MM Lee receives successful treatment for abnormal heart rhythm at SGH

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew was warded for an abnormal heart rhythm at the Singapore General Hospital yesterday.

But despite being hospitalised, he managed to keep his date with the Global UBS Philanthropy Forum last night, addressing the 200 participants at the Arts House via video link.

In his five-minute speech, he stressed the importance of successful individuals giving back to society, to ensure that a widening income gap does not lead to a society losing cohesiveness.

He began by apologising to the audience of social entrepreneurs and civil society representatives for not being able to be with them in person.

'Unlike Kim Jong Il who says he is well but has not appeared, I thought I'd better say hello to you and to your guests and apologise for not being able to join you,' Mr Lee quipped, referring to the reclusive North Korean leader who missed the country's 60th anniversary celebrations last week, reportedly because he had a stroke.

A statement from his office said Mr Lee experienced atrial flutter yesterday morning, an abnormal heart rhythm not uncommon among people of his age. He turns 85 on Tuesday.

Speaking from his hospital room, he told the forum: 'They have put it right, but they want to keep on monitoring me tonight to make sure it stays right.'

On the issue of philanthropy, he noted that this was one of the keys to the health of American society. Many successful entrepreneurs there, for example, Bill and Melinda Gates, and investor Warren Buffett, use their wealth to give the poor a leg up.

Mr Lee cited a recent meeting he had with New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, during which he asked the billionaire what he planned to do with his wealth.

'He said, 'My children will not need it. I am giving them just enough to get them started, the rest is going to charity'.'

'Asia must go that way if we are to keep our societies in one piece,' said Mr Lee.

This is because in today's globalised marketplace, the income gap is widening and it could take 10 to 20 years before the less successful catch up.

During that period, 'unless the successful show that they have compassion, sympathy, empathy for the less successful, it will be difficult to keep the cohesiveness of society together'.

This is especially so for big countries like China and India, where rapid economic development has widened the gap between the haves and have-nots.

The philanthropy rate in Singapore, measured as a proportion of gross domestic product, is only a fraction that of the United States', noted Mr Lee, adding that the government is trying to increase it for instance by giving donations double tax deductions.

'If we don't have the successful showing that they care for the welfare of the unsuccessful, it is difficult to keep the Singapore team together,' he said.

MM Lee is expected to resume his normal schedule within the next few days, said the Prime Minister's Office.