250,000 pay final respects to Lee
Print Edition
TENS of thousands of Singaporeans yesterday braved waits of up to 10 hours outside parliament to pay their last respects to founding leader Lee Kuan Yew, despite appeals from overwhelmed officials to honor him elsewhere.
The city-state seemed unprepared for the scale of the outpouring of grief since its 91-year-old first prime minister died on Monday.
“Members of the public are strongly advised not to join the queue at the Padang,” said a government advisory which urged mourners to go instead to 18 community sites to pay homage to Lee.
The queue outside parliament starts at the Padang — a large grassy field used for parades and concerts.
Mourners are being given only a few seconds to file past the former leader’s brown wooden casket draped with the red-and-white Singapore flag in the parliament lobby.
More than 250,000 people had paid their respects as of mid-afternoon yesterday, according to an official count, up from about 150,000 at midnight on Thursday.
“I am deeply moved by the overwhelming response,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Facebook.
A video feed of the mourners viewing the casket inside the parliament’s lobby has been put up on YouTube, he said.
Lee has been lying in state since Wednesday and the public has until 8pm today to pay their respects.
“The government can advise us not to queue all they want, and I understand this puts a strain on resources, but that’s not going to stop us,” said mourner Pek Tee Ann, 51.
The turnout is massive by Singapore standards but the crowd was disciplined and morale appeared to be high.
“I feel the Singapore spirit around me, people are courteous and everyone is here for a common purpose,” said 17-year-old student Shruti Ram.
The city-state has a population of 5.5 million but only 3.3 million are citizens.
Among yesterday’s visitors were Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, and former Indonesian presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Tents were set up to shield mourners from the scorching sun while volunteers handed out bottled water and sugared drinks.
Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan said on Thursday that the outpouring of emotion had “exceeded our expectations,” the Straits Times reported.
“We are afraid we will not be able to fulfil the wishes of Singaporeans. But we will do our best,” he said.
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