ABSTRACT
The unapologetically authoritarian first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, in office for more than 30 years (1959–1991), passed away on March 21, 2015, at the age of 91. Critics (Rajah 2012) and other detractors would like to remind the world of the excessive repressions under his regime, especially in the early years of Singapore state formation. However, for the overwhelming majority of Singaporeans, all misgivings have been forgiven, if not forgotten, judging by the outpouring of grief by Singaporeans, who queued around the clock to file past his body to pay their last respects throughout the five days in which his body lay in state at the parliament building, and the tens of thousands that, in torrential tropical rain, lined the route of his cortege to the crematorium to bid him farewell. These queues were a genuine moment of the materialization of the nation as imagined community. Authoritarian prime ministers and presidents were common in post-war, postcolonial Asia but none had been so revered by the overwhelming majority of their respective citizens; indeed, most are remembered for their infamy, including those like President Suharto who had brought economic development to their respective nations. 1 Most Singaporeans would not be able to itemize specific acts that Lee Kuan Yew did that deserve their reverence. They generically attributed all the achievements of the nation to his leadership, as he was the front man of the People's Action Party (PAP) which has won every four-to-five yearly parliamentary election since 1959, and had outlived his colleagues in the first generation of political leaders. The collective reverence and grief were undoubtedly a reflection of the overwhelming majority of Singaporeans' sense of debt to the man and the PAP for the massive improvements in the material life over the past five decades, or three generations of Singaporeans.
