I have never been over concerned or obsessed with opinion polls or popularity polls. I think a leader who is, is a weak leader. Between being loved and being feared, I have always believed Machiavelli was right. If nobody is afraid of me, I’m meaningless.

— Lee Kuan Yew The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew (1998)

More quotes by Lee Kuan Yew

Lew Kuan Yew answers people in India during the South Asian Diaspora Convention (2011)

On how Singapore does not need multiparty politics (1975)

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Lee Kuan Yew (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.