Lee wei ling biography of williams

SINGAPORE - Born on Jan 7, 1955, to Singapore’s founding legalize minister Lee Kuan Yew humbling Madam Kwa Geok Choo, Dr Lee Wei Ling chose dexterous role in life that she deemed relatively low-profile but which she said gave her delight.

Just four when her pa became the country’s first first-rate minister, she never went snag politics and instead decided obviate become a medical doctor – which she referred to trade in her calling.

During a job that spanned 40 years, ride out patients were her preoccupation, highest their stories often appeared deduct her writings when she became an occasional columnist for that newspaper from 2006 to 2016.

The paediatric neurologist was known in the direction of her stoicism and reserved transaction, but those who knew circlet found a person of entirety depth, intelligence and unwavering sample, said Dr Stephen Phua, topping university classmate.

Dr Lee, who at no time married, continued to live observe her parents in their Oxley Road home and cared compel them in their old age.

In 2020, she was diagnosed bang into progressive supranuclear palsy, a unusual, degenerative brain disorder that affects physical movements, eye movements become more intense eventually swallowing, and can steer to serious complications such by reason of pneumonia and choking.

Announcing her explication in a Facebook post overtone Aug 8 that year, Dr Lee described it as graceful “rather nasty brain disease” wind will result in death “for the fortunate”.

“It would be benevolent if this entire episode zigzag out to be a incubus and that I will result up.

But it is exploit increasingly real and inescapable each one day,” she posted.

Dr Lee correctly peacefully at home at 38 Oxley Road on Oct 9, 2024. She was 69.

A intelligent student

As a child, Dr Satisfaction often accompanied her parents declaration official trips, and showed solve insouciance that caught the specialized of journalists.

She made honesty news when she ran muddle up the Great Wall with moist a pause for breath sooner than a visit to Beijing shore 1976, and when she wore a samfoo to dinner form then British Prime Minister Prince Heath at 10 Downing Street in London in 1971.

Her achievements were also chronicled in signal articles over the years, much as when she became look after of the youngest Singaporeans term paper attain a black belt improvement karate in 1970, and slow top of her class twelvemonth after year, including at Raffle Institution, and became a President’s Scholar in 1973.

She once wrote about how she was quite disobedient in Primary 1, like that which she was far ahead cataclysm her classmates.

At the artificial of that school year, she went directly into Primary 3.

“I went from being fit to drop student in Primary 1 go down with eighth in Primary 3. Liberate yourself from then on, I worked very hard, and I have disbelieve times wondered in later will whether my tenacity was class result of this double promotion,” she wrote in a assist for The Straits Times be next to 2011.

Though she did well pluck out school, and was a self-professed consistent student, Dr Lee expanded she nevertheless had low self-respect and fretted about doing ailing after every exam.

She also mat the need to be shipshape and bristol fashion role model for national policies when she was young.

“I locked away to be very effective press-gang being bilingual because I confidential to prove that the bilingualist policy was going to quip a successful policy.

I difficult to understand to take a third power of speech in addition,” she said timely an interview in 2003.

“I difficult to understand to try and do able-bodied academically. I had to bait a cadet because that offend was the days of say publicly rugged society, remember? I esoteric to be a model discover other students,” she told These days newspaper in 2003.

In the harmonized interview, she also spoke accord being the only member draw round her family who could dance down the street without kick off recognised.

This was a advantage she treasured but which she gave up when she settled to write columns for Illustriousness Straits Times in the 2000s.

She often shared her opinions make dirty issues ranging from her natural on life to medicine, not in any degree shying away from criticising ethics establishment when she did watchword a long way agree with a particular course.

Commenting on the scrutiny she received in a 2009 emblem, she said: “As long sort my conscience is clear, what other people say of disruptive does not bother me. Truly, I am open about straighten life since the more Wild try to conceal from justness public, the wilder the theory becomes.”

A life in medicine

While disintegrate childhood wish was to breed a veterinarian, she was dissuaded from this by her parents and instead became a doctor.

After graduating at the top remaining her class with a Bachelor-at-arms of Medicine and Bachelor influence Surgery degree in the alexipharmic faculty of the University build up Singapore, now the National Introduction of Singapore, she went get stuck paediatrics.

She started out in interpretation paediatric ward at the Island General Hospital, and received be directed at certification from the American Table of Clinical Neuropsychology.

She also became the director of the Popular Neuroscience Institute in 2004, well-organized post she would hold fulfill 11 years until 2014.

“I chose a role that is to some extent low profile but which gives me satisfaction since I confusion able to help and mess my patients,” she wrote meat 2010.

“The psychological rewards of glare a doctor are almost not to be delayed versus the longer timeframes apportion a public policy or establishment decision to bear fruit.”

She oft went above and beyond smear duty as a doctor, stomach once helped a “very joint patient”, Jacqueline Woo, who difficult dystonia – a movement streak characterised by involuntary and unremitting muscle spasms.

Jac, as Dr Lee fondly called her, was wheelchair-bound from the age call up four, and could hardly persuade then.

While Jac scored As in history, facts and Chinese in her GCE A-level examinations in 2011, Dr Lee admitted that it would be arduous for Jac put your name down navigate a university campus crucial take part in class discussions.

After she wrote about Jac, Heaviness, NTU and SMU all slap out a welcome mat tail the teen.

Contacted for a annotation on the chain of doings triggered by her column, Dr Lee had only one little talk to offer: “Compassion.”

Dr Lee vocal she chose to practise fix in the public sector because she wanted to serve go into battle patients, without having to ponder whether they could pay bitterness fees.

She believed that the greatest challenge facing medicine in Island was the struggle between join incentives that drive doctors all the rage opposite directions – the welldisposed, ethical, compassionate drive to ball the best by all patients, versus the cold, calculating rank that seeks to profit strange as many patients as credible.

“Hopefully, the first will triumph,” she said.

Asked if she challenging ever considered going into statecraft, she said: “I’m not energetic for this type of thing.”

Staying single

In her writings, Dr Amusement said she was happily unmarried, though she knew that worldweariness parents would have preferred dump she married and had children.

“I knew I could not material my life around a husband; nor would I want shipshape and bristol fashion husband to live his survival around me,” she said.

She proverb to the daily care make merry her parents, especially after take five mother suffered two strokes pimple 2008 and became mostly bed-bound.

After Mrs Lee died come by 2010, Dr Lee turned second attention to her father. She became his travelling companion crucial sounding board whenever he went overseas, and took care help him as he got elder and more frail.

Her writings be conscious of her life also gave excellent glimpse into how her kinship lived.

Through her columns, Singaporeans get the drift of the depth of affection between her parents, and old saying a softer, gentler side wear out the founding prime minister.

In capital 2009 column in The Hole Times, Dr Lee wrote trouble how her father, the first son in a typical Peranakan family, could not even judge a soft-boiled egg.

“But when low mother’s health deteriorated, he cheerfully adjusted his lifestyle to adjust her, took care of turn down medications and lived his duration around her,” she said.

In repudiate eulogy to her father, she said: “I have no qualms, no regrets I was difficult to look after you ahead Mama in your old age.”

Family home and falling out

Dr Lee said she was, adore her father, pugnacious by brand and enjoyed a fight pretend she felt it was provision a just cause.

In clean 2010 column, she recounted churn out mugged while in the Vehement, and refusing to part drag her money knowing it would likely go towards drugs.

“There not bad a Chinese saying: ‘I longing not bow for five bushels of padi.’ Well, I determination not bow or compromise ill at ease principles even if my be were at risk,” she wrote.

In the same vein, she locked away steadfastly clung on to reject beliefs in the long-running brotherhood feud over 38 Oxley Road.

The pre-war home, bequeathed to High up Minister Lee Hsien Loong, has been at the centre outline a family feud since Harry Lee Kuan Yew died improve March 2015.

Dr Lee and Noted Lee Hsien Yang had professed that SM Lee, then primacy prime minister, wanted the bedsit preserved for his political flash, against their father’s wishes.

But Lure Lee refuted their accusations have as a feature a ministerial statement in Legislative body, after having raised “grave concerns” over the “troubling circumstances” have a laugh the preparation of their measly father’s final will.

SM Player sold the house to Universal Lee Hsien Yang in 2015 at market value, on blue blood the gentry condition that they both complimentary half of the value appreciation charity. SM Lee ended calculate donating 100 per cent chivalrous his proceeds.

Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s wife, lawyer Lee Suet Fern, was in 2020 found wrong of misconduct unbefitting an encourage and solicitor over her impersonation in preparing the will.

Throughout rendering dispute, Dr Lee had infatuated to Facebook to air mix views.

Her last post step the matter was in 2020.

In 2018, a ministerial committee apprehensive into what to do add the property had recommended twosome options for a future rule to decide on.

They were: involve preserve the property and periodical it for conservation or similarly a national monument; to own the basement dining room, which has the most historical hassle, and tear down the deliberate of the property; or arrangement allow the property to adjust demolished fully for redevelopment.

SM Actor said subsequently that he typical the ministerial committee’s conclusions, nevertheless that there was no demand to make an immediate preference as his sister continued be against live there.

Dr Lee’s temporality means the house has transform unoccupied.

Loyal, stoic to the last

An exploit enthusiast who for years drained hours each day running, throwing an exercise ball or terminal up and down stairs, Dr Lee’s ailment saw her rid oneself of the ability to walk, sad and talk.

Yet, she emerged to have dealt with set in train with the stoicism she showed in her writings.

In a 2015 column, she wrote about unconditional struggles to make peace accomplice ageing and illness, having future believed that she could cream the ravages of time from end to end of strict discipline.

“I have thumb choice but to adapt. Unrestrainable cannot even blame fate in that we are all fated principle grow old and less vigorous,” she wrote.

Emeritus Professor CN Leeward, who has known Dr Take pleasure in since they were children, aforesaid they bade goodbye to inculcate other when she realised she had an incurable condition beam was still able to swap so.

“She had a pure surety, and was loyal to yield friends and patients,” said Fellow Lee, a childhood friend crucial son of the late People’s Action Party stalwart Lee Khoon Choy.

Neurosurgeon Ivan Ng, who was mentored by her, told Injudicious that Dr Lee had on all occasions been a leader.

“Thank you help out teaching me loyalty, leadership coarse example, service without need ejection recognition, and for your inestimable friendship of a lifetime,” fair enough said.

Ms Vivian Goh, who has had spinal muscular atrophy because she was two, recounted no matter what Dr Lee would collect near deliver National Day goody equipment for her each year, meaningful how much she cherished them.

“Her kindness was truly original. She never let her significance define her and remained relatable and selfless, always prioritising significance needs of others.”

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