--- ---  # Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew Made Modern Asia  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Mar 22, 2015 8:31 PM UTC  The Dec. 12, 2005, cover of TIME Asia The Dec. 12, 2005, cover of TIME AsiaCover Credit: PHOTOGRAPH FOR TIME BY PAUL HU / ASSIGNMENT ASIA  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Mar 22, 2015 8:31 PM UTC Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister and the man credited with creating modern Singapore, was involved in the country’s politics since Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965. Just as Singapore has felt his presence as a constant throughout the years, so too has his office. When TIME’s Zoher Abdoolcarim, Simon Elegant and Michael Elliott visited with Lee over the course of two days in the fall of 2005, they [observed](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/printout/0,8816,1137707,00.html) that he had occupied the same rooms since the 1970s. But that didn’t mean that Lee Kuan Yew was stuck in the past. In fact, during that interview he offered up his views on some of the most newsworthy issues of the day, from the rise of China to the threat of radical Islam. And though he admitted some faults — he should have fostered free enterprise more, he said — he was defiant in the face of other criticisms: “I’m not guided by what Human Rights Watch says. I am not interested in ratings by Freedom House or whatever. At the end of the day, is Singapore society better or worse off? That’s the test. What are the indicators of a well-governed society? Look at the humanities index in last week’s _Economist_, we’re right on top,” he told TIME. And no matter what one thinks of Lee’s record, it’s hard to argue that he didn’t earn the right to his opinion. As TIME pointed out: --- > “” --- **_Read the full interview with Lee Kuan Yew, here in the TIME archives:_** [Lee Kuan Yew Reflects](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1137705,00.html) **_Read TIME’s take on the interview, here in the TIME archives:_** [The Man Who Saw It All](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/printout/0,8816,1137707,00.html) ### See 'Father of Singapore' Lee Kuan Yew's Life in Pictures  Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew (1923-2015), seen in 1969. Michael Stroud—Getty Images  The General Secretary of People's Action Party of Singapore and the new Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew congratulated by his supporters in 1959. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images  Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in conference with Labor leaders during strike threat in 1965. Larry Burrows—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and family at official residence of "Sri Tamasek" in 1965. Larry Burrows—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at home with his family playing Chinese chess in 1965. Larry Burrows—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Lee Kuan Yew in 1965. Larry Burrows—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew during May Day celebration in 1965. Larry Burrows—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Sir Alec Douglas Home, former British Prime Minister meets with Lee Kuan Yew, in London, 1969. Rolls Press/Popperfoto/Getty Images  Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference at Marlborough House, London, in 1966. Roger Jackson—Getty Images  Premier Lee Kuan Yew with visiting British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1985. Peter Jordan—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Lee Kuan Yew with President Obama in the Oval Office in 2009. Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images  Lee Kuan Yew in 2005. Jonathan Drake—Bloomberg/Getty Images Lee Kuan Yew: Singapore's Late Leader's Take on the World ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3717723/lee-kuan-yew-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3717723/lee-kuan-yew-interview/"},"headline":"Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew Made Modern Asia","datePublished":"2015-03-22T20:31:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:29.360Z","description":"TIME interviewed the godfather of Singaporean politics in 2005","url":"https://time.com/3717723/lee-kuan-yew-interview/","keywords":["remembrance","Singapore"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4632cc0c4c2d90fc/6987812806f2c144033342f2/20051212_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4632cc0c4c2d90fc/6987812806f2c144033342f2/20051212_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"20051212_400","caption":"Dec. 12, 2005, cover of TIME Asia","creditText":"Cover Credit: PHOTOGRAPH FOR TIME BY PAUL HU / ASSIGNMENT ASIA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/remembrance/","name":"remembrance"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3717723/lee-kuan-yew-interview/","name":"Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew Made Modern Asia"}}]}] ```