Lee Kuan Yew was a great man and a father of Singapore. I was depressed to hear that one of Asia’s greatest leader, the first Prime Minister of Singapore, Almost were mourning for his death, including foreigners from other countries.
I only came to know of Lee Kuan Yew’s death when the principal told us at the school assembly the sad news. We had our national flown at half-mast and observed a minute of silence to remember Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his hard work to raise this nation. The atmosphere of the nation was a down feeling and the older residents of Singapore who had known Lee Kuan Yew for many years cried bitterly upon hearing about Lee Kuan Yew’s passing.
There were millions of people queuing up just to Mr Lee Kuan Yew for a few seconds,
Their heads hang in great sorrow and the queue extended throughout the island ,but still people persisted to take a last look at the man who gave us what we have today.
At home , televisions shows were cancelled and replace with history supplest of Mr Lee Kuan Yew. There were speeches made by him from the past and memories about Mr Lee Kuan Yew which changed Singapore to what it is today. I learnt from these televisions program that Lee Kuan Yew was truly a great man who changed Singapore from a swamp to a modern city. He worked tirelessly everyday even after he retired, he was always worried about Singapore and its people. Even when he was having he own personnel matters, he never forgot about the cleanliness and well-being of Singapore. Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s history and speeches had taught me a lot that week. It was a pity that such a great man can now only be beard and seen on the screens.
The school also revealed certain stories about Mr Lee Kuan Yew to me. I learnt that Lee Kuan Yew had a red briefcase which contained files and notes he wrote that can help to make Singapore better.It was used until the day he was admitted to the hospital. But sadly, that was the last time he could study the notes in the briefcase as his health deteriorated very quickly soon after.
On the day Mr Lee Kuan Yew was to be cremated, the loud alarm echoed throughout the country. Everywhere in Singapore, people stopped what they were doing to observe a moment of silence for our founding father. The entire nation was filled with sorrow as the body of the beloved prime minister was burned to ashes.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew will always be the true father of Singapore in our heart and we will always remember him and his major contributions to Singapore and its people who will respect him for an eternity.
Written By: Liew Ming Qian
(Mayflower Secondary School/ Secondary 1D)
