He would've certainly preferred to, but certainly had no capability to become one, nor capacity to act as one if he would've ever been elected as one.
It is said he had hard time not showing his jubilation when he heard of Malays effectively giving him his own state on a golden platter, and an opportunity to write his name into history books — more than what a man like him could've ever dreamt of.
Lee may have been more a tall man in a sea of pygmies than a giant among men but the idea he was anything less than very successful as a politician and statesman is... odd.
For 3 decades, Sing was a nothing special, "socialism-lite" place with slow life and panelbaus, of which locals thought of as their biggest achievement.
> could never have become PM of Malaysia
Yes, because British schooled, high mannered, and high flying, if not snobbish, Lee would've never made a rapport with a typical Malaysian national (emphasis: not ethnic Malays per se). Even Malaysian Chinese at that point looked at him as if he was a some kind of space alien.
Second, Singapore was already better off at the starting point in relation to rural Malaysia.
He would've had to do way more things than just building panelbaus and sitting still for 3 decades. He wouldn't have survived his first term if he were to exercise his "vision" of nation building as a Malaysian premier.
If you think that a measure of worth for an Asian leader is just his ability to not to ruin his own country, and being able to build some social housing, that feels to me rather demeaning.
Once you’re independent you’ve won, there’s no harm and a great deal of benefit in keeping relations with the former colonial power good.
What you said about Yew during the expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia is at best completely irrelevant. The Malays wanted Singapore out so they could run Malaysia for the benefit of the Malays and the vote for expelling Singapore was 126-0 with Singaporean delegates not present. Also, let’s be frank, Lee Kuan Yew would have preferred to be PM of an undivided Malaysia than a city-state.
Lee’s record on inter ethnic unity is actually pretty great. The quota system in allocation of public housing and in politics means Singapore has Indian and Malay parliamentarians in proportion with their population.