Lee reveals story behind success

JAKARTA (JP): The article on this page is an extract from a memoirs of Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew that will come out on Sept. 16 to coincide with Lee's 75th birthday.

The memoirs, entitled The Singapore Story: Moemoirs of Lee Kuan Yew, jointly published by Simon & Schuster Asia, Singapore Press Holdings and Times publishing, is the first of two volumes.

The Singapore Story deals with the author's early years up to Singapore independence while the second book which is expected to be published next year will deal with his life from Singapore's independence to the present day.

The memoirs of the leader who is acknowledged as one of Asia's foremost statesmen have received strong endorsements from world leaders such as Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former U.S. President George Bush, who were sent extracts of the early proofs.

Bush, who described Lee as "one of the brightest, ablest men" he has ever met, said: "The Singapore Story is a must-read for people interested in a true Asian success story. From this book, we also learn a lot about the thinking of one of this century's truly visionary statemen."

Thatcher said Lee was "never wrong" in his analysis on world issues. She said that Lee had a way of "penetrating the fog of propaganda and expressing with unique clarity the issues of our times and the way to tackle them."

Miyazawa said the book was a "personal history of a man who, almost single-handedly, built a great nation from a small island... this is the first textbook in the world on how to build a nation."