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.
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