I refer to the letter Extravagance and Mrs Lee Kuan Yew .

I find the criticisms by 'Ex-Singaporean' regarding the 'extravagance' of Mrs Lee Kuan Yew totally unfair and without merit. First and foremost, the writer fails to appreciate what this great man has done for this small nation state, the neighbours call the 'red dot'.

His transformation of this small nation bereft of any natural resources to what it is today is an economic miracle no modern day country can ever emulate. I say this with envy because as a Malaysian, I have had the fortune to live under four past prime ministers and also the present one. Sad to say, none of them can ever measure up to this great Singapore icon.

The writer begrudged the Singapore premier for chartering a Boeing 747 to fly his ailing wife from London after medical treatment calling it extravagance. The charter perhaps cost RM5 million but does the writer know how much it costs to buy a plane?

The one bought by our prime minister cost about RM210 million and that does not include expenditure on maintenance and the stand-by crew. From this comparison alone we can see the cost-saving done by Lee in his one-off expenditure to charter the flight to London.

No Singaporean in his right mind would begrudge such a luxury to this great man who has taken Singapore from obscurity to a prosperous First World nation. As a Malaysian, I have never ceased to admire this great man and it would be a dream for me to shake his hand and seek his autograph for my copy of his book, Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew .