Monday 30 March 2015

The gun carriage bearing the casket of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew passes by Singapore Polytechnic on its way to the University Cultural Centre for the State Funeral Service. Photo: Tristan Loh

Families, people with

disabilities and students
among those cheering
Angela Teng and Jean Khoo

angelateng@mediacorp.com.sg

he air was so thick with anticipation that when a police

car pulled up in Commonwealth
Avenue West to close the road to traffic, a cheer rose from the crowd, who
thought the funeral cortege carrying
Mr Lee Kuan Yews body was about
to arrive. But they were disappointed.
When the cortege finally came within sight, passing along the street at
around 1.38pm, the crowd cheered, with
shouts of Lee Kuan Yew! Lee Kuan
Yew! reverberating through the air.
They continued to clap as the rest of
the funeral procession went past them.
One of the faces in the crowd was
Madam Tan, who is disabled and travels around on an automatic chair. She
had been waiting since 11am to pay
Mr Lee her final respects.
I feel very grieved. He gave so much
to the country, said Mdm Tan, who
had gone to the tribute sites in Choa
Chu Kang and Jurong West, near her

COMMONWEALTH : one of the estates where housing of a nation began

When they grow up, they

will remember who he was
Even though I did not witness what the young Mr Lee did
for Singapore, I still admire him greatly. Being part of his last
journey through Singapore is really the least I can do for him.
Choo Jia Fen, 15, a student

home, daily this week.

Another Singaporean, Mr Lim,
took his wife and four young children
to view the procession and continued to wait for the cortege to arrive
even though the downpour left all of
them drenched.
This visit with my family is an
appreciation of him, to thank him
for his contributions to the country.
I brought all my children along so,
when they grow up, they will remember this moment, remember who
Mr Lee was, said Mr Lim, 50.
Student Syahira Sheikh and her four

friends from the Singapore Institute of

Technology were so anxious to get a
good view of the procession that they
came as early as 8.30am. At around
11am, they helped to tie together the
flags that had been handed to them,
adding to the string of those lined along
the street. He is a really great man
and is really close to our hearts, said
Ms Syahira, 22.
Earlier in Commonwealth Avenue,
where another crowd had been waiting
for the funeral cortege before it moved
to Commonwealth Avenue West, several swung into spontaneous acts of

kindness something that had been

commonplace during this week of national mourning amid the downpour.
A middle-aged man, who declined
to be interviewed, went to buy a few
umbrellas and distributed them when
it started to drizzle. When he later
apologised for not buying more because he did not have enough money, people told him it was okay and
thanked him.
Then, there was Ms Coris Tan
and her group of friends near the bus
stop. They had initially set up tentage
to shield themselves from the rain,
but later offered cover to strangers
near them. Ms Tan, 36, a former kindergarten cook, who had brought the
tentage with her, said: He (Mr Lee) is
a great man who helped Singapore a
lot. In the past, Singapore was really
that poor, that dirty the things you
see on television are true. Without him,
we wouldnt have the Singapore that
we know today.
Student Choo Jia Fen, 15, said:
Even though I did not witness what
the young Mr Lee did for Singapore, I still admire him greatly. Being part of his last journey through
Singapore is really the least I can do
for him.