Thank you, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. You gave your whole life to this country of ours. My parents, my siblings, my family and all of my extended family count our blessings for the gumption you lived with to make this place work.

You have set the benchmark. It is for us to measure up to it and extend it further. No half measures will do.

Even though I disagree with some the means you deployed for the ends you wanted for Singapore, I think we can do better. We have to have closure as a nation on the aspects of our last 50 years that need to be addressed and reconciled with.

I would call for the setting up of an independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission, not unlike what was done in South Africa by President Nelson Mandela. We owe it to ourselves and to the legacy you’ve left behind to make sure that any and all blemishes are addressed and as President Clinton said “being on the level”.

Today, March 29 2015, we said farewell to you, Mr Lee. The heavens poured like no tomorrow. Literally. It rained on the solemn parade but that made it very poignant and meaningful. The skies cleared when Singapore said the final farewell as we recited the Pledge and sang Majulah Singapura.

Yes, we can make the next fifty years even more amazing and make this paradise of ours that much better.

Majulah Singapura.