Dr Lee was also a regular contributor to The Sunday Times, and her columns were later compiled into a book, A Hakka Woman’s Singapore Stories: My life as a daughter, doctor and diehard Singaporean.
“Later in her career Dr Lee wrote newspaper columns, where she shared her stoic outlook in life, as well as stories of Mr Lee Kuan Yew,” said Mr Wong.
“Many readers would have come away enriched by her strong convictions and incisive observations.”
Dr Lee’s death was announced by Mr Lee Hsien Yang at 5.50am on Wednesday in a Facebook post. She suffered from progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare brain disease that affects body movements such as walking and swallowing.
A high-achieving student, she was awarded the President’s Scholarship in 1973, alongside Mr George Yeo and Mr Lim Hng Kiang, who would go on to become Cabinet ministers.
Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, who was also in that batch of President’s Scholars, described Dr Lee as a “passionate and dedicated person”, who “put her all into what she did, in particular as a doctor”.
“Over the five decades we’ve known each other, we had a number of deep discussions on the issues which meant much to her, like early childhood education,” he said in a Facebook post.
