لا أظنّني اتخذتُ قراراً واعياً في اختيار مهنتي. فمنذ أيام المدرسة، وبإقناعٍ من والديّ، قرّرتُ أن أُعدّ نفسي لدراسة القانون. ثم جاء الاحتلال الياباني، فعشنا ثلاثة أعوام ونصفاً في ما أسمّيه «جامعة الحياة»، كانت شاقّة وقاسية.

“I don't think I made a conscious decision as a career choice. From my school days I had decided, persuaded by my parents, to prepare myself for the law. Then the Japanese occupation came and we went through three and a half years of what I would call the university of life, it was hard, it was harsh.”Lee Kuan Yew