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IN MEMORIAM
MR LEE SENG GEE
1921 - 2016
It was with deep sadness that the ACS family learned of the passing
of Dr Lee Seng Gee on 10 May 2016 at the age of 95. On behalf of
the ACS family, the ACS Board of Governors, ACS (International)
and ACS (Independent) Boards of Management, the ACS Old
Boys’ Association and the ACS Foundation, ACS pays tribute to
Dr Lee as a loyal Old Boy, gentleman, benefactor, pioneer and
pillar of ACS.
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Every ACSian who stands here today knows of Lee Seng Gee, after
whom one of our school houses is named. But few of us know just
how much of an impact he and his family made on ACS.
Dr Lee was a student at ACS in the 1920s and 30s and the eldest
son of the late Mr Lee Kong Chian, a successful businessman, but
whose most lasting legacy is arguably as a philanthropist. Dr Lee
was synonymous with the Lee Foundation which he was made
Chairman in 1967. Founded in 1952, the Lee Foundation is the
largest private charitable foundation in Singapore.
The Lee family has been one of the ACS family’s biggest and
strongest benefactors, for which ACS must always be grateful.
Generations of ACS students have been blessed, and continue
to be blessed, by the Lee family’s generosity. The Lee Kuo Chuan
Auditorium on the Barker Road site in the 1950s was the first major
gift to the ACS family. The second was the Lee Kong Chian block,
which generations of ACS boys of a certain ‘vintage’ remember
simply as “The Lee Block”. Over the years, Dr Lee and the
Lee Foundation continued to actively support our ACS
schools.
As the Chairman of Lee Rubber and the
Lee Group of Companies, he was
well known for being a discerning
and insightful leader. A man
who could be firm with his
decisions but also humble
in spirit, he is described
Dr Lee Seng Gee
1921-2016
as “An extraordinary
entrepreneur, community
leader and philanthropist
who made unparalleled
c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o
Singapore”. And yet,
he lived simply and
said of himself “Among
the values I treasure,
hard work is clearly one
of them”. The largess
of Dr Lee perseveres
through LSG in our ACS
House system which
is the foundation of a
distinctive tradition that
we know and feel as the
‘ACS Spirit’.
As ONE ACS, we held
a family-wide tribute to the late Dr Lee on 11 May during which
our ACS schools delivered the same devotion of remembrance
followed by a minute of silence. In the devotion, 3 core messages
summarised the indelible mark that Dr Lee leaves behind for the
young men and women of the ACS family.
L - Learning. To learn without ceasing. The Lee Foundation has
donated over S$1 billion to various causes since its inception, 75%
of which have been to education. Dr Lee believed that learning has
the power to make society more equal for everyone.
S - Service. To be open-hearted and serve God country, family
and society. Guided by his unwavering belief that it’s the duty of
the more privileged to help the less fortunate, Dr Lee continued to
give back society.
G - Generosity. To be unselfish with our own blessings. We
too, can do this in our own school by small acts of kindness and
consideration towards our teachers and schoolmates.
The theme verse from Galatians 5:13 that the ACS family chose for
our 130th anniversary says: “Serve one another humbly in love”. The
late Dr Lee Seng Gee embodied this verse by his life-long service
to Singapore and to ACS.
In the afternoon of 11 May, the Chairman of the ACS Board of
Governors, Mr Richard Seow, led an ACS contingent consisting
principals and representatives from our 6 ACS units in Singapore
and members of the ACS Board of Governors, the ACS Old Boys’
Association and the ACS Foundation to pay our last respects to
Dr Lee. Upon his family’s request, the ACS Anthem was sung as
a final tribute to a man who always held a special place in his
heart for ACS.
We as ACSians know that we have been blessed with a unique
education rich with history and tradition. Our benefactors like Dr
Lee, ACS alumni and supporters have rallied around us in our times
of need. So even as we look back at the contributions of giants
before us, we must also look forward to ensure that the ACS culture
of sharing our blessings with the future generations endures.
Only then, can ACS be assured that ‘The Best Is Yet To Be’.
The Anglo-Chinese Schools Foundation |
The ACS Family pays tribute to
Dr Lee Seng Gee
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The ACS family
pays tribute to Dr Lee Seng Gee
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