Agencies, Singapore :
Thousands of Singaporeans are lining a 15km route through the Southeast Asian city-state to witness an elaborate funeral procession for longtime leader Lee Kuan Yew.
People began gathering shortly after dawn on Sunday for the funeral cortege, which begins early in the afternoon. As they waited, some sang a patriotic national song, handed out national flags and sheltered under umbrellas from downpours.
“This is the only chance I have to say goodbye. It’s the last time we can send him off,” Pauline Chan,55, told Al Jazeera. “Rain or storm, I knew I just had to stand there. I missed the chance to visit him at the Parliament House, and it was weighing on my mind.”
Another Singaporean, Chin Eoh Kahn, 55, told Al Jazeera: “We all owe him. I am from the generation between his time and the next, and I feel like we have worked together with him to make Singapore what it is today.”
During a week of national mourning that began on Monday after Lee’s death at age 91 , some 450,000 people queued for hours for a glimpse of the statesman’s coffin at Parliament House. A million people visited tribute sites at community centers across the city.
“I am really surprised [by the turnout],” Mufidah Muhamat Bakri told Al Jazeera on Saturday. “There are many people who disagree with his policies and how he ruled the nation, but they still pay their respects.”
“People may not agree with him but that does not mean that they must hold a grudge and we know that he did the best he could. People want to acknowledge that,” she said.
The expansive show of emotion is a rare event for Singapore. The island nation is known around the world as a wealthy trade and finance centre with a strict social order, including a ban on chewing gum and caning for some crimes.
Lee was Singapore’s prime minister for more than three decades, ruling with an iron grip until 1990, and is regarded by Singaporeans as the architect of their island’s prosperity. But his authoritarian rule has also left a legacy of restrictions on free speech, a tame media and a stunted democracy.
Lee stepped down in 1990 in favour of his deputy Goh Chok Tong, who in turn was succeeded by Lee’s son, the current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
“He did everything for us Singaporeans regardless of race, language or religion,” said Jennie Yeo, a 58-year-old teacher, who arrived at 7am local time to stake out front row positions with two friends. “Education, housing, everything you can think of he’s taken care of for us,” she said.
Leaders and dignitaries from more than two dozen countries attended the state funeral.
Former US President Bill Clinton led the American delegation that also included former secretary of state Henry Kissinger, a close friend of Lee.
Thousands of Singaporeans are lining a 15km route through the Southeast Asian city-state to witness an elaborate funeral procession for longtime leader Lee Kuan Yew.
People began gathering shortly after dawn on Sunday for the funeral cortege, which begins early in the afternoon. As they waited, some sang a patriotic national song, handed out national flags and sheltered under umbrellas from downpours.
“This is the only chance I have to say goodbye. It’s the last time we can send him off,” Pauline Chan,55, told Al Jazeera. “Rain or storm, I knew I just had to stand there. I missed the chance to visit him at the Parliament House, and it was weighing on my mind.”
Another Singaporean, Chin Eoh Kahn, 55, told Al Jazeera: “We all owe him. I am from the generation between his time and the next, and I feel like we have worked together with him to make Singapore what it is today.”
During a week of national mourning that began on Monday after Lee’s death at age 91 , some 450,000 people queued for hours for a glimpse of the statesman’s coffin at Parliament House. A million people visited tribute sites at community centers across the city.
“I am really surprised [by the turnout],” Mufidah Muhamat Bakri told Al Jazeera on Saturday. “There are many people who disagree with his policies and how he ruled the nation, but they still pay their respects.”
“People may not agree with him but that does not mean that they must hold a grudge and we know that he did the best he could. People want to acknowledge that,” she said.
The expansive show of emotion is a rare event for Singapore. The island nation is known around the world as a wealthy trade and finance centre with a strict social order, including a ban on chewing gum and caning for some crimes.
Lee was Singapore’s prime minister for more than three decades, ruling with an iron grip until 1990, and is regarded by Singaporeans as the architect of their island’s prosperity. But his authoritarian rule has also left a legacy of restrictions on free speech, a tame media and a stunted democracy.
Lee stepped down in 1990 in favour of his deputy Goh Chok Tong, who in turn was succeeded by Lee’s son, the current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
“He did everything for us Singaporeans regardless of race, language or religion,” said Jennie Yeo, a 58-year-old teacher, who arrived at 7am local time to stake out front row positions with two friends. “Education, housing, everything you can think of he’s taken care of for us,” she said.
Leaders and dignitaries from more than two dozen countries attended the state funeral.
Former US President Bill Clinton led the American delegation that also included former secretary of state Henry Kissinger, a close friend of Lee.
