Preface
On 3 December 1959, at the installation of Mr Yusof bin Ishak as Singapore’s Head of State, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said:
“We, the people of Singapore, are gathered here to rejoice
in the step we are taking, away from our colonial past,
towards an independent future and our tryst with destiny ….
Today, here on this Padang, and also
in the thousands of homes listening with us here,
let us renew our faith in ourselves and our future;
let us resolve to be loyal to the interests of our people;
let us pledge ourselves afresh to make this island
a happy and peaceful place of plenty for all those
who have been born and bred here, together with
all those who have sworn to be one of us.”*
In the ensuing 31 years, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew struggled to fulfill this pledge. Under his leadership Singapore was transformed from a British colony, a dot on the map, into an independent and prosperous nation. This book highlights the main events that took place during this time.
* – From A Biography of President Yusof bin Ishak, by Melanie Chew in collaboration with the National Archives of Singapore, 1999.
