Death and state funeral of the Prime Minister of Singapore
On 23 March 2015, Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister of Singapore and co-founder of the People's Action Party, died at the age of 91 at 03:18 Singapore Standard Time (), after having been hospitalised at the Singapore General Hospital with severe pneumonia since 5 February that year. A formal announcement was made on national television and radio by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at 08:00 that morning.
Many world leaders, governments, international organizations, and individuals issued public condolences. A week-long period of national mourning was declared by the government, from 23 to 29 March that year. All flags, including the National Flag, in Singapore were flown at half-mast during the period. Lee was subsequently cremated at Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium on 29 March.
Timeline.
All times are set out in Singapore Standard Time ().
Private wake.
On 23 March 2015 at 13:00, Lee's body was brought to the Istana, the official residence of the President of Singapore and the office of the Prime Minister. It was placed in Sri Temasek, the Prime Minister's official residence in the Istana grounds, where a private wake was held from 23 to 25 March 2015.
Mourning.
The government declared a week long mourning period from 23 to 29 March 2015 for Lee Kuan Yew. Flags were lowered to half-mast as a mark of respect. Most events and activities were scaled down, postponed or cancelled completely throughout the mourning period. Entertainment outlets, such as cinemas, theatres, nightclubs and bars announced that they would be closed or operate under reduced hours during this period.
Upon the announcement of his death, all free-to-air television channels and radio stations suspended their regular programming and simulcast special programmes from broadcasters Mediacorp and SPH Media, which consisted of a montage of videos and photos of Lee Kuan Yew's life, accompanied by coverage of live events from the Istana, Parliament House and the state funeral procession. Some pay-TV channels were blacked out and replaced by this programming too. Most Singaporean and some international websites switched to greyscale colour schemes as well.
18 community tribute sites were set up islandwide during the mourning period, to allow citizens and residents to pay tribute to the late prime minister. Each community tribute site consisted of wreaths from various citizens and organisations, as well as a projection screen showing montages of Lee Kuan Yew's life. Memorial ceremonies were held during certain evenings as well.
Singapore Turf Club announced they would cancel all the race meetings during the period of National Mourning.
Lying in state.
The body of Lee Kuan Yew was conveyed by gun carriage from the Istana to the Parliament House on the morning of 25 March 2015. After leaving Sri Temasek, the gun carriage paused in front of the main Istana building to allow President Tony Tan Keng Yam, his wife Mrs. Mary Tan, emeritus senior minister and former prime minister Goh Chok Tong, and Istana staff to pay their respects. During this time, a piper from the Gurkha Contingent of the Singapore Police Force played "Auld Lang Syne" from the roof of the building. The cortege then made its way down Bras Basah Road and North Bridge Road, which were lined with members of the public, to Parliament House.
Lee's body lay in state at Parliament House from 25 March 2015 to 28 March 2015, which was subsequently opened 24 hours for the public to pay their respects. To facilitate this, Mass Rapid Transit services, Light Rail Transit services, and selected bus services ran for 24 hours on 25 and 27 March and throughout the early hours of the morning of 26 March 2015 and 28 March 2015. The Land Transport Authority announced that public transport services would end later than usual after midnight on 27 March 2015, but would not run throughout the night due to essential maintenance works.
About 447,000 people paid their last respects to Lee at Singapore's Parliament House throughout the 24 hours from Wednesday, 25 March, 10:00 until Saturday, 28 March, 20:00. In addition, thousands of people lined the roads to watch Lee move from the Istana to Parliament House on 25 March in the morning. In total, more than 1.2 million paid their respects and tribute to Lee at Parliament House and in the 18 tribute centres across the island. More than 100,000 people also lined the streets in torrential rain from Parliament House to the National University of Singapore University Cultural Centre on Sunday, 29 March 2015 to see Lee off.
Lee was also accorded the highest form of respect given by the Singapore Armed Forces, where a vigil guard consisting members of the top military brass consisting of Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant-General Ng Chee Meng; together with Chief of Army, Major-General Perry Lim; Chief of Navy, Rear-Admiral Lai Chung Han; Chief of Air Force, Major-General Hoo Cher Mou; and Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, Brigadier-General Chia Choon Hoong stood guard during the lying in state. This honour is akin to the Vigil of the Princes where male members of the British Royal Family have stood guard during the lying in state of one of their relatives during or as part of a British state funeral or ceremonial funeral.
Special parliamentary session.
On 26 March 2015 at 16:00, a special parliamentary session was held for Members of Parliament to pay tribute to Lee Kuan Yew. They included:
State and private funerals.
Lee's state and private funeral services was held on Sunday, 29 March 2015. 87 bus services were either diverted, shortened or suspended from 11:30 to 19:00 to facilitate the road closures. The SCDF Public Warning System siren was sounded twice islandwide at 16:35 to signal the start and end of a minute of silence in honour of Mr Lee. Prior to the minute of silence, all MRT trains stopped at stations and opened their doors. Similarly, buses scheduled to depart from bus interchanges or terminals were held back during the one minute of silence. Passenger Information Displays in the MRT network and bus interchanges showed "One minute of silence for Mr Lee Kuan Yew". Announcements were also made at stations and on-board trains.
The state funeral was held at the University Cultural Centre, National University of Singapore, from 14:00. It was attended by members of Lee's family, the President, Cabinet Ministers, members of the Judiciary, Members of Parliament, and foreign leaders. Ordinary Singaporeans from all walks of life have also been invited to attend. The Master of Ceremonies was Peter Ong, Head of the Civil Service. Ten eulogies were delivered, in the following order:
The state funeral was followed by a private funeral at 5:00 pm at Mandai Crematorium for invited guests.
On 27 March 2015, Singapore's defence minister Ng Eng Hen mentioned in a Facebook post that the Singapore Armed Forces will accord Mr Lee due military honours. On the day of the state funeral, a 21-gun salute was fired by four ceremonial 25-pounder guns as the procession headed to University Cultural Centre. In addition, four Republic of Singapore Air Force black knights made a fly pass salute. The originally planned missing man formation was not flown due to rainy weather. As his body passed Esplanade Bridge, both RSS Dauntless and RSS Resilience conducted a ceremonial sailpast.
The 21-gun salute honour is traditionally only accorded to the heads of state. As Lee Kuan Yew was only a former head of government, he would typically only be entitled to a 19-gun salute. Special permission was given for the 21-gun salute to honour him.
Notable mourners.
Notable mourners at the private wake at Sri Temasek:
Foreign dignitaries who paid their respects at Parliament House:
Foreign dignitaries who represented their countries at Lee's state funeral at the University Cultural Centre, NUS, on 29 March 2015:
Reactions.
Singapore.
Prior to the death of Lee Kuan Yew, when he was hospitalised at the Singapore General Hospital on 5 February, Singaporeans expressed concern for his health through social media websites. On 17 March 2015, the Prime Minister's office announced that Lee's condition has worsened due to an infection. Following that, many Singaporeans went to the hospital to pay tribute to Lee Kuan Yew, however as Lee was in the Intensive Care Unit, no visitors were allowed and the hospital could not accept gifts such as flowers and cards. On 20 March 2015, the Singapore General Hospital designated an area for well-wishers to leave cards and flowers for Lee Kuan Yew. Several Singaporeans and foreigners were seen leaving cards and flowers at the designated site. Additionally, the Tanjong Pagar Community Club set up a "get well corner" for residents to write messages and leave flowers and cards for Lee Kuan Yew.
After the death of Lee Kuan Yew was announced on 23 March 2015, an estimated 447,299 Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans went to the Parliament House of Singapore to pay their respects to Lee Kuan Yew.
A tribute site was set up at the Istana, as well as other community clubs around the country for Singaporeans to pen their wishes for the late Lee Kuan Yew.
On 25 March 2015, as the private wake for friends and family of Lee Kuan Yew ended, a ceremonial gun carriage carried the body of Lee Kuan Yew from the Istana to Parliament House. Singaporeans lined up from the gates of parliament house to the Istana. Many in the crowd outside the Istana clapped and cheered Mr Lee Kuan Yew's name as his hearse drove past, while some wept for Lee. Members of the public were soon allowed inside parliament house to pay their respects to Lee Kuan Yew. A queue started to form from parliament house stretching to Hong Lim Park and Fort Canning Park. Authorities advised members of the public not to join the queue as the wait was estimated to be 8 hours.
Memorial.
1st (2016).
Led by People's Association deputy chairman Chan Chun Sing, more than a hundred remembrance events were held across the island in March 2016, including a tree-planting exercise at Jurong Lake Park and a brisk walk at Sembawang Park. A remembrance service was held at Tanjong Pagar Community Club on 23 March 2016.
Legacy.
As Lee liked to keep his personal life private, he publicly expressed his opinion on numerous occasions in the news when he was alive that he wouldn't like for Singapore to build a "personality cult" on him after his death as he, as with many other Singaporeans, was just a Singaporean who loved Singapore. In his biography books, he had written specifically that he did not want any road to be named after him or his wife, as he was personally against the idea. As a result, a committee to create a Founders' Memorial, dedicated not just to Lee but to all of Singapore's founders during the early years of sovereignty, was consequently formed.
References.
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