"Wife of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew dies at 89
The wife of Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, whom the statesman called his "great source of strength and comfort", died Saturday at the age of 89, a government press statement said.
Lee's wife, who was born Kwa Geok Choo, was also the mother of Singapore's current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong.
Prime Minister Lee was rushing back to Singapore from Brussels, where he had been attending a meeting of Asian and European leaders, Channel NewsAsia reported.
"Mrs Lee Kuan Yew, age 89, passed away peacefully at home today at 5.40 pm," the government's statement said. "A private funeral will take place on 6th October... at Mandai Crematorium."
Lee was hospitalised on May 12 after she suffered a stroke and was found with bleeding in the right side of her brain.
She underwent surgery and was making progress before suffering further bleeding on June 24 that left her critically ill.
In his autobiography, Lee Kuan Yew, now 87, said he and "Choo" had attended the same Singapore college, where to his horror she was placed first ahead of him in their English and economics exams.
Their relationship developed later and, before he left for England to study, he had decided she was the one for him.
"I wanted someone my equal, not someone who needed looking after," the elder Lee explained in his autobiography.
They married secretly in December 1947, while both were studying law at Cambridge in England, before Lee embarked on his long political career, throughout which his wife was at his side.
"She was a great source of strength and comfort," Lee wrote, adding that his wife corrected the drafts of his dictated speeches.
"I made a point, however, not to discuss the formulation of policies with her, and she was scrupulous in not reading notes or faxes that were sensitive," he wrote.
Lee, one of Asia's elder statesmen, first took office as prime minister in 1959. He retired in 1990 but currently holds the influential cabinet rank of minister mentor in his son's government.
The Lees also have a daughter, prominent doctor Wei Ling, and another son, Hsien Yang, a top corporate executive.
In a New York Times interview last month, the elder Lee said that his wife had been "inert in bed" for the past two years but was still cognitive.
"She understands when I talk to her, which I do every night. She keeps awake for me, I tell her about my days work, read her favourite poems," the elder Lee told the US newspaper.
Wei Ling, a neurosurgeon, wrote in the Straits Times newspaper in June that her parents were also best friends.
"They are not only lovers, they are also best friends. There has never been any calculation about how much each had invested in the relationship. Theirs is an unconditional love," she wrote."
***
I read Mr Lee Kuan Yew's autobiography before.. I read about their love story... It was touching.. And how sad I feel now about Mrs Lee's death...
It is indeed one of those kind of touching and everlasting love stories.
The wife of Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, whom the statesman called his "great source of strength and comfort", died Saturday at the age of 89, a government press statement said.
Lee's wife, who was born Kwa Geok Choo, was also the mother of Singapore's current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong.
Prime Minister Lee was rushing back to Singapore from Brussels, where he had been attending a meeting of Asian and European leaders, Channel NewsAsia reported.
"Mrs Lee Kuan Yew, age 89, passed away peacefully at home today at 5.40 pm," the government's statement said. "A private funeral will take place on 6th October... at Mandai Crematorium."
Lee was hospitalised on May 12 after she suffered a stroke and was found with bleeding in the right side of her brain.
She underwent surgery and was making progress before suffering further bleeding on June 24 that left her critically ill.
In his autobiography, Lee Kuan Yew, now 87, said he and "Choo" had attended the same Singapore college, where to his horror she was placed first ahead of him in their English and economics exams.
Their relationship developed later and, before he left for England to study, he had decided she was the one for him.
"I wanted someone my equal, not someone who needed looking after," the elder Lee explained in his autobiography.
They married secretly in December 1947, while both were studying law at Cambridge in England, before Lee embarked on his long political career, throughout which his wife was at his side.
"She was a great source of strength and comfort," Lee wrote, adding that his wife corrected the drafts of his dictated speeches.
"I made a point, however, not to discuss the formulation of policies with her, and she was scrupulous in not reading notes or faxes that were sensitive," he wrote.
Lee, one of Asia's elder statesmen, first took office as prime minister in 1959. He retired in 1990 but currently holds the influential cabinet rank of minister mentor in his son's government.
The Lees also have a daughter, prominent doctor Wei Ling, and another son, Hsien Yang, a top corporate executive.
In a New York Times interview last month, the elder Lee said that his wife had been "inert in bed" for the past two years but was still cognitive.
"She understands when I talk to her, which I do every night. She keeps awake for me, I tell her about my days work, read her favourite poems," the elder Lee told the US newspaper.
Wei Ling, a neurosurgeon, wrote in the Straits Times newspaper in June that her parents were also best friends.
"They are not only lovers, they are also best friends. There has never been any calculation about how much each had invested in the relationship. Theirs is an unconditional love," she wrote."
***
I read Mr Lee Kuan Yew's autobiography before.. I read about their love story... It was touching.. And how sad I feel now about Mrs Lee's death...
It is indeed one of those kind of touching and everlasting love stories.
posted by skycityy at 12:01 PM
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