"I have taken a deep interest in both China and India ever since I started my political life in 1950," architect of modern Singapore Lee Kuan Yew once said.
This is among almost 600 short quotations from public speeches and statements of Singapore's first prime minister and the man widely credited with the city state's economic success that have been compiled into a book "The Wit and Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew".
These quotations have largely been selected from Lee's public speeches and statements, which have been collected in Singapore's National Archives and the Singapore Parliamentary Record.
Lee's speeches were often unambiguous, characterful and eminently quotable. This collection provides a compelling summary of his views on a wide range of topics from Singapore's past, present and future.
In Lee's own words, "I have been accused of many things in my life, but not even my worst enemy has ever accused me of being afraid to speak my mind."
There are several quotes in the book, published by EDM, in which Lee mentions about India.
In 2005 he had said, "I have taken a deep interest in both China and India ever since I started my political life in 1950. Like all democratic socialists of the 1950s, I have tried to analyse and forecast which giant would make the grade. I had hoped it would be democratic India, not Communist China. By the 1980s I had become more realistic and accepted the differences between the two.
"It is simplistic to believe that democracy and free markets are the formula that must lead to progress and wealth. However, I am convinced the contrary axiom is true: that central planning and state-owned or nationalised enterprises lead to inefficiency and poor returns, whether the government is authoritarian or democratic.
