Malaysia's richest man Robert Kuok recently published his memoirs tracing his life and achievements.

His highly-engaging account of his storied life so far revealed many interesting perspectives and background to some key historical developments in the region.

It also reflected the unparalleled access he had to many leaders of these regional countries.

Perhaps lesser known among Singaporeans is that 94-year-old Kuok had enjoyed a long-lasting friendship with our founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

When Lee passed away in March 2015, Kuok paid tribute by describing him as "The greatest Chinese outside mainland China".

He also contributed an essay in the book Up Close With Lee Kuan Yew, where he told the story of how they met and kept in touch over the years. The essay also revealed a human side of the no-nonsense Lee in his later years.

Here are some interesting anectodes from Kuok's essay in the book on the man he calls "Kuan Yew".

1. Lee as a college student was more standoffish than warm, but it was not snobbery

Kuok and Lee go all the way back.

He met Lee, who was three weeks older than him, but one year his senior in May 1941 in Raffles College.

He did not know Lee well though he heard that Lee was "brilliant but somewhat aggressive and pugnacious."

"One day a friend suggested that I meet Kuan Yew. I was told never to get into an argument with him because he always had to win. To that I replied, 'Why would I want to meet him then?'

I was eventually introduced to Kuan Yew. He came across as having a very sharp mind and very strong views on every subject that was being discussed. I think even then he had a clear vision of where he was going . I thought he was also slightly disdainful of people unless he thought you were as smart as him or a very interesting person.

I never had any arguments with Kuan Yew. He was more standoffish than warm but you could sense it was not snobbery. It was because the man had something going on in his mind all the time, probably superior to anything going on in your mind. He just felt there was no point mixing unnecessarily or engaging in small talk."

2. They went their separate ways during the war, but their paths crossed again later on

Kuok recounted the days during the Second World War where Lee and him went their separate ways.

Lee was selling second-hand goods such as batteries and retreaded tires in Singapore. It was black-marketing given the tight clamp on all activities by the Japanese Adminstration.

Kuok himself went back to Johore Bahru to take up a job in Mitsubishi Corp, a Japanese company.

But both men's paths crossed again after the war.

"One evening after the end of the war, I was invited by a Medical College student to a garden party thrown by a rich and famous elderly widow, Mrs Lee Choon Guan, and asked to bring my girlfriend, Joyce Cheah. This was at the end of 1945 or very early in 1946, after three and a half years of occupation by the Japanese Armed Forces, and so everything was still in a broken-down state. We were all drinking orange juice, beer, at most. I remember Kuan Yew was there and he saw this pretty girl, Joyce, and came around to meet her. He said hello to her but was more struck by Joyce's beauty and intelligence. I said to myself, "Eh! Eh!" But it was all harmless."

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3. Having chats at the Istana in the late 1960s

For three or four years in the late 1960s, Lee would send for Kuok every few months, to seek his insights into what was going on in Malaysia.

To Kuok, these meetings were "something interesting" that happened during that period, where he had to drive up to Sri Temasek where Lee had his office in the Istana grounds.

"He was very forthright and said, 'I have an embassy but sometimes I still can't get at the heart of the truth.' He would ask questions and I would answer. If I knew the answers and felt they would do no harm to Malaysia, the country of my birth, I would give them. We chatted amiably. I never misguided him. If I felt I could not give him an answer, I told him so."

4. Lee's frugal and health conscious ways

Kuok discovered that Lee was "very frugal as well as health conscious" after having lunch with him one day, and Kuok "certainly respect him for that".

"First, they served soup, not quite four spoons. The soup came with a piece of bread and butter, and I soon realised that the bread was very valuable indeed! After the soup came a small piece of fish; after that, a very thin slice of steak. Everything could be eaten in three mouthfuls. And then, they brought out the coffee and tea. But I thought I just had my starters!"

5. Timing of Singapore's separation from Malaysia was "perfect"

Kuok was one of the first to know about the decision to kick Singapore out of Malaysia.

He remembered being summoned to an early morning golf game with then Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Abdul Razak bin Hussein, who revealed that he was in Singapore to deliver the message of separation to Lee.

"At 4.30pm on Monday, 9 August 1965, Kuan Yew appeared on television and emotionally broke the news to the people of Singapore. It was a very sad and heartbreaking scene.

My reaction that time was that Kuan Yew, through his brilliant mind and oratorical skills, had riled many UMNO Malays, including Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, because in any debate, you could never match Kuan Yew. At that time, I felt he should have been softer or more diplomatic. But now I realise that it was a blessing in disguise. The timing was perfect."

6. Lee on his friendship with Kuok and his "human side"

Lee kept in touch with Kuok after he moved to Hong Kong, often going to his place for dinner. And Lee touched Kuok's heart out of the blue one day in his later years by letting him know how much he valued friendships.

"Kuan Yew and I seldom engaged in super-warm or super-friendly talk. But some time in 2007 or 2008, he said a very funny thing that touched my heart. We were walking down from his hotel to the car to go to dinner. Pauline (Kuok's wife) was with Geok Choo (Lee's wife) in front. He turned to me and said: "Come to think of it, finally, it's only friendship that matters." In other words, everything is gone but the only thing left is friendship. I thought, "My God! I am seeing the human side of him!"

On their last few visits to Hong Kong, Kuan Yew became increasingly warm towards me. He and Geok Choo would stay in our hotel. She was already unwell and, because of her vision problem, we pasted coloured paper on the walls of their room so that she wouldn't bump into them. A few years later, I found myself walking with Kuan Yew to make sure he wouldn't bump into the corridor walls."

Top photo from Getty Images and Photo of Up Close with Lee Kuan Yew book cover

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