Tag Archives: spontaneous outpouring of grief & gratitude

A Nation Bids Teary Farewell To Mr Lee Kuan Yew on 29Mar2015

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farewell LKY

always Singapore first

i am truly glad that i went to parliament house with a good friend in the wee hours of 26.3.2015 to pay respects to Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

i am very proud to be a singaporean, to witness & be part of the spontaneous outpouring of grief & gratitude for such a great man who devoted his entire life to singapore, to us.

i am very happy that i teared & wept many times over the week of mourning like many singaporeans who also found love & gratitude in their hearts & poured out their feelings unreservedly.

farewell LKY2 farewell LKY3 farewell LKY4

i am inspired, comforted & felt bonded with the exemplary, caring & earnest from the heart behaviour of singaporeans united in grief, gratitude & respect for Mr Lee, captured so well by yvonne ng, an ordinary singaporean (only with Facebook access) –

(quote) Mostly, we are impressed beyond words, by our fellow countrymen who came and bond together, and the unspoken heroes who provided drinks, cakes, bread, flowers and more along the queues. We are amazed by the quiet queues that just kept forming, and the quiet resilience displayed through a simple action like this. We are impressed by the seemingly seamless arrangements made by the authorities, and the amount of work and sleepless nights for those on duty. 

We are touched by the love, care, respect and the wonderful “Singapore Spirit” displayed by Singaporeans, in this difficult time. A spirit we never really knew existed until now.

We did not practise this, nor did we choreograph this. It is just so simply…Singapore.

We have always been searching and asking about the Singaporean identity. This is it. 

Fifty years ago, a man brought us together as one united people. 
Fifty years later, he brought us together again, and we stand united as a nation.

This is Singapore. 
This is Home.
And I am so proud of being a part of it. (unquote)

as yvonne (who i do not know) famously described, this is the last contribution by Mr Lee to Singapore. even in death, he has united the whole nation & helped us unlock the deep feelings, purpose & resolve for the country.

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this morning, my wife, my daughter & i were at the clementi community tribute site & i managed to pay my last respects to Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Rest in Peace Mr Lee. as PM Lee Hsien Loong said, you were the guiding light for the nation, and your values & ethos will continue to inspire us & be our guiding light.

c.h.e.f andy

Outpouring of Grief & Gratitude for Beloved Mr Lee Kuan Yew

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last night, i went with a good friend & started queueing for almost 2hrs from 2.35am to 4.30am to pay respects to our beloved first prime minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

i shared this on my Facebook-

Standing in queue at padang at 2.46am… about 2hr queue?

Really proud of my fellow Singaporeans standing in queue to pay respects. That so many understand gratitude & respect. .

Thank you Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

You cared so much for us. Did so much for us. devoted your entire life to Singapore.

It is so very sad that such a great & wonderful person like you is no more..

rest in peace SIR!

my feelings were no different with so many singaporeans from all walks of life who said that waiting in line for  whatever number of hours was the least they could do for Mr Lee who had given his entire life to singapore & made our lives immeasurably better!

my friend & i were really happy that we came to be part of this spontaneous outpouring of grief & gratitude for mr lee.

there were endless accolades from world leaders. i liked the tribute by henry kissinger especially.

both the new zealand parliament & australian parliament passed tribute motions & had many tribute speeches by leader of various parties.

singapore also had a special session of parliament with many moving tributes from minsters, PAP MPs, mr low thia khiang, leader of the opposition workers party, and NMPs. i was very moved that sylvia lim chairman of workers’ party (and like everyone else) were in tears.

genuine emotions are to be treasured. i never thought i would tear myself. but listening to the speeches & tributes, and what ordinary singaporeans said & the open display of emotions, i am very happy that i cried just like anyone else.

today i watched the rappler interview with cherian george, a singaporean writer and academic based in hong kong, to assess Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy and to take a peek at what’s ahead for singapore. he was just so good!

c.h.e.f andy