In an article published in the Sunday Times yesterday (‘What Mak did at home, my father did for nation’, 16 Jun), PM Lee’s sister, Lee Wei Ling, reminisced about the days when her grandmother was alive and how she would to learn to make bakchang (rice dumpling) from her.
She wrote, “Wrapping the leaves around the four corners of the pyramid is not easy. The consequence of an unskilfully wrapped zong zi is that when you boil it, water would seep through the corners. After a few attempts, I decided to leave the making of zong zi entirely in Mak’s (grandmother) hands. I helped only in their consumption.”
“Mak died in 1980. The next few Chinese New Year eves and duanwu jies were melancholy for I would invariably think of Mak on these occasions. But the years have taken away the pain and sadness of losing my favourite grandparent. I now remember her with sentimental fondness.”
She described her grandmother’s temperament as one of “aggressive kindness”.
Indeed, there is anecdotal evidence that once when she was staying at younger son Freddie Lee’s home in White House Lane off Stevens Road, Freddie and wife Eleanor forgot to ask her down for dinner, so Mak went downstairs and smashed all the antiques that were in the house.
Ms Lee wrote, “She would try her best to help if she thought help was justified – and she could be very pushy in delivering her help.”
She then compared her father, Lee Kuan Yew, to her grandmother, Lee Kuan Yew’s mother.
She said, “I think my father Lee Kuan Yew resembles her in this respect. Of course, he occupies a totally different position in society compared to his mother. But it can be said that he did nationally what she did domestically.”
In other words, Ms Lee is saying her father, Lee Kuan Yew, also exercised an “aggressive kindness” but to Singaporeans.
Ms Lee continued, “Just as she tried to improve the welfare of her children and friends, he tried to improve the welfare of Singaporeans. And just as she was pushy in offering her help, he could at times almost force Singaporeans to do what is right though it may have caused them temporary pain. I would describe that as being ‘aggressively kind’ too.”
Ms Lee then talked about how she and her father are still suffering from the loss of her mother, who died 3 years ago. Ms Lee’s mother, Mdm Kwa Goek Choo, suffered a massive stroke in May 2008 and died in October 2010.
Ms Lee said her father’s health took a turn for the worse after her mother’s death, “My father is an exceedingly rational person. But even his capacity for rational thought is helpless in the face of his deepest emotions. Since Mama died, his health has taken a turn for the worse.”
“It may have done so in any case for he is nearing 90. But I am certain that the grief of losing his lifelong love, friend and partner played an important part in causing his health to deteriorate.”
Meanwhile, to show the public that he is still mobile, Mr Lee Kuan Yew planted a rain tree in Holland Village yesterday (16 Jun).
A crowd gathered to watch the former Minister Mentor shovel some soil onto the tree and then water it.
Some 1,963 trees will be planted all over Singapore, from West Coast to Punggol, over the next 5 months to commemorate the Green Campaign started in 1963 by Mr Lee himself 50 years ago.
TR Emeritus
*Article first appeared on www.TREmeritus.com