The answer was .
By: A Singaporean Learner
While there is no single, official government document solely titled "My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore's Bilingual Journey" , this phrase captures the essence of a collective national story. It is a story told in speeches by our late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, in MOE (Ministry of Education) white papers, and in the hearts of every student who ever stared at a Chinese composition paper with blank dread, or a Malay kefahaman section with quiet frustration.
The late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew himself admitted in his book, "My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore’s Bilingual Journey" (published in 2011 by Straits Times Press), that he struggled with Chinese. He lamented that he did not learn the language properly as a child. If the architect of modern Singapore found it a "lifelong challenge," what hope was there for the rest of us?
Go find the PDF. Read Chapter 7 where Lee Kuan Yew describes failing his Chinese oral exam. Read the footnote where he admits he still dreams in English but counts money in Chinese. And then close the file.
Permission to be a working adult who still confuses tiga (three) with telur (egg). Permission to be a parent whose child speaks "broken Mandarin." Permission to be a student who hates composition day.
