he became a legislator in 1985.
“The elections in Singapore are not fair and free.” Martin Lee said.
In his acceptance speech of an honorary doctorate offered by the Chinese University in 2000, Lee Kuan Yew said Hong Kong people had developed a "penchant" for protests and demonstrations, as if to prove that it was still as democratic as it was in the days of British rule. "They [the Hong Kong people] accepted their subject status as a British colony. Now they seem less content with their lot, when Hong Kong has a chief executive."
Martin Lee said Hong Kong people had no choice but taking to streets because Beijjng had yet to allow Hongkongers to elect their chief executive by "one man, one vote".
"Hongkongers would be happier now than in colonial days if the 'one country, two systems' system was genuinely implemented," Martin Lee said.
Additional reporting by Gary Cheung