My Lifelong Challenge Singapore's Bilingual Journey

In My Lifelong Challenge, we learn of the many policy adjustments and thechallenges Lee Kuan Yew encountered - from Chinese language chauvinistswho wanted Chinese to be the preeminent language in Singapore, fromMalay and Tamil community groups fearing that Chinese was being giventoo much emphasis, from parents of all races wanting an easier time fortheir school-going children, from his own Cabinet colleagues questioninghis assumptions about language. We learn of the pain of teachers forced toswitch from teaching in Chinese to teaching in English almost overnight, andof students who were caught in the transition from a Chinese medium ofinstruction to an English one.My Lifelong Challenge is also the story of Lee's own struggle to learn theChinese language. This book describes vividly his steely determination toimprove his Chinese and reclaim his Chinese heritage, right up to the presentwhen he is well into his 80s. Lee distils his experiences of 50 years into eightprecepts that he spells out at the end of his narrative.