Losing Father

Singapore is like the ambitious, competitive, and sometimes complaining teenager who woke up on Monday to find out that father has passed away. His instincts, like a phantom limb, tells him that father is in the next room, but the truth takes over and pain grips his heart - father is no longer around. It suddenly dawns on him that life as he knows it would forever be different. No longer will father be there to guide, direct, admonish, not even to argue. Now he must truly grow up to fend for himself.
Everyone from near or far looked up to father. Father had seen much in his lifetime - the Japanese Occupation, Communist insurgence, racial riots, Konfrontasi, parting ways with Malaysia. Each life experience was like a chess move; father observed the opponent, learnt, recalibrate before he made his move. Move by move father built a future for Singapore. But Singapore gets complacent sometimes - he likes his personal space and comfort a little too much, and forgets what it takes to build a credible future. 
Who was going to fill father's shoes now? Surely it is too presumptuous of anyone to think that the shoes fit them. Surely those shoes should be donated to the National Museum as a way of keeping father's memories alive. Surely father would like to be remembered that way.
The truth is that father would not have approved. He was never one who believed in hanging on to past glories. He never lived his life so that he could be put on a pedestal. Everything he did he did for his son. When he knew he did not have that much time left in life, he wrote his thoughts down so that his son will always remember where he came from and where he should be going. Singapore, father's shoes are for you. You must wear them. You have his memories to guide you, but you must wear the shoes he left you and take the journey ahead. You must continue to engage the world like father did so the world will engage you like an equal.
In Memory of the Late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the First Prime Minister of Singapore.