Mr Lee of course did not set out to make Singapore one of the most aspiring destinations in the world for tourists, which it is today. Or to be a tourism icon – in fact, he hated the idea of a monument in his honour, even though he is monumental. We are a by-product of his single-minded focus to transform a tiny third-world island with poor infrastructure and limited capital into – not just a city which should count itself lucky if it could get by – but a world-class metropolis of real standing and stature.