An anecdote of the late Lee Kuan Yew reacting to the birth of his first child was reshared on social media by netizens. A photo of Mr Lee and Mdm Kwa Geok Choo, along with their first son, now-PM Lee Hsien Loong was posted on Facebook page The Singapore Conscience.
The post shared: “Mrs Lee Kuan Yew once shared this story of how she had just delivered her first child in 1952 and her husband was visiting her at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital”.
Mdm Kwa recalled: “Mr Lee sounded elated when he told her about his first union job as he was cradling the baby. She was referring to the Singapore Post and Telegraph Uniformed Staff Union, which was then locked in an acrimonious pay dispute with the colonial authorities”.
“People would think he’d be cooing over the baby all the time instead of talking about union matters. But I think he was quite pleased with the prospect of acting for this union”.
The above anecdote was also shared on AsiaOne, and in the Straits Times in 2009.
The piece shared that throughout the 13-day strike by the P and T union, as it was better known, which brought all mail services to a stop and unnerved British officialdom, Lee acted as legal adviser, official negotiator and eloquent spokesman – a high-profile role that was to catapult him into the headlines.
Last month, a video of a Lee Kuan Yew lookalike went viral on social media and WhatsApp messenger after many thought they were once again seeing Singapore’s founding Prime Minister in the flesh.
The eight-second clip showed a man resembling the late Mr Lee having a meal at a coffee shop. Clad in a singlet and pants, and sporting a similar hairstyle to his doppelgänger, the elderly man seemed unaware of the video being taken.
Lee Kuan Yew lookalike seen at coffeeshop, netizens say, “He’s back!”