Quote from Li Shengwu, Lee Hsien Yang's son from his eulogy.
“Once, at the suggestion that a monument might be made for him, my grandfather replied: ‘Remember Ozymandias.’ He was, of course, referring to Shelley’s sonnet about Ramses II, the greatest Pharaoh of the Egyptian empire. In the poem, a lone traveller encounters a broken statue in the desert. On the statue, the inscription: “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; look on my works, ye mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains."
“I think his meaning was that, if Singapore does not persist, then a monument will be no help. And if Singapore does persist, then a monument will be unnecessary. And that assessment is accurate: His legacy is not cold stone, but a living nation. And we could no more forget him than we could forget the sky.
"When Singapore was cut adrift from Malaysia, you adopted an orphaned nation and made us all your children."
“Ye Ye, you chose to forsake personal gain and the comforts of an ordinary life, so that the people of Singapore could have a better life for themselves, and for their children and for their grandchildren. That Singapore is safe, that Singapore is prosperous, that Singapore is - for this we owe a debt that we cannot repay.
“Ye Ye - We will try to make you proud. Majulah Singapura.”
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