Changing of the guard in Singapore
(CNN) -- In a final speech to the nation, Singapore's outgoing Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong declared his "chapter closed."
After 14 years as leader he leaves office this week with his own political legacy.
Goh, now 63, steered Singapore through the Asian Economic collapse of 1997, managed the SARS outbreak, modernized industry and reached out economically to his neighbors and politically to the West -- aligning his country with the United States during the war on terror.
He came to power under a shadow unlike any other, handed the reigns from Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew in 1990.
The new prime minister was predicted to depart soon after he arrived, viewed simply a seat-holder for Lee's son, Lee Hsien Loong.
Fourteen years on, the 52-year-old younger Lee is taking over, in a move that has fueled skepticism of a Singapore power dynasty well intact.
While he has his challenges, such as competing economically with China and turning around a low birth rate, they appear less intimating than the situation initially presented to Lee's father.
The elder Lee is credited with being the architect of modern day Singapore.
After its 1965 independence from the Malaysian federation, he took a Singapore pulled apart by race riots in the 60's and turned it into a virtually first world city-state 30 years later.
But he also created a Singapore bound by stringent laws and regulations, which dictated most, if not all, aspects of society including press and political freedoms, censorship and even the selling of chewing gum.
Fear and respect
The mantra of his predecessor was to create a kinder, gentler Singapore. Yet his style of governance suggested something else.
In an interview with CNN earlier this year, Goh defined his style.
"You must gain respect, in some instances you have to be feared to get your politics through. So there must be a combination of fear, respect, and of course if you can, popularity," he said.
And so noticeably absent in Goh's legacy is substantive change towards a more open society.
It remains a state with virtually no political freedom and significant constraints on its people.
"I don't think that he initiated any particular new style of operation. He certainly didn't initiate any moves towards greater freedom," says political science professor Giles Ungpakorn from Chulalongkorn University.
Though he is bidding farewell to his office, Goh will not be leetting go of his influence.
He will join his successor's cabinet as a senior minister with the stated goal of remaining relevant on the international stage.
Also part of the cabinet is the 81-year-old elder Lee. Both moves are seen as part of Singapore's tradition of cultivating an orderly transfer of power in a region known for its political turmoil.
And while the lack of civil liberties remains a criticism of Singapore and Goh, for a number of citizens here, the benefits of a more secure, more prosperous society still outweigh the costs.
CNN Correspondent Aneesh Raman contributed to this report.
