By Danial Azri Bin Ismail

On 26 March, Members of Parliament gathered at Parliament House for a special reason – to pay tribute to the extraordinary achievements of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

It was the third day of mourning for the founding father of modern Singapore and I pondered on the qualities of Mr Lee as well as his dilemmas.

It took a lot for our founding father to step out of his comfort zone, express his views and make decisions, which might not have led to the best outcomes. He wasn’t just looking to win people’s hearts but their trust as well.

He promised to help those in need and put in place policies to ensure that Singaporeans of all races would live harmoniously with each other. The process might have turned out to be long and tedious due to the existing language barriers but Mr Lee finally brought about the racial harmony which was lacking in many other countries around the world.

He put his people before himself. It was a sacrifice he had made to bring Singapore to where it is today. He wasn’t looking to glorify himself.

Indeed he had left a great legacy. Still, questions lingered in my mind.

Foremost, at the end of the day, would we be able to follow in his footsteps? What is the younger generation going to do next? What can we do to continue his legacy?

Can we make Singapore a place even better than the one Mr Lee has created? Or are we going to fall into decline?

Conviction, legacy, sacrifice and trust: would we able to instil these in our lives?

It’s now entirely up to us to make Singapore a better place.

Danial Azri Bin Ismail, Year Three student reading the Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Mechatronics programme at University of Glasgow, Singapore.