Excerpts from essay by Daisaku Ikeda, under the series "Recollection of My Meetings with Leading World Figures" - From the book "Where the Crown of Humanity Shines" on Mr Lee Kuan Yew

26/3/15 6:52:39 pm: Kwee! Chang: Excerpts from essay by Daisaku Ikeda, under the series "Recollection of My Meetings with Leading World Figures" - From the book "Where the Crown of Humanity Shines"

池田大作文章选段收录在 "畅谈世界领导人 (第二部)" 文章系列 - 摘自"新加坡人性王冠金光灿烂"

为人民无私奉献的领袖
新加坡前总理李光耀

是时代造就人物呢? 还是人物创造时代? 在动荡的年代--曾几度闯过穷途末路的绝境, 那张倔强的脸庞上刻下了这段历史。

新加坡的前任总理李光耀是位名副其实的"建国之父"。在建国的1965年, 这个没有水源等资源的小国, 总人口竞达200多万, 加上多民族且心不齐。然而他却使这个国家变成深受世界注目的经济发达国家。
。。。。。
总理百般忍耐, 用尽一切方法, 在外结交朋友, 在内呼吁团结, 唯有这样想方设法。因为他所能掌握的力量, 除了智慧以及新加坡人民的力量外, 一无所有。

声望、批判、财富、荣誉和伤感, 这一切他都不放在眼里。

他说自己虽已下定愿冒生命危险之心, 却不能拿200万人的生命开玩笑。

活下去! 这豁出性命的呼吁, 超越种族, 振奋人心。

他如一位严父, 因为他知道如不严格, 国家就会瓦解。

。。。。。
被认为前途岌岌可危的新加坡, 推翻种种预测, 取得了惊人的发展, 并成为多民族平等共享繁荣的好榜样。

对那些预测国家会瓦解的专家们--他曾说, 他们之所以惊慌失措, 是因为他们没有充分地考虑到一个重要因素, 即人的意欲, 聪明的人会明白一旦失败将遭遇的下场, 为此他们坚强起来, 这就是力量。

总理证明了一念的力量, 下定 "唯有胜利, 别无它道" 这一念的人, 是可以扭转乾坤, 变不可能为可能的!

。。。。。
二战后, 身为留学生以第一名的成绩毕业于剑桥大学, 一股救国的热诚始终在他年轻的胸中燃烧。

在新加坡, 除人才以外, 别无其他资源。总理曾说: "我们所以取得了成功, 是因为我们了解到人才是成功的主要关键。"

那么人才又是指什么呢? 如只有能力而没有一股燃烧的献身精神, 那是不够的。

总理亦曾说, 要建国, 必须有热情。只为自己着想--有利或害, 有损或有得--只顾计较这些的人是不够资格的。

建国的第一代是"为民在先", 绝不允许贪污, 但值得担忧的是下一代往往容易"以我为先".

与总理会晤的翌日, 我给当地会员讲述了一个新加坡代代相传的故事。

从前, 有一个年轻的国王, 为了寻求新的都城, 与志同道合的人们一起出海。在一座美丽的岛屿前, 突然遇上狂风暴雨, 船开始下沉。为减轻船的负荷, 便扔去了所有能扔掉的东西, 尽管如此船仍在继续往下沉, 而此时所剩的只有国王头上那顶辉煌沉重的王冠了。

国王为了拯救大家, 毫不犹豫地把他的王冠扔进波涛汹涌的大海, 暴风骤雨顷刻平息, 全体人员平安地登上新加坡这座岛。

"抛弃王冠! 拯救人民!" 所谓的王冠或许就是领导人的利己心里吧。

对总理来说, 权力宝座并不是目的, 而只是一种手段。他很早就全力以赴地培养后继人才, 于90年代, 他将总理之职托付于吴作栋先生。

不过, 他那双眼至今仍在注视着自己所心爱的国民之未来, 炯炯发光。

总理亦说过: "即使躺在病榻上、即使我被埋入坟墓, 一旦觉得哪里不对劲, 我还是会坐起来的。"

何等的气魄, 何等的执著!

他还铿锵有力的对我说, 希望让年轻人尽情地享受和平与繁荣的21世纪, 这就是心愿。

严父的勇猛奋斗--只要不忘严父的这种精神, 我相信"狮子城" 新加坡, 将会永远地繁荣昌盛。
English version:

A Leader of Selfless Devotion to the People
Mr Lee Kuan Yew
Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore

Do the times shape the person or the person shape the times?

Before me was the face of a man who has lived through a time of dramatic change, a man who is invincible, who has leapt from one life-threateningly sheer precipice to another and survived.

Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew is truly the father of the city-state of Singapore. When it first attained nationhood in 1965, the tiny country had a population of some two million, belonging to several distinct ethnic groups, no independent water supply and no natural resources. Mr Lee transformed Singapore into an advanced industrial nation that has attracted the attention of the entire world.

.....
Mr Lee persevered amid incredible obstacles. All he could do was to deploy every conceivable means to forge alliances outside Singapore and to foster unity within. All he had at his disposal were human resources - the wisdom and strength of the people of Singapore themselves. He cared nothing for popularity, criticism, wealth, honour or sentimentality. He has said that he was prepared to expose himself to danger, but not the two million lives in his care.

His rallying cry to survive and succeed finally roused the people of Singapore, whatever their race or ethnic group. His leadership was like that of a strict father, because he knew that laxity on his part would mean that his nation would be crushed.

.....
Singapore, whose very future was so much in doubt at the onset, proved false all the dour predictions and achieved startling growth. It also provided a model for a just and egalitarian multiethnic society. As for those who predicted Singapore's demise, Mr Lee says, "They were confounded because they did not give adequate weight to one vital factor: the human drive, that verve in a determined and a resourceful people who know the terrible consequence of failure..."

Mr Lee has demonstrated the power of the human will. Those who have decided that winning is the only option can always make the impossible possible.

After the World War II, Mr Lee travelled to the United Kingdom to study at Cambridge University. A brilliant student, he graduated with top honours. Throughout, the passionate resolve to secure his homeland's self-determination never wavered.

Mr Lee knows more than anyone that people are Singapore's only genuine natural resource. "We have succeeded," he asserted, "because we understood that talent is the crucial factor for success."

But what constitutes "talent"? It is not enough that the people should be well-educated and able. They also need to have a burning dedication to serve others. "To build a country," Mr Lee maintained, "you need passion. If you just do your sums ― plus, minus, debit, credit ― you are a wash-out."

The first generation of nation-builders always put the interest of the people first. They never condoned even a hint of corruption in the government or public service. It was a source of concern to Mr Lee that the present generation of Singaporeans seems more concerned with their own interest and benefit than those of other people.

The day after I met Prime Minister Lee, I joined a gathering of Singapore friends, members of the local SGI organization, at which I touched on the legend of the discovery of Singapore Island. It went as follows:

Long, long ago there was a young king. Seeking a new capital, he set out to the sea with his followers. They came upon a beautiful island in the distance, but then were hit by a raging storm and the boat began to sink. They jettisoned everything aboard to lighten their load, but the vessel continued to take on water. The only thing left to be cast overboard was the king's heavy, jewelled crown. To save his companions, the king threw his crown into swirling waters without a second thought. Instantly, the storm ceased, all were safe, and the ship landed on the island of Singapore.

Throwing away the crown to save people's lives - the crown here is most assuredly a symbol of the leader's self-interest.

Mr Lee was not interested in power for its own sake; his political position was but a means to achieve his goals. From early on, he was careful to cultivate able successors, and in 1990 he resigned, handing over the post of prime minister to the young Goh Chok Tong. But Mr Lee continues to closely watch over developments in his beloved nation. His tenacity and commitment are vividly revealed in his assertion: "Even from my sick bed, even if you are going to lower me into the grave and I feel that something is going wrong, I will get up."

In our dialogue, he stated emphatically that his only wish was that the young people of Singapore would be able to enjoy a twenty-first century of peace and prosperity.

As long as Singapore, the Lion City, remembers the selfless devotion of this indomitable leader, it will prosper.


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