Farewell Our Founding Father, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew

I marked 29 March 2015 on my white board as an important date to note. It was a Sunday. It was not any ordinary day. It was the day where we, as Singaporeans give our last farewell to our first Prime Minister of Singapore. He was also our founding father of Singapore. Without his leadership, I believe we will still be living in swampy areas with poor facilities in a third world environment.

I have already agreed to meet John at our nearby Braddell MRT. The time was 10.30 am. I know that it may be a bit late to start off towards the City Hall Building where the cortege passes by. With 21 gun salute, a fly-pass of RSAF Black Knight over the City Hall building and Naval ships pass-by salute at the mouth of the Singapore River, it would be the most memorable sight to witness in this relatively short history of Singapore ( This year, we will be celebrating our 50 years of nation building, SG50). To our disappointment, large crowd were already waiting along the road sides just outside the City Hall building. It was impossible to squeeze ourselves in to have a good view of the passing cortege.

Policemen were everywhere to ensure safety and security of the event. The next thing best location to shoot the cortege coming out of the Parliament House was at High Street  Centre building. Most die-hard landscape photographers would have experience photographing the Parliament House with the Singapore River skyline at the carpark in this blue building. But today, it was not just any ordinary day which I have mentioned earlier. People from all walks of life came to pay their last respect to Mr. Lee Kuan Yew.

We finally manage to secure a good location in the building. It was directly facing the Parliament House. The rain came. We were glad that we were in a sheltered part of the building. There were many photographers in this location. We waited patiently for the cortege to come out of the Parliament. Those waiting along the road side, were all drenched. As what Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s son, our current Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong said. The sky open and cry for Mr. Lee Kuan Yew.  It was a heavy downpour. When the cortege came out, somehow, I felt a moment of sadness. What Mr. Lee Kuan Yew had done for Singapore was just overwhelming. For the past 7 days, we have been getting a lot of videos about Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. We did not know he had done so many things to ensure the survival of Singapore. It was Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore had a very good reputation among the world community. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew was Singapore. The name and the country were interlinked with each other.

As the cortege passed the gate of the Parliament House, you can hear people shouting “Lee Kuan Yew” in full support of his contribution to Singapore. This was the time, when my tears started to roll down my cheeks. I could hear others crying. Some of the Singaporeans salute to the passing cortege. Mr. Lee’s family members were following behind the cortege. The guards of honours comprised of the Police Force, Navy, Army, marched in front of the cortege. It was a final farewell for Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, our founding father, Prime Minister, Senior Minister, Minister Mentor of Singapore. He was the longest serving member of the Singapore Parliament.

His passing marked the end of an era in the Singapore history. 

Rest in Peace, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. 

We will already remember you.