CNA documentaries Lee Kuan Yew: In His Own Words and I Remember Lee Kuan Yew reintroduce him to audiences old and new
Many know the late founding Prime Minister of Singapore to be an iconic statesman, but what was it like interacting with him, and what was he like behind closed doors? CNA finds out in its documentary specials released to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth.
File image of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding Prime Minister at the Sree Narayana Mission in Sembawang in 1965.
SINGAPORE: Retired police officer Noordin Abdul Rahman, 81, was a bodyguard to Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and often had to accompany him in car rides. He remembers Mr Lee to be “intimidating”, with his “piercing eyes” and sharp line of questioning.
Mr Noordin, who served Mr Lee between 1967 and 1975, saw up-close how driven Mr Lee was as a young Prime Minister to mould Singapore into a thriving, trailblazing nation after its separation from Malaysia in 1965.
“He was very disappointed having to leave Malaysia, and then he seemed to be more determined and impatient to make sure that Singapore is a successful story,” he says. “So, all officers, all civil servants, were very careful in discharging their duties because they did not want to make mistakes.”
He also reveals that Mr Lee was hardly ever “off-duty” and would even use his personal time to visit key infrastructure projects such as new housing estates.
Karuppiah Kandasamy, 83, who also served as a bodyguard to Mr Lee recounts how impressed he was by the man’s discipline.
“After his duty every day, without fail, whether rain, shine or thunder, he still (wanted) to do his normal exercise. He was such a disciplined man. I salute him!” says Mr Kandasamy, who was Lee Kuan Yew’s personal security officer for two decades.
Mr Noordin and Mr Kandasamy’s personal anecdotes are part of CNA’s new documentary special I Remember Lee Kuan Yew. They also reveal what Mr Lee’s favourite cheat meal was – murtabak - even though he often ate simple meals, with no less than four different kinds of fruit.
The documentary debuts on CNA and its YouTube channel on Sep 16, on the 100th anniversary of Mr Lee’s birth.
Other people interviewed about Mr Lee’s personal side include veteran journalist Cheong Yip Seng, who calls Mr Lee a “serial fact checker”, and former GIC Group Chief Investment Officer Ng Kok Song.
Mr Ng, who contested unsuccessfully in the recent Presidential Election, says that even though Mr Lee “would often work around the clock”, he had a very compassionate side to him. For example, he had sent Mr Ng’s late wife a message of support when she was stricken with cancer.
For others like Tanjong Pagar grassroots leader Jagjeet Singh, it was Mr Lee's concern for the man in the street that left a mark on him.
“The wonderful part of Mr Lee was that even at that level as the Prime Minister looking after the country, he was able to focus down to the common person,” says Mr Singh, who was also interviewed for I Remember Lee Kuan Yew.
“He took an interest in what's happening on the ground, giving the common man a better life, a better stake in this country.”
LEE KUAN YEW: IN HIS OWN WORDS
CNA will also air documentary film Lee Kuan Yew: In His Own Words on Sep 15.
To produce this film, the CNA team trawled through nearly 300 of Mr Lee’s speeches and interviews from Mediacorp’s archives and the National Archives of Singapore, combing through 150 hours of footage. The documentary follows Mr Lee through the different stages of his political career, beginning with his early years as the leader of an accidental nation. It also documents his later role as a mentor, not just to younger ministers, but also Singaporean youth from all walks of life, whom he regularly engaged with in forums and talks.
“From the onset, we wanted the documentary to be much more than just a simple chronological presentation of Mr Lee’s soundbites. We sought to provide viewers with a unique perspective that challenges or augments what they already know about Lee Kuan Yew,” said Mr Charles Phang, series producer of Lee Kuan Yew: In His Own Words and I Remember Lee Kuan Yew.
“Listening to people who met him and learning about Singapore’s history through archive material of Lee Kuan Yew, was certainly enlightening. However, doing stories about Singapore’s first Prime Minister also presented challenges to our documentary team. Given his eloquence, it proved difficult to select one valuable soundbite over another. We also found it challenging to condense everything into a one-hour programme,” said Mr Phang.
“Despite these challenges, we had a very meaningful and fulfilling experience working on these two documentaries. We emerged from this with renewed respect for Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his contributions to the nation,” he added.
Lee Kuan Yew: In His Own Words and I Remember Lee Kuan Yew will premiere on CNA at 9pm on Sep 15 and Sep 16 respectively. Both programmes will be available on cna.asia and CNA’s YouTube channel.
