Kwa Geok Choo Is Remembered By PM On Her 100th Birthday
It’s been 10 years since Kwa Geok Choo, the wife of Lee Kuan Yew and the mother of PM Lee Hsien Loong, passed away in 2010.
Today, 21 Dec, would have been her 100th birthday, PM Lee notes in a Facebook post.
It seems PM Lee did some reminiscing, as he said he reread the eulogy that he gave at her funeral service in Oct 2010.
While reflecting on what his mum would’ve thought of 2020, PM Lee thinks she’d have taken it in her stride given what she’d been through.
PM Lee remembers Kwa Geok Choo on what would’ve been 100th birthday
PM Lee wondered what Mdm Kwa would have thought about this year, which he describes as “extraordinary”.
After all, she grew up before Singapore gained independence and a great many events took place during her long-lived life.
They include the Japanese Occupation, the pre-independence struggle years in the 1950s and 1960s, the Merger and Separation with Malaysia between 1963 and 1965, and almost 50 years of nation-building since.
These are momentous events in Singapore’s history, so PM Lee thinks Mdm Kwa would have taken 2020 in her stride.
Grief has faded for PM Lee
PM Lee also said that he reread the eulogy for his mum’s funeral back in Oct 2010, which you can find here.
Mdm Kwa once told PM Lee this:
The older I get, the longer ago the things I remember
And now it’s been 10 years since she passed on.
For PM Lee, he says the grief has faded.
Mama, as he referred to her, is “remembered with warm and happy memories” by her loved ones.
Remembering Mdm Kwa Geok Choo
We do wonder what Mdm Kwa have thought about a global pandemic and how she’d have lived through it.
Mdm Kwa passed away in 38 Oxley Road on 2 Oct 2010, after a long battle with illness. She was known as an extraordinary lawyer, and ruled the Lee household with an iron fist.
Of course, her enduring relationship with LKY is well-known. And as their eldest son, PM Lee will certainly have many thoughts and feelings while remembering his Mama.
But life has to go on, and we will also remember Mdm Kwa fondly.
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Featured image adapted from Reuters via Wall Street Journal.
