Came across this article , referring to Singapore and the full retirement of a man many feel is their George Washington " of their country.
Like all politicos who have been around for what seems forever, there are some , in this case, the younger populous, who are happy to see the change, this man lead his country , one of many ethnic groups, into the 21st century , and Singapore today is one of the more stable and prosperous nations of the world.
One of the innovations he did, in a force ful way, was to NOT allow ethnic groups to settle in enclaves of togetherness, thus separating them from the other groups, thus promoting civil and ethnic strife, but as the State grew, there had to be a mix of groups in all the neighborhoods, and it worked.
I saw a interview on Zakarias, show, {Yes that Zakaria } and he was very forth right in the interview explaining the reasons he did many things, and how they worked out. He is a fascinating man, had a very interesting life, yet because he was from Singapore, the average person, here and in the West, knows nothing about him, yet he is remarkable.
Among those in the know , he is very known and highly thought of, in fact South East Asia has many like him, the President Of China being one , who also is quite remarkable.
---------------------------------------------------------
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/18/lee-kwan-yew-singapore-retires----------------------------------------------------
{Click on link to read article}
-------------------------------------------------------------
Lee Kwan Yew, Singapore's founding father, retires from cabinet
Former PM, who led country from independence in 1959 to 1990, says it is time to make way for a younger team of ministers
Wednesday 18 May 2011 Lee Kwan Yew, has announced his retirement from cabinet.
"Surprises do not come often in the city-state of Singapore, a place so staid that locals and foreigners alike call it "Singabore".
But after a groundbreaking election in which the ruling party had its first major shake up after 50 years in power, Singapore's "founding father", Lee Kuan Yew, has announced his full retirement from cabinet.
The 87-year-old former prime minister cited this year's "watershed" election as his inspiration, in which the People's Action party (PAP), which he helped create at independence from Great Britain in 1959, won its lowest ratings yet with just 60% of the popular vote. A decade ago it won 75%.
Calling for "a fresh clean slate", Lee noted that his age distanced him from younger voters and that a "younger team of ministers [should] connect to and engage with this younger generation in shaping the future of Singapore".
Lee is largely credited with turning the small colonial outpost into the financial dynamo it is today.
While older generations revere the man for his hard-talking comments and no-nonsense policies, the younger generation – most of whom cannot and do not care to remember Singapore as a hodge-podge community of ramshackle neighbourhoods – has proven less impressed.
Critics, many of them voters in their 20s, largely used social media during this election to speak out against Singapore's high living costs, low wages and lax immigration laws that pit locals against foreigners, who comprise about 40% of the island's population, for jobs"
