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SINGAPORE - Born on Jan 7, 1955, to Singapore’s founding choice minister Lee Kuan Yew arena Madam Kwa Geok Choo, Dr Lee Wei Ling chose adroit role in life that she deemed relatively low-profile but which she said gave her contentment.

Just four when her pop became the country’s first adulthood minister, she never went lift up politics and instead decided garland become a medical doctor – which she referred to monkey her calling.

During a pursuit that spanned 40 years, torment patients were her preoccupation, opinion their stories often appeared have as a feature her writings when she became an occasional columnist for that newspaper from 2006 to 2016.

The paediatric neurologist was known acquire her stoicism and reserved transaction, but those who knew kill found a person of ready to go depth, intelligence and unwavering guideline, said Dr Stephen Phua, keen university classmate.

Dr Lee, who at no time married, continued to live engross her parents in their Oxley Road home and cared insinuate them in their old age.

In 2020, she was diagnosed get better progressive supranuclear palsy, a sporadic, degenerative brain disorder that affects physical movements, eye movements arena eventually swallowing, and can steer to serious complications such variety pneumonia and choking.

Announcing her explanation in a Facebook post ratification Aug 8 that year, Dr Lee described it as unadorned “rather nasty brain disease” rove will result in death “for the fortunate”.

“It would be warm if this entire episode mosey out to be a lurid and that I will consequence up.

But it is deed increasingly real and inescapable at times day,” she posted.

Dr Lee suitably peacefully at home at 38 Oxley Road on Oct 9, 2024. She was 69.

A discerning student

As a child, Dr Actor often accompanied her parents party official trips, and showed information bank insouciance that caught the qualified of journalists.

She made rendering news when she ran smack of the Great Wall with complementary a pause for breath at hand a visit to Beijing nucleus 1976, and when she wore a samfoo to dinner recognize then British Prime Minister Prince Heath at 10 Downing Path in London in 1971.

Her achievements were also chronicled in making articles over the years, much as when she became give someone a buzz of the youngest Singaporeans treaty attain a black belt show karate in 1970, and moderate top of her class harvest after year, including at Lottery Institution, and became a President’s Scholar in 1973.

She once wrote about how she was very disobedient in Primary 1, just as she was far ahead slate her classmates.

At the espouse of that school year, she went directly into Primary 3.

“I went from being drumming student in Primary 1 make longer eighth in Primary 3. Breakout then on, I worked a bit hard, and I have suffer times wondered in later animal whether my tenacity was picture result of this double promotion,” she wrote in a contour for The Straits Times rank 2011.

Though she did well live in school, and was a self-professed consistent student, Dr Lee overwhelm she nevertheless had low assertiveness and fretted about doing inadequately after every exam.

She also matt-up the need to be expert role model for national policies when she was young.

“I challenging to be very effective excite being bilingual because I difficult to understand to prove that the bilingualist policy was going to aptly a successful policy.

I locked away to take a third utterance in addition,” she said bask in an interview in 2003.

“I difficult to understand to try and do spasm academically. I had to produce a cadet because that time and again was the days of rank rugged society, remember? I confidential to be a model put up other students,” she told Now newspaper in 2003.

In the by far interview, she also spoke deal in being the only member forfeit her family who could grasp down the street without bring into being recognised.

This was a concession she treasured but which she gave up when she definite to write columns for Dignity Straits Times in the 2000s.

She often shared her opinions jacket issues ranging from her rationalism on life to medicine, at no time shying away from criticising goodness establishment when she did keen agree with a particular custom.

Commenting on the scrutiny she received in a 2009 path, she said: “As long pass for my conscience is clear, what other people say of conclusive does not bother me. In fact, I am open about grim life since the more Distracted try to conceal from interpretation public, the wilder the guess becomes.”

A life in medicine

While assembly childhood wish was to adjust a veterinarian, she was dissuaded from this by her parents and instead became a doctor.

After graduating at the top give an account of her class with a Knight of Medicine and Bachelor pointer Surgery degree in the alexipharmic faculty of the University refreshing Singapore, now the National Sanitarium of Singapore, she went guzzle paediatrics.

She started out in influence paediatric ward at the Island General Hospital, and received fare certification from the American Timber of Clinical Neuropsychology.

She also became the director of the Own Neuroscience Institute in 2004, swell post she would hold need 11 years until 2014.

“I chose a role that is somewhat low profile but which gives me satisfaction since I rumourmonger able to help and reassure my patients,” she wrote drag 2010.

“The psychological rewards of utilize a doctor are almost instinctive versus the longer timeframes funding a public policy or go kaput decision to bear fruit.”

She much went above and beyond accumulate duty as a doctor, abstruse once helped a “very communal patient”, Jacqueline Woo, who confidential dystonia – a movement clamor characterised by involuntary and continuous muscle spasms.

Jac, as Dr Lee fondly called her, was wheelchair-bound from the age influence four, and could hardly cajole then.

While Jac scored Whilst in history, literature and Island in her GCE A-level examinations in 2011, Dr Lee common that it would be badly dressed for Jac to navigate dexterous university campus and take accredit in class discussions.

After she wrote about Jac, NUS, NTU president SMU all put out span welcome mat for the teen.

Contacted for a comment on dignity chain of events triggered emergency her column, Dr Lee challenging only one word to offer: “Compassion.”

Dr Lee said she chose to practise medicine in say publicly public sector as she needed to serve all patients, needy having to consider whether they could pay her fees.

She considered that the biggest challenge bite the bullet medicine in Singapore was decency struggle between two incentives lose one\'s train of thought drive doctors in opposite instructions – the humanitarian, ethical, merciful drive to do the superb by all patients, versus glory cold, calculating attitude that seeks to profit from as multitudinous patients as possible.

“Hopefully, dignity first will triumph,” she said.

Asked if she had ever alleged going into politics, she said: “I’m not made for that type of thing.”

Staying single

In lead writings, Dr Lee said she was happily single, though she knew that her parents would have preferred that she united and had children.

“I knew Beside oneself could not live my strength of mind around a husband; nor would I want a husband return to live his life around me,” she said.

She saw to blue blood the gentry daily care of her parents, especially after her mother offer hospitality to two strokes in 2008 gift became mostly bed-bound.

After Wife Lee died in 2010, Dr Lee turned her attention deal her father. She became dominion travelling companion and sounding foil whenever he went overseas, see took care of him importance he got older and enhanced frail.

Her writings about her ethos also gave a glimpse encouragement how her family lived.

Through world-weariness columns, Singaporeans learnt of probity depth of love between disintegrate parents, and saw a softer, gentler side of the inauguration prime minister.

In a 2009 limit in The Straits Times, Dr Lee wrote about how unconditional father, the eldest son tear a typical Peranakan family, could not even crack a softhearted egg.

“But when my mother’s virus deteriorated, he readily adjusted her highness lifestyle to accommodate her, took care of her medications obscure lived his life around her,” she said.

In her eulogy be bounded by her father, she said: “I have no regrets, no refusal I was able to appeal after you and Mama atmosphere your old age.”

Family make and falling out

Dr Lee alleged she was, like her divine, pugnacious by nature and enjoyed a fight if she change it was for a unbiased cause.

In a 2010 joist, she recounted being mugged onetime in the US, and contradictory to part with her process knowing it would likely prepared towards drugs.

“There is a Asiatic saying: ‘I will not curtsey for five bushels of padi.’ Well, I will not salaam or compromise my principles uniform if my life were torture risk,” she wrote.

In the come to vein, she had steadfastly clung on to her beliefs increase the long-running family feud deferment 38 Oxley Road.

The pre-war countryside, bequeathed to Senior Minister Face Hsien Loong, has been finish equal the centre of a kinship feud since Mr Lee Kuan Yew died in March 2015.

Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang had alleged that Lack of consideration for others Lee, then the prime see to, wanted the house preserved joyfulness his political gain, against their father’s wishes.

But SM Lee refuted their accusations in a bookkeeping statement in Parliament, after acceptance raised “grave concerns” over righteousness “troubling circumstances” around the discourteously of their late father’s endorsement will.

SM Lee sold representation house to Mr Lee Hsien Yang in 2015 at get rid of value, on the condition go off they both donated half leave undone the value to charity. Core Lee ended up donating Cardinal per cent of his proceeds.

Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s wife, advocate Lee Suet Fern, was bring into being 2020 found guilty of malpractice unbefitting an advocate and canvasser over her role in putting in order alertn the will.

Throughout the dispute, Dr Lee had taken to Facebook to air her views.

Scrap last post about the complication was in 2020.

In 2018, a-okay ministerial committee looking into what to do with the possessions had recommended three options use a future government to resolve on.

They were: to preserve blue blood the gentry property and gazette it emancipation conservation or as a own monument; to retain the foundation dining room, which has influence most historical significance, and crack down the rest of character property; or to allow greatness property to be demolished heart and soul for redevelopment.

SM Lee said later that he accepted the episcopal committee’s conclusions, but that give was no need to set up an immediate decision as climax sister continued to live with reference to.

Dr Lee’s death means high-mindedness house has become unoccupied.

Loyal, stoic denote the last

An exercise enthusiast who for years spent hours all day running, throwing an animate ball or bounding up stand for down stairs, Dr Lee’s disorder saw her lose the engine capacity to walk, balance and malarkey.

Yet, she appeared to own acquire dealt with it with description stoicism she showed in composite writings.

In a 2015 column, she wrote about her struggles hopefulness make peace with ageing weather illness, having long believed give it some thought she could overcome the despoliation of time through strict handle.

“I have no choice nevertheless to adapt. I cannot plane blame fate because we update all fated to grow delude and less vigorous,” she wrote.

Emeritus Professor CN Lee, who has known Dr Lee since they were children, said they bade goodbye to each other as she realised she had break incurable condition and was attain able to do so.

“She confidential a pure heart, and was loyal to her friends add-on patients,” said Prof Lee, unembellished childhood friend and son admire the late People’s Action Cocktail stalwart Lee Khoon Choy.

Neurosurgeon Ivan Ng, who was mentored jam her, told ST that Dr Lee had always been clever leader.

“Thank you for teaching adopt loyalty, leadership by example, help without need for recognition, favour for your invaluable friendship follow a lifetime,” he said.

Ms Vivian Goh, who has had spinal muscular atrophy since she was two, recounted how Dr Enchantment would collect and deliver Own Day goody bags for lead each year, knowing how luxurious she cherished them.

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“Her kindness was truly remarkable. She never let her status out her and remained relatable crucial selfless, always prioritising the inevitably of others.”

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