2.40pm
it was around 7am in the morning on the 23rd of march that i heard the sad news of the passing of a great leader of asia, founding father of singapore, mr lee kuan yew or also known as lky by many. how i felt? well, sad of course. although i may not be a citizen of this country, i have been a resident here for almost a decade (come next year).
but anyway, it was so disheartening to hear this kind of news so early in the morning. mr lee kuan yew passed away at around 3.18am. he was not well and was admitted to the singapore general hospital sometime in february this year and apparently died due to severe pneumonia most likely. (but please do not quote me on this ok! you guys can go google more about it).
over the years i have heard alot about this man. i heard that he ruled singapore with an iron fist. a very strong resilient man. i have also heard from some singaporeans complaining about the government etc but you know what, they dont know how good they've got it. sometimes i guess people are never satisfied with what they've got until its gone. like from where i come from, its a bit "chaotic". instead of moving with the times, i guess they want to take 2 steps back. you get the picture. i dont know, but its the way these "people" think, with different ideas, ideology, background...too complicated.
but mr lee was a visionary, a great leader, a pragmatic person. you know there's very few people whom i admire in my life (for the record one my mother is one of them) and mr lee is on my list. why do i admire him? ok..in a nutshell, this should speak in volumes as to why i admire this man. look at singapore then and now. basically they had nothing to start off with and look at singapore today, from 3rd world to a 1st class city, not to mention one of the most expensive cities to live in! how can you beat that huh? to be able to turn things around in about 40 over years its bloody amazing, admirable even. it took alot of guts and gumption, not to mention with his strong team backing him up every step of the way. thats why i say BRAVO and KUDOS to this gentle giant. (and honestly, he reminds me of my grandfather).
you know, i hate it when people (who clearly are jealous) just shoot crap out of their mouths by saying - oh singapore is such a small country, easy to control and do things bla bla bla - hey, excuse me, you think it was an easy feat? if you were in his shoes, could you have done it better?? its always so easy for people to just rattle off their mouths, not knowing what goes in internally, with the hardship, the stress, mental torture, sleepless nights etc... just to put this small tiny dot of a country on the world map. if you guys dont believe me, just read up on singapore's history. google it.
oh and by the way, i have a thought. if a country is too big and too hard to control, why not start on a small scale? start with a city and see how that progresses. gotta have the never say die attitude, dont knock it till you've tried it, who knows it may just work. dont just shoot down the idea. dont you know that everything begins with a first step, which is always the hardest. then once all the kinks and problems has been ironed out, things can run smoothly like clockwork. well thats my idea.
i believe and know that mr lee kuan yew has done his best with his given abilities and know-how, the then and now decisions made, too were made at that point in time, with no regrets. he is a man who is steadfast, trustworthy, reliable, fair, just, loyal, courageous, dedicated (leader, husband and father), has a remarkable foresight, whose humble, pragmatic, clear about what has/needed to be done,intellectually honest, no nonsense kinda guy and his never ending or should i say relentless pursuit of singapore's development/betterment. he also believes in integrity, transparency, credibility, corruption-free and no discrimination in his government/country. so to me, that is a recipe for a great leader not to mention a great country.
ooh i just remembered a saying that goes something like this - a stable home creates a stable family (or was it vice versa..whatever). so if a country is not stable, how can the government/citizens be? and if thats the case, how does a country even prosper and be successful like singapore, for instance?
i think that first and foremost, you've got to set in place a transparent government, with a no nonsense attitude, dont do any favors for anybody (so that you "owe" them later) but instead be self reliant..., etc. once the "foundation" has been laid is strong, only then would your fellow countrymen look up to you and give you due respect. just like what i've been seeing with my own eyes at these tribute areas. i saw some people crying or drying their tears and some paying their last respects to mr lee. i can see that they all loved him very much, despite all their grumbling and complaints over the years about the government. its funny but having said that, the citizens still cant help but feel a sense of great loss of such a great and wonderful leader, the founding father of this small and new nation, whose about to celebrate their 50th independence on the 9th of august.
ok enough talk. im getting sad again. i've included some photos that i managed to take today.
i took these at the singapore general hospital, block 7. there were lots of get well and condolence messages, balloons, prayer stuff, flowers, soft toys, etc all put by fellow singaporeans (and others). as you can see, its very organized, neat and tidy. that's how singapore is. i paid my respects, said a prayer before heading off for my appointment which co-incidentally was at the same hospital but at a different block.
now this picture above was at bedok town centre, one of the designated tribute sites. so, on my way back home after my appointment at hospital, i decided to stop by the tribute centre ( which wasnt too far from my neighborhood), to pay my last respects and to write my tribute to the late mr lee kuan yew. now, all over singapore, tribute centres were being set up so that the public can go to there or to their nearest community centres, libraries and designated areas to pay their last respects to mr lee . blank page books were put out for the people to write whatever they wanted. it was all done in an orderly fashion and people just follow whatever that was being told to them by the helpers at these sites. although there was a long queue, nobody complained whilst they were waiting which could take a pretty long time. it was quite solemn atmosphere. again i could see some elderly ladies shedding tears or blowing their nose (not too sure if its to do with the situation or they were just having a cold...)but whatever.
there were 2 different queues, one line for writing tributes and the other to go up on stage and pay your final respect to mr lee. all done perfectly without much hiccups. in some ways, im a bit OCD and i like things arranged neatly and it goes without saying in this kind of situation, everything was done very tastefully and not in disarray.
above picture is the stage to go up and give your final respect/bow or say a quick prayer. documentary on mr lee kuan yew being played (on loop) on a huge projector screen so that the public and sit and watch.
last but not least posters of a very brief history of what mr lee kuan yew did for singapore thruout 60 over years. you know this past whole week, i've been glued to the tv watching documentaries of the history of singapore, old news, archives as well as current news on the founding father and also interviews given from family members and ministers (old and new) or those that knew this great man.
before i end, i would like to thank mr lee for all that he's done for singapore, past and present. without his hardwork, unwaivering dedication and deep deep love for the country (perhaps even to a point of obsession), it wouldnt be where it is today. a bustling growing metropolis filled with people from all walks of life, a country that is rich in culture, heritage and whereby every citizen is treated as an equal, without discrimination. if im not mistaken, he once did say something along the lines of "...its not my country, its our country..." now those are wise words coming from a true leader! sad to say, not many leaders are or can be like him because he is FOR his country not FOR himself.
actually there's alot more that i would like to say but i wont go there. you guys get the gist of what im trying to imply in here. if you dont get it, just too bad then.
now i would like to end with a few quotes from the man himself -
" i have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. there's nothing more that i need to do. at the end of the day, what have i got? a successful singapore. what have i given up? my life!"
on his life's work
"i have never been over-concerned or obsessed with opinion polls or popularity polls. i think a leader who is, is a weak leader!"
"what are the things important to me in life? my family and my country. singapore is my concern till the end of my life!"
"...even as you lower me into my grave and if i feel that something is wrong, i will get up!"
AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES A GREAT MAN AND A GREAT LEADER! I SALUTE YOU MR LEE AND YOUR TEAM! (if only some countries could follow in your footsteps...but that's just wishful thinking on my part). you ARE singapore and singapore WILL survive! you turned an impossible dream into reality! follow the rainbow, go ride it, sir! may you rest in peace and may your enduring legacy be continued on for a very long time. you may have left this world but you are definitely not forgotten.
ttfn
4.19pm
p/s if any of you would like to write your tribute, you can check out
www.rememberingleekuanyew.sg or you can go to facebook too (rememberingleekuanyew)
and here are some video clips for you to watch on this great man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loWRruq3B74
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8rPofi-AUw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVDE0KPMaeY
updated today at 9.47am on 25 march 2015
live telecast of mr lee kuan yew's body (inside the casket) being placed inside a glass box and being taken on a ceremonial gun carriage. he will be ferried to the parliament house where he will be lying in state (till saturday at 8pm), so that the general public can pay their last respects to him,( which will be opened for 24 hours due to overwhelming response) and then on sunday, mr lee's body will be taken for a private cremation at mandai crematorium.
updated today at 4.03pm 26/3/2015
i took a little trip down to the istana (palace)/sri temasek (official residence of the late mr lee kuan yew and family) to pay my last respects to him at his home for the last time and wrote my tribute to him. well, its the little that i can do for this great man. photo 1 is just outside of the istana, with a few guards on duty. it was pretty quiet there and no crowd at all as most of them were at the padang, where the queue starts in order to get into the parliament house where mr lee's body is lying in state.
scene at the padang around 10ish this morning when i was on my way to the istana. there were tents set up i think, as makeshift canopies to sheild people from the scorching hot sun during the day, there were barriers set up and not to mention road closures to some roads leading to the parliament house area. there were heaps of people around! lucky thing all of this was properly organized and in an orderly fashion. kudos!
29/3/2015 5.15pm
last update from me on this very sad topic. finally today its over. as im typing this, the late mr lee kuan yew's body will be taken to the mandai crematorium. i was glued to my tv from 12.30pm till 4.45pm. i took 2 photos from the tv to show you guys.
21 gun salute for founding father. it was raining heavily yet that did not deter the people from standing in line and waiting to say goodbye to their leader. they stood in the rain (with or without umbrellas or raincoats) and waited until mr lee's cortege had passed by for the last time.
scene around pinnacle @ duxton, which was on the way to national university of singapore where the state funeral was being held. pinnacle @ duxton is a 50 storey public housing development which happens to be the tallest in the world (for public housing) otherwise known as HDB here in singapore. amazing architecture and design, this place holds a special place in mr lee's heart. finally, you can see heaps of people lining up the streets in the rain, bidding their last farewell and some throwing petals as mr lee's cortege was passing by. what a sad sad day and even the heavens are crying.
