Interview with Maneth Pathirana on his biography "Singapooruwe Lee Kuan Yew" by Uzma Khan

The ELA sat down with Maneth Pathirana of batch 147 to talk about his biography ‘’Singapooruwe Lee Kuan Yew.’’ Below are some excerpts from the interview.

1) What motivated you to write about the life of Lee Kuan Yew?

Ever since my schooldays I’ve been inspired by Lee Kuan Yew's quotes and his vision to build a country like Singapore. This book is my humble attempt to spread awareness among people about his vision and remarkable leadership. 

2) Through your book what is the message/s you are trying to give your readers? 

Leadership that aims to impact positive change in a country should be a visionary leadership, not a popular one. Becoming a leader is a gradual, incremental process and doesn't happen overnight. I also wish to impress upon my readers that the Singaporean model may not be implementable in Sri Lanka given that we are vastly different in many aspects, but nevertheless there are many lessons that we can learn from it.

3) Is there anything that caught you by surprise while writing the book? 

I was surprised to find out that certain things we believe Lee Kuan Yew said/did were not actually true. One such example is Lee Kuan Yew in one of his visits to Sri Lanka saying that he wishes to build Singapore like Sri Lanka.

4) What is your best memory about writing the book? 

The first draft of my book was rejected by my mother. My mom said the language I had used was complex and that it would be difficult for readers to understand. I took my mom’s advice and have used simple language that could be understood by readers of all ages. 

5) Any advice for those who aspire to write biographies?

If you intend to write a biography, you should first and foremost study the person you are writing on thoroughly and look at his life through different perspectives without limiting yourself to just one point of view. For this it is crucial that you acquaint yourself with as many resources as possible because if not you will be missing out on a lot of valuable lessons you can learn from his/her life. 

On a closing note, Maneth says he wishes to invite everyone to read his book and welcomes opinions, suggestions and criticisms most warmly.