Consider his remarks last week that Indonesian president Suharto should not have been treated as if he was a crook and that his trial was a "red herring".

But to some observers, Mr Lee, one of Asia's most remarkable and highly regarded leaders, who turned 77 on September 16, appears to have become more expansive over the years, and less aggressive towards people with whom he disagrees.

He is remembered by journalists for his closure of newspapers in Singapore when he was prime minister and his fierce criticism of foreign media. His relations with the press have been prickly at best.

However, at a recent press conference in Kuala Lumpur with reporters from Malaysian newspapers and Western media, he was relaxed, smiling and charming as he gave forthright answers on a range of issues, including the sensitive areas of race and Singapore's relations with Malaysia.

The atmosphere was almost cosy in contrast to the edgy climate that his coiled-spring demeanor engendered in meetings with journalists two or three decades ago.

His candid remarks about events surrounding the sacking, arrest and trials of the jailed Malaysian former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, led some journalists to conclude that he was criticising the Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Mr Lee issued a statement to correct this misinterpretation of his comments, which were in essence an expression of his concern over the Anwar affair's impact on Malaysia.

Analysts saw additional signs of a more benign Mr Lee in his disclosure to the Straits Times that he had sent the draft chapters on Malaysia and Indonesia in the second volume of his memoirs to all senior Singapore diplomats who had served in the two countries. He said their responses helped him rephrase several passages and also make his language "moderate and measured".

The first volume, published in 1998, sparked angry protests over his account of events leading up to Singapore's separation from Malaysia in 1965. Two days after its launch, Malaysia banned the Singapore air force from flying over its territory.

The language may be moderate, but Mr Lee details Singapore's decision to seek help from Israel - a pariah nation in the eyes of Malaysia's Muslim leaders - in building a military capability because of his fear of a Malaysian attempt to overthrow his government. No punches pulled here.

"What I write must stand the test of time," he told the Straits Times. "I was not writing an article where I could gloss over or avoid difficult issues."

Mr Lee has never avoided difficult issues, either when he was a young lawyer in combative mode against the British colonial rulers or in his determination as prime minister from 1959 to 1990 to keep his People's Action Party in power and realise his vision of a stable, self-sufficient and prosperous Singapore. Today, his headline-catching pronouncements underline how much he is identified with Singapore and it with him. It is sometimes easy to forget that Goh Chok Tong is Prime Minister and Mr Lee in his cabinet as Senior Minister.