Monday 30 March 2015

Police bagpipers perform Auld Lang Syne as the gun carriage carrying the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew passes by. Photo: Singapore Police Force

Cantonment Road: SITE OF POLICE headquarters and near SGH

Poignant closure as bagpipers,

crowd gather for final send-off
LAURA PHILOMIN

lauraphilomin@mediacorp.com.sg

tanding in the rain unsheltered

as they waited since noon yesterday, station inspector Normawati Mohd Nor and Sergeant Yeoh
Siew Fong were among the five police
bagpipers who played Auld Lang Syne
as the gun carriage carrying the late
Mr Lee Kuan Yew drove past Police
Cantonment Complex and along Kampong Bahru Road.
The five bagpipe players from the
Singapore Police Force (SPF) Band
were joined by members of the public,
including the elderly and families with
young children, who were stretched
out along Kampong Bahru Road, undeterred by the heavy rain and flood-

edpavements.
For SI Normawati, 38 and Sgt Yeoh,
40, yesterday marked the first time that
they were able to personally pay their
respects to the late Mr Lee, having been
busy with deployment over the past
few days. I was very honoured (to be
chosen) ... This is the least we can do
for him, said SI Normawati, who has
been with the SPF Band for 15 years.
A small crowd had gathered along
Kampong Bahru Road by 11am, with
many coming prepared for the wet
weather with ponchos and umbrellas.
Among them was a group of nurses
from the nearby Singapore General
Hospital (SGH), who wanted to take
the opportunity to pay their final respects to Singapores founding Prime
Minister.

We took him
for granted
for so long
and it took his
death for us
to realise that
we didnt
cherish him
enough,
especially
the younger
generation.
Mr Yick, 20,
National
Serviceman

SGH deputy director of nursing

Gormit Kaur said: The rain is nothing. We dont mind coming out in the
rain and waiting because this is once
in a lifetime. There wont be anyone
like him again.
Nurse Lai Soh Mui, 60, said she had
visited the Sengkang community tribute site, but felt bad about not being able
to endure the long queues outside Parliament House, where MrLees body
had been lying in state, because of her
knee replacement surgery a few years
ago. Mr Lee is a great man ... We hope
he can rest in peace, said Ms Lai, who
has been an SGH nurse for 29 years.
To shelter the elderly from the rain,
officials began setting up chairs at the
Police Cantonment Complex facing the
main road.

In between intermittent showers,

volunteers from various groups were
seen giving out state flags and ponchos
to the crowd, with a few Health Sciences
Authority staff handing out Remembering Mr Lee Kuan Yew badges.
With flags in hand, a 20-year-old National Serviceman, who wanted to be
known only as Mr Yick, said he decided
to turn up with his parents despite the
dreary weather.
Its the least I could do for our founding father ... The loss of Mr Lee is starting to set in. We took him for granted
for so long and it took his death for us
to realise that we didnt cherish him
enough, especially the younger generation, he said.
Sgt Yeoh told TODAY later that she
had to keep her emotions in check and
concentrate on playing her bagpipe as
the gun carriage drove by.
Ms Miew Leng, who arrived at the
police complex with her two sons at
11am, managed to get a spot right in
front to watch the procession.
Even with the rain and the wait, I
think it was worth it. We had the bagpipes playing and it was very poignant.
For me personally, I think it felt like
closure, she said.