Singapore’s founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, is remembered for lifting his people out of poverty and creating a modern, first-world nation. Under his leadership, Singapore was propelled from a British-Colonial trading post to an independent, wealthy, international business hub.

World leaders will travel to Singapore this weekend to attend the state funeral of Lee Kuan Yew. The 91-year-old, who served as Singapore’s prime minister for 31 years, passed away Monday following a long battle with pneumonia. Lee was instrumental in molding Singapore into a premier international business and financial center. He was also considered a master of “Asian values” and had close ties with China.

CCTV’s Tony Cheng shared some insight with Heat from Singapore.
Follow Tony Cheng on Twitter @TLCBkk

The Heat interviewed a panel of expert on Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy in Singapore:

• Dr. Tai-Heng Cheng is a lawyer with the international law firm, Quinn Emanuel.
• Dr. Zheng Wang is an associate professor and the director at the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at Seton Hall University.
• Graham Allison is a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School and the co-author of “Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master’s Insights on China, The United States and the World.”

Our panel discussion continues: