These include the SARS and the Asian financial crisis.

The Minister Mentor was speaking at the first of a series of talks known as Pioneers, Inside Stories.

The seminar series is a platform to share stories and insights on the development of Singapore.

It will be conducted every two months at The Arts House.

The seminar will also see first generation pioneers such as former Cabinet Minister, Suppiah Dhanabalan and ex-Economic Development Board Chairman, Ngiam Tong Dow, talking about the future of Singapore.

The event is organised by the EDB Society and the Straits Times.

Mr Lee told some 200 people, including academics and CEOs, that the present team is as good as you can get.

But the first team had to face a very unusual set of circumstances brought about by the break-up of the British Empire.

He said: "Japanese troops had come in, three and a half years (of) brutality and hardships, return of British with officers unfamiliar with situation and civil servants went back to recuperate from being POWS.

"Our generation was forged in the crucible of struggle. (There is a) vast difference between a solder who has been trained in combat and simulated exercises on the computer and an actual combat brigade who has seen a lot of horror and seen what it is all about. So you cannot just recreate set of circumstances - we were not selected, we were thrown up by the vagaries of fate." - CNA/ch

    
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