As I read the book, I become more certain that my contemporaries are getting out of touch with the state of our society in the past. Our young people are now less conscious of social divisions among ourselves, and class stratification has become obscure.

In some ways, it's natural that our society's become more homogenous, but it was from reading the book that I realised how different we were not too long ago. We have changed so much in so short a time; take so much for granted.

Someone asked me recently whether my point of view is representative of a young Singaporean with a bilingual education. I was surprised. I could not think what parts of my background or perspective could have differed from young people of a different upbringing.

Until I was asked, I had not wondered if there might be a difference in perspective between me, a bilingual young Singaporean Chinese, and the English-speaking. I was struck by Mr Lee's thought that he had somehow let down the Chinese in Malaysia; that he felt sorry because the PAP could not give them a chance to improve their status when Singapore became independent.

Did I identify with the Chinese-educated people who supported the communist struggle? No. The fact is that we do have a good life here, which everyone agrees is many times better than it would have been if the communists had succeeded! But those were uncertain times, and many people thought communism could bring them the life they want. Mr Lee too was unsure. One thing which struck me was: not everything was planned, that it was a continuous effort, not a moment, that built Singapore.

It's interesting that Mr Lee concludes with a straight-forward map showing Singapore vastly outsized by its neighbours. I can't help wondering if Singapore is everyone's friend only because we can't afford to be anybody's enemy."