Conor’s Reviews > The Singapore Story- Memoir of Lee Kuan Yew Memorial Edition > Status Update

“The people shared our feelings and were prepared to do whatever was needed to make an independent Singapore work. I did not know I was to spend the rest of my life getting Singapore not just to work but to flourish.”

“Be resolute, be firm. Never be intimidated.”

The Malays present did not expect me, the supposed anti-Malay Chinese chauvinist out to destroy the Malay race, to speak in Malay with no trace of a Chinese dialect accent that most Chinese would have. I had been born and bred in Singapore, speaking the language as child
I could trace my ancestors for three generations in Singapore. They had made as big a contribution to the country as any Malay in the chamber.

When trying to stamp out communism in S Vietnam the US had relied on people like Ngo Dinh Diem, and in 11 yrs had failed to find a group who could lead the nation. So S Vietnam was going thru death throes and the Americans were in an unenviable position. The S Vietnamese themselves had lost confidence, opting out of the conflict. 2 options, increase military or make withdrawal, by April ‘75, they had done both.