Just this past week, a friend of mine sent me a report from The Economist of a study of OECD countries: “One of the reasons people try to get ahead is to boost their children’s chances in life. And indeed the children of the well-off and well-educated earn more and learn more than their less fortunate peers….”

My friend commented: “Whether you believe in nature or nurture, most apples do not fall too far from the tree. We (in Singapore) provide everyone with equal opportunities – in fact, more help is given to those from the lower end – but we cannot expect equal outcomes.”

I replied: “Yes, we all have different weaknesses and strengths. We are all also fellow travellers in transit in this present time and country. Here and now is the only certainty you and I know. That applies as much to Singapore’s billionaires as it does to the cleaning lady in my office.

“The ideal that Singaporeans should strive for is a society where all are treated equally. Being treated equally does not mean being paid the same. But in our personal interactions with one another, unless we know or strongly suspect the other person is a bad person, we should try to treat everyone with the same degree of consideration. I use the word ‘consideration’ rather than ‘courtesy’ because I find ‘courtesy’ a somewhat phoney thing. I may or may not do you good or harm, but I can still treat you courteously.”

In the fourth century, a great Chinese writer Tao Yuan Ming – who unlike most Chinese scholars, wanted no official position and preferred the seclusion of a farming life – was forced to take up a minor official position because he could not feed his family by farming. Less than 80 days after he took up his position, a higher ranking official visited him. Warned to be courteous to the higher official or he would get into trouble, Tao declared: “I will not bow for five bushels of padi.”

Perhaps five bushels of padi was his annual remuneration. My close circle of friends understands when I say: “I won’t bow for five kilograms of gold.” It means I will not waver from my principles no matter what the cost.

A humorous aspect of being “LKY’s daughter” is that not infrequently, various people ask to meet me though they have nothing specific to discuss with me. My mother used to say wryly of such people: “If they cannot see the Panda, the Panda’s daughter may be an acceptable substitute.”

Perhaps wanting to meet the Panda’s daughter is a reflection of the awe with which many view my father. That is a compliment to him, not a merit I won myself.

Regardless of how people perceive the “Panda’s daughter”, I will continue to do what is right and just, until I’m physically unable to do so anymore.

The writer is director of the National Neuroscience Institute.

Part 1 << Part 2 <<

This article was first published in The Sunday Times.