Gardens by the Bay plants tree in memory of Mr Lee Kuan Yew

SINGAPORE — In memory of former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, a tree was planted in Gardens by the Bay this morning (March 27).

The Sepetir daun tebal, native to Singapore’s primary forests, was meant to have been planted by Mr Lee during a visit he was planning to make to Gardens by the Bay earlier this year.

Today, Dr Kiat W Tan, CEO of Gardens by the Bay, carried out the tree planting with other board directors and staff in Mr Lee’s honour. The tree was planted at the Golden Garden near the main entrance.

The Sepetir daun tebal (Sindora wallichi) is a strong timber tree that belongs to the legume family and can be found in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Singapore Botanic Gardens and Changi, where a tall specimen is marked as a Heritage Tree.

Historically, a tree of the same species once stood tall in Changi with a girth of 3.5m and a height over 76m. An iconic marker, it was labelled on pre-war charts as a typographical landmark, said Gardens by the Bay.