Press Play
State Funeral of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew -
Ceremony Expected to Start at 12.30pm Singapore Time
At the State Funeral for Singapore's founding Prime Minister, expect solemn ceremony, military tributes, heartfelt eulogies and a public outpouring on the streets of Singapore.
SINGAPORE: On Sunday (Mar 29), on the seventh day after Mr Lee Kuan Yew's passing early on Monday morning, Singaporeans will line the streets from St Andrews Road to Shenton Way, Cantonment Road to Clementi Road, to bid a final farewell to the country's founding Prime Minister.
The State Funeral Procession will commence at about 12.30pm and cover a distance of 15.4km to the University Cultural Centre at the National University of Singapore, where a Funeral Service will be held from 2pm to 5.15pm.
At about 12.30pm, the Coffin Bearer Party, comprising eight officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Police, will enter Parliament House and carry the casket bearing the body of Lee Kuan Yew out from the bier where it has rested since Wednesday morning. They will then place it on the Ceremonial Gun Carriage.
As the Gun Carriage pulls away from Parliament House, mourners including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong - Mr Lee's eldest son - family members, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and labour chief Lim Swee Say will follow behind.
Among those at the sending-off from Parliament House will be several MPs past and present. Former MPs include Mr Mahmud Awang, the first Chairman of NTUC; former Government Whip Chan Chee Seng; and Mr Chiam See Tong, an MP from 1984 to 2011.
Current MPs represented at the send-off include House Leader Ng Eng Hen, Government Whip Gan Kim Yong, Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo, Minister of State Maliki Osman and Nominated MP K Karthikeyan.
Four contingents from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Police forming a uniformed Guard-of-Honour march in front of Parliament House in a dress rehearsal on Mar 27 morning. Photo: Edric Sng.
The Coffin Bearer Party carry Mr Lee Kuan Yew's casket out of Parliament House to place it on the Gun Carriage, in a dress rehearsal on Mar 27 morning. Photos: Jack Board and Edric Sng.
MILITARY TRIBUTE
The Gun Carriage will then make its way around the Padang, via St Andrews Road, Stamford Road and Esplanade Drive. Special permission has been given for a 21-gun salute with four ceremonial 25-pounder howitzers - an honour usually reserved for sitting Heads of State.
Apart from the National Day Parade, the 21-Gun Salute was last accorded in honour of then-President Dr Benjamin Henry Sheares during his State Funeral in 1981.
The Gun Carriage passes Parliament Place in a dress rehearsal on Mar 27 morning. Photo: Edric Sng.
When the procession passes in front of City Hall, the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s Black Knights will fly a Missing Man Formation, where one aircraft will leave the four-aircraft flying formation as an aerial salute to honour the late Mr Lee.
Two Fearless-class Patrol Vessels (RSS Dauntless and RSS Resilience) from the Republic of Singapore Navy will also conduct a ceremonial sailpast in the waters off the Marina Barrage, set against the backdrop of the city skyline, in recognition of the late Mr Lee’s contributions to Singapore’s nation-building.
A black flag, traditionally used for mourning, will be flown on the starboard side of the mast of each ship, together with signals flag representing the letters “L”, “K” and “Y”. When the State Funeral Procession passes the Padang, the two ships will sound three prolonged horn blasts, lasting ten seconds each.
JOURNEY THROUGH THE HEARTLANDS
The Gun Carriage will then embark on a route passing several landmarks of significance. Members of the public can line the route from Parliament House to the UCC at NUS.
Old Parliament House: The late Mr Lee was Singapore’s longest-serving MP, having represented Tanjong Pagar for 60 years since Apr 2, 1955. He rose to speak in the chambers of the Old Parliament House on a wide range of issues, first as an Opposition Assemblyman and later as Prime Minister and Senior Minister.
City Hall and the Padang: On June 3, 1959, after sweeping the polls at the first General Elections in Singapore to be conducted with universal suffrage, the late Mr Lee and his colleagues held their victory rally at the Padang. He and his colleagues took their oath of office in the City Hall chamber two days later. It was on the steps of City Hall that Mr Lee read the Malaysian Proclamation on Sep 16, 1963; on Aug 9, 1965, it was also from his office in City Hall that he issued the Proclamation declaring Singapore’s independence. Singapore’s first National Day Parade was also held on Aug 9, 1966 at the Padang.
NTUC Centre and Trade Union House: Mr Lee’s entry into politics began with the unions. In May 1952, he successfully represented the Postal and Telecommunications Uniformed Staff Union in its salary negotiations with the colonial government. The original Trade Union House, now the Singapore Conference Hall and the home of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, was opened by the late Mr Lee in October 1965, a fulfilment of a 1963 election pledge.
Singapore River: In a speech in February 1977, the late Mr Lee announced an ambitious goal: clean up the River and the Kallang Basin within ten years. With his pronouncement, a massive effort ensued. Riverside inhabitants were resettled and the waterways were
overhauled.
overhauled.
Marina Barrage: The Marina Barrage was a result of the late Mr Lee's vision in 1987 to create a freshwater reservoir by damming the mouth of the Marina Channel. This now forms Singapore’s 15th reservoir, and helps to alleviate flooding in the island’s low-lying areas.
Gardens by the Bay: The 101-hectare Gardens by the Bay is an illustration of Mr Lee’s lifelong drive to transform Singapore into a distinctive tropical garden city – a “First World oasis,” as he put it.
Port of Singapore: Mr Lee believed that the Port of Singapore was crucial to Singapore’s wider economy. As a young lawyer in the 1950s, he became the legal advisor to the Singapore Harbour Board Staff Association, striving to improve the welfare, wages and working conditions of the port workers. In the 1955 elections, he chose to contest in Tanjong Pagar because many port workers stayed there. Later, when he became Prime Minister, he built Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats close to the harbour so that the workers could walk to work.
HDB estates - Tanjong Pagar, Bukit Merah, Commonwealth and Queenstown: When Singapore gained self-government in 1959, the Government faced an acute housing shortage. Mr Lee and his colleagues, notably the late Mr Lim Kim San, embarked on a massive programme to house a nation. The home ownership rate in Singapore today stands at over 90 per cent.
Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB): After the PAP took power in 1959, the late Mr Lee made it a priority to eradicate corruption from Singapore. Laws were tightened, with the CPIB given wider powers to investigate, arrest and search.
Singapore Polytechnic and National University of Singapore: Mr Lee and his colleagues built schools, overhauled the fragmented educational system inherited from the British, invested heavily in education and implemented robust policies that enabled Singaporeans to seize opportunities in the global economy. Among the late Mr Lee’s most enduring contributions to education are the twin tenets of meritocracy and bilingualism.
FUNERAL SERVICE AT NUS
The Funeral Service at the UCC, which will start at 2pm, will be attended by members of the late Mr Lee’s family, the President of Singapore, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, the Judiciary and the diplomatic corps. Singaporeans from all walks of life will also attend the Service.
The Master of Ceremony will be Peter Ong, Head of Civil Service. Ten eulogies will be delivered, in the following order:
- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
- President Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam
- Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong
- Former Cabinet Minister Ong Pang Boon
- Former Cabinet Minister S Dhanabalan
- Former Senior Minister of State Sidek Bin Saniff
- Trade unionist G Muthukumarasamy
- Tanjong Pagar community leader Leong Chun Loong
- Former journalist Cassandra Chew
- The late Mr Lee’s second son Lee Hsien Yang
The State Funeral Service will be broadcast live on all MediaCorp TV and Radio channels, as well as streamed Live online at channelnewsasia.com and Channel NewsAsia's YouTube channel for both desktop and mobiles. The event will also be available on toggle.sg and the Toggle app.
The SCDF Public Warning System siren will be sounded twice islandwide at about 4pm to signal the start and end of a minute of silence in honour of Mr Lee.
On the conclusion of the Funeral Service, the late Mr Lee will make his final journey to Mandai Crematorium. The cremation service will be private.
- CNA/es
