Anybody who decides to take me on needs to put on knuckle-dusters. If you think you can hurt me more than I can hurt you, try. There is no way you can govern a Chinese society.

Whoever governs Singapore must have that iron in him. Or give it up. This is not a game of cards.

I was a product of the times, the war, the occupation, the reoccupation, my 4 years in Britain, admiring but at the same time questioning whether they are able to do a better job than we can.

What I fear is complacency. When things always become better, people tend to want more for less work.

As you solve one set of problems, new ones appear. That is part of the nature of life.

To straddle the middle ground and win elections, we have to be in charge of the political agenda. This can only be done by not being beaten in the argument with our critics. They complain that I come down too hard on their arguments. But wrong ideas have to be challenged before they influence public opinion and make for problems. Those who try to be clever at the expense of the government should not complain if my replies are as sharp as their criticisms.

At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life.