Come Mar. 23, many will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the passing of Lee Kuan Yew.

As the country's first prime minister, Lee has left an indelible mark on Singapore and Singaporeans.

To mark the occasion, the People's Association organised a commemorative ceremony at Duxton Plain Park today (Mar. 22), where adviser Indranee Rajah, who is also a Cabinet Minister, shared some insights into the man.

Here's what we learned about him.

1. Why he chose to stand in Tanjong Pagar GRC

The short answer: Because of the area's poverty.

In her speech, Indranee said, "At that time [Tanjong Pagar] was one of the poorest places in Singapore."

The area was beset by poor sanitation and overcrowding.

"However, where others saw just a poor area, Mr. Lee saw it as an opportunity to improve and uplift the lives of the people who lived here."

Here's a photo of him meeting with Tanjong Pagar residents in 1965:

Indranee gave two examples of how Lee transformed the area in Tanjong Pagar.

A squatter area was cleared and replaced with Tanjong Pagar Plaza, a "large commercial complex that was groundbreaking for its time", she said.

Lee also helped get better housing for the people of Tanjong Pagar, said Indranee:

"The first two rental blocks for the low-income were built at Cantonment Road...fulfilling an early promise of housing. Nearly five decades later, they were replaced by the soaring Pinnacle@Duxton."

2. He "collected...