Former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who died recently has certainly won the hearts of even villagers of the non-descript areas of Tamil Nadu.
Residents of Pasar, a village located about an hour’s drive from here in the interior of Cuddalore, paid their gratitude to the leader in a novel way. Many of them are either working in Singapore or have returned from that country.
A banner erected in the entrance of the village says, “We came there in search of gold leaving our birth place. You gave us promotions for our hard work … You are a lion of Singapore and are like gold in the hearts of Tamils. You will live in our memories for ever.”
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P. Ramadass(33), who was working as construction supervisor in Singapore, felt the death was a great loss to several villagers who benefitted because of the leader.
“ Lee respected Tamils always and ensured equal rights to us. He did a lot to the Tamil community in Singapore. Even our villagers have benefitted from his generosity.”
Over 100 villagers from here are still working in the construction industry, shopping malls and IT companies.
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V. Senthil Murugan (34), who was working as quality control manager in Singapore, said “Lee did several good things to our people and made Tamil one of the official languages. He recognised the contribution of the Tamils to the growth of Singapore.”
Most of the villagers felt that in the era of people putting up posters and erecting banners in praise of local political leaders even for the smallest of things, it is highly relevant to put up a banner for a great leader. .