A Tribute to Mr S Rajaratnam

I was sharing with my class earlier this morning about the passing of Mr S Rajaratnam, one of our Founding Fathers of Singapore, on which they had to write a reflection.

It truly dawned upon me, even as I was emphasising on the life and contributions of Mr S Rajaratnam, that indeed, this is history in the makiing. Mr Rajaratnam will come to occupy in the hearts and minds of Singaporeans the very same position that the founding fathers of the United States - Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton and many others - occupy in that of the Americans. And even as the Americans revere their Declaration of Independence, the 'We The People', we reaffirm today our founding fathers' aspirations for our nation, in our National Pledge, our own 'We The Citizens'.

Indeed, Mr Rajaratnam was a man of ideals, a staunch fighter for what he believed was right and just. The Singapore Pledge, simple in its very words, manifests and extols the very beliefs and principles of foundation for our nation - that we are one united people, that we will not and never shall be bound or segregated by race, language or religion, that we will build a democratic society, that we will honour justice and equality, so as to achieve our dreams of happiness, prosperiy and progress, all these for our nation. Such are the words of simplicity and with such alacrity, yet there is such immense depth in their connotations! These words penned by Mr Rajaratnam are the simple and pure embodiments of all our beliefs, faith, and aspirations for our young nation. Having undergone such a tumultous time in the riots and our eventual separation from Malaysia, he would craft a pledge that never again would our social fabric be torn, never again would our peoples be in disarray, and in freedom and dignity would we as a new nation pursue Man's basic right for happiness.

We are simply awed and greatly humbled when we take a closer look at the Pledge that we recite daily, for it represents the ideals of a generation for our nation. And Mr Rajaratnam never wavered in his beliefs or ideals. Such was his strength of character and sense of purpose. With great courage and faith, he acted on his ideals for a greater good, for our common betterment. Truly, he belonged to a generation past, and he epitomised an era when thoughts mattered, beliefs mattered, values mattered, ideals mattered, acts mattered, and aspirations mattered.

This day, we salute Mr S Rajaratnam, former Deputy Prime Minister and founding father of Singapore.

Afterthoughts ...
Was sharing about another great American President - President Kennedy - always to be associated with that immortal line from the musical Camelot:
Don't let it be forgot,
that once there was a spot,
for one brief shining moment
that was known as Camelot.

Or, in the prose version that I prefer -
Let it not be forgot, that for one brief shining moment, there once was a place known as Camelot.