State Funeral of Mr Lee Kuan Yew - Mar 2015
A State Funeral Procession and State Funeral Service was held on 29 March 2015 for the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, founding Prime Minister of Singapore. Mr Lee Kuan Yew passed away on 23 March 2015 at the age of 91. Mr Lee's coffin was transported via a gun carriage from Parliament House, where his body was lying in state from 25 to 28 March, to University Cultural Centre (UCC) at the National University of Singapore for the State Funeral Service. The gun carriage travelled past Parliament House, Old Parliament House, City Hall and The Padang, HDB Estates in Tanjong Pagar, Bukit Merah and Queenstown, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau before reaching its destination at the University Cultural Centre. Four ceremonial 25-pounder guns fired a 21-gun salute as the procession journeyed around the Padang. When the procession passed City Hall, the Republic of Singapore Air Force Black Knights flew a four-aircraft flypast as an aerial salute. Two Fearless-class patrol vessels, RSS Dauntless and RSS Resilience, from the Republic of Singapore Navy conducted a ceremonial sailpast in the waters off the Marina Barrage to honour the late Mr Lee.
The funeral service was attended by the late Mr Lee’s family, friends and staff, the President, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, Old Guards, senior civil servants, grassroots leaders and Singaporeans from all walks of life. The Master of Ceremony was Peter Ong, Head of Civil Service. Ten eulogies were 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
PM and President Tan each lay a wreath on behalf of the family and the state, respectively. A lone bugler from the SAF Military Band then sounded the Last Post, after which, the Singapore Civil Defence Force sounded a 15-second siren over the nationwide public warning system to signal the start and end of a minute of silence to honour Mr Lee. This was followed by a recitation of the national pledge and singing of the national anthem.
The State Funeral Service was followed by a private cremation at Mandai Crematorium.
(MCI Photos by Terence Tan, Chwee and Kenji Soon)
