Hint of steel underlies MPs teary tributes

SINGAPORE — One by one or in small groups, they filed in. There was little of the usual banter that precedes regular Parliament sittings. Then again, yesterday’s (March 26) sitting was different from almost any other that has been held in the august Chamber. The muted hues of clothing suggested as much — it would be a sombre, serious, teary session.

The old hands, those for whom a parliamentary sitting has been a monthly routine for decades, tried hard, but failed, to keep their emotions in check. Leader of the House Dr Ng Eng Hen’s tone was less even than usual, his inflections suggesting a man struggling to get the words out. Former Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng fared little better and had to blink back tears several times.

If the old hands had to struggle, what chance would the new ones have? Nominated Member of Parliament (MP) Chia Yong Yong provided the answer: Her halting, tearful and heartfelt delivery had the House in a vice-like grip, a sadness that refused to leave.

And so it was at yesterday’s special sitting of Parliament, held to pay tribute to Mr Lee Kuan Yew. The mournful mood was infectious: In the public gallery, filled with members of the Old Guard, civil servants, grassroots leaders, unionists, students and the media, the mood was thick with grief.

But while mourning was the order of the day, a spirit of steel and a celebration of Mr Lee’s ideals marked the proceedings. Speaker of the House Halimah Yacob set the tone at 4pm, reminding all who gathered of Mr Lee’s admonishment years ago to parliamentarians: “Make no mistake … in this Chamber, we are playing for keeps. The future of Singapore and its people … is not a question for light-hearted banter.”

The marker she set down was duly followed by each of the 11 MPs who followed. Mr Wong, fighting through emotion, gave a reminder of the values that have made Singapore successful and challenged all to build on the foundations so securely laid by Mr Lee. “This means upholding the values of meritocracy, multiracialism and non-corruptibility — core values that Mr Lee strongly believed in and which have now become our national ethos,” he said.

“Let us continue to do this and stay cohesive as one people. Then Mr Lee would not have toiled his whole life in vain for Singapore.”

In remembering Mr Lee’s life’s work, several lauded the multiracial, multi-religious society that Singapore is now as it stands on the cusp of turning 50. Senior Minister of State (Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs) Masagos Zulkifli, Minister of State (Education and Communications and Information) Sim Ann and MP for Sembawang GRC Vikram Nair, who all spoke in their mother tongue, were among those who touched on this theme.

Of course, no tribute to Mr Lee would be complete without a nod to his all-consuming zeal to improve Singapore and the lives of Singaporeans. It fell to Dr Ng to remind us of this and he recalled how, in 2013, Mr Lee had defied doctors’ orders to attend a Parliament session on his 90th birthday, because he had given his commitment to do so.

“At age 90, frail and dehydrated, Mr Lee kept his word to be here,” he said.

But for all of the experience in attendance, all of the institutional memory contained herein, it fell to one of the least experienced to bring the House down, in a manner of speaking, and cut to the chase. Ms Chia’s tribute to a man she said she had never met was simple, heartfelt, to the point and steely. “Did he do well for Singapore? Look around us.”

“Words fail me,” she continued. “And today, all I can say to you, my first Prime Minister, is what I never had the opportunity to tell you in person: Thank you, Mr Lee.”

The House thumped armrests in approval.

Mr Lee was never one for personal accolades, but he would have approved too, I am sure.