This week, news broke about the death of a leader; Lee Kuan Yew succumbed to his illness at the age of 91.

Lee Kuan Yew was born into a wealthy Chinese family that had resided in Singapore since the 19th century. After World War II, Lee studied law at Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge, United Kingdom. In 1950, he was admitted to the English bar, but instead of practicing law there, Lee returned to Singapore to do so. Lee Kuan Yew was the Prime Minster of Singapore from 1959 to 1990, making him the longest-serving Prime Minster in history. During his long rule, Singapore became the most prosperous nation in Southeast Asia.

Born in Singapore on September 16, 1923, Lee Kuan Yew became the longest-serving Prime Minister in world history. Lee rose through the ranks of his country's political system before becoming the first prime minister of Singapore on June 5, 1959. In 1962, Lee led Singapore into a merger with Malaysia, but three years later, Singapore left the union for good. Lee resigned as prime minister in 1990, and his son became prime minister in 2004. Lee died on March 23, 2015.

Lee Kuan Yew oversaw Singapore's independence from Great Britain and separation from Malaysia, and was widely respected as the leader that made Singapore a prosperous state. Lee Kuan Yew was also known for his tight control. Under him, freedom of speech and the press was tightly restricted and political opponents were targeted by the courts.

He was quoted by New York Times, "I'm not saying that everything I did was right, but everything I did was for an honorable purpose."

He made Singapore an economic powerhouse. He did not tolerate corruption. Singapore is one of the world’s success stories and Lee is the man behind this success. Although a lot of critics question his style of leadership, often being seen as autocratic and dictatorial, but no one will question the success of Singapore that he has brought.

Sometimes total democracy might not be ideal in a country like the Philippines, where corruption and the lack of discipline is rampant and out of control. Lee Kuan Yew’s leadership might be what we need in order to move forward. During the time of Marcos “The Dictator”, the Philippines was the strongest nation in our region in terms of economy and security. After Marcos was ousted and democracy was restored in 1986, our economy plummeted to an all time low. I think democracy can work if the people are mature enough to accept it; but until then, a leader with a strong iron fist is needed to move us forward the same way Lee Kuan Yew did with Singapore.