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.”
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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.”
Continue reading...