what do you think of lee kuan yew?

ive been doing more and more research into singapore and how it has developed into one of the only modern city states (an extremely prosperous one at that), and i cant help but have an appreciation for LKY

on one hand, the man was an ardent statist through and through, being quoted as being proud to have fostered a “nanny state”, and wielded extreme power as PM of singapore. not to mention setting the foundation for its modern day economy, which while robust is also extremely interventionist

on the other hand, the man brought singapore up from a third world backwater country in 1959 and transformed it into a modern first world country by the time he stepped down as PM in 1990. he built an efficient and corruption free government, fostered a peaceful multicultural society that still maintained native identity/traditions, stamped out leftist opposition that could have killed the country had he allowed it to take over, and was generally a very well respected statesman by all groups across singapore, even after his death

thoughts?