More orderly day for those paying respects to Mr Lee Kuan Yew

SINGAPORE — After long lines that twisted and turned around the Central Business District on Wednesday, the sun rising over the neat rows of tents on the Padang yesterday (March 26) signalled a more orderly day for those seeking to pay their last respects to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew at Parliament House.

Still, as the night wore on, the crowds swelled. As at 11pm, the State Funeral organising committee said in its hourly update that the expected waiting time was about seven hours. On the ground, ushers were heard informing visitors that they may have to wait up to between eight and nine hours. They also told TODAY that the crowd last night was “much worse” than the previous night. As at 11pm yesterday, 147,791 visitors had paid their respects since the lying-in-state began on Wednesday morning.

Overall, the more efficient state of affairs was a marked improvement compared to the situation on Wednesday — at one point, around 10.45am, the estimated waiting time from the committee was only 90 minutes. Although the committee in the afternoon upped the estimate to seven hours, many of the visitors ­TODAY spoke to reported waiting times of around three to four hours. Those in the priority lane — the elderly, pregnant women, school children, families with children under six and those with special needs — waited less than an hour.

By daybreak yesterday, tents and barricades were set up to organise the queues, while the lines of people continued unabated with Parliament House and MRT train services open 24 hours. Signs directing people towards the Padang and marking the priority lane were also up, and ushers were on hand to direct people, including those eligible for the priority lane in the right direction.

The public wake for Mr Lee began on Wednesday after his casket was transferred from the Istana to Parliament House in a solemn procession, and drew overwhelming response, with lines of people snaking all the way to Clarke Quay causing confusion on the ground, prompting the authorities to extend visiting hours.

Singapore Institute of Technology student James Leong, 22, was among those who decided to take advantage of the late hours and the extended hours for train services. He arrived at 1am yesterday and waited two and a half hours before he could enter. “My schedule is full. My lessons are from 9am to 6pm,” he said.

Lawyer Gerald Tan, 30, woke up at 4am in the morning and arrived in office attire. “I thought this was the best time to avoid long waiting times. I only waited about 45 minutes,” said Mr Tan, adding that he would head straight to work.

As the crowd thickened over the course of the morning, several Cabinet Ministers were seen out and about thanking members of the public for taking time off to pay their respects to the late Mr Lee, including Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Law Minister K Shanmugam, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Lim Swee Say. Also spotted was Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob.

Businesses and individuals continued with acts of goodwill by providing drinks and snacks, as well as umbrellas to ward off the glare of the sun. Umbrellas were given out at the Padang and signs were posted reminding the public to return them at the visit for other to use. Volunteers helping were not forgotten — a TODAY reader spotted a box of apple pie for volunteers with a note that said “thank you for your hard work”. Businesses giving away drinks included Timbre Group and Marigold.

Even so, the heat and wait still proved too much for some. Around 12.35pm, a woman fainted at the Padang and was carried away by emergency responders on the ground.

Research officer Sharon Niam, 36, research officer joined the queue with a colleague at about 4pm and was surprised when she only had to wait two and a half hours. “I guess we came at the right time. We heard that the queue time was eight hours in the afternoon. Compared with yesterday, from what we saw in the news, the queues today are a lot more orderly and systematic.”

Ms Nancy Tay, 62, an assistant finance manager and Ms Adeline Lim, 59, waited for three and a half hours. Said Ms Lim: “The food and water and umbrellas being distributed brought some form of comfort despite the heat. It was quite a rough time waiting under the sun, but once we entered (Parliament House), I forgot about how tired and hot I was.”

Ms Jean Tan, 48, who waited about three hours with her husband Clifford Chua, 49, said: “I wish we had more time to say goodbye and pay our respects, but the line was moving so we could only do a quick bow and go on our way,”

By evening, waiting times had lengthened — staff on the ground said even the wait in the priority queue was about four hours.

Childcare teacher Pei Wen waited for more than five hours, but said it was shorter than what she was initially expecting. “(It was) very orderly. (I am) quite impressed with the way things were handled,” she said.

Mr Tony Chua, 62, retiree, queued for three hours on Wednesday and returned yesterday to sketch the crowd at the Padang. “This is once in a lifetime. I won’t get the chance again. I might come back again to capture this from another angle, maybe near Parliament House. No matter how hot the sun is, queuing to pay respect to Mr Lee is the last thing you can do for him.” REPORTING BY: XUE JIAN­YUE, VALERIE KOH, JORDON SIMPSON, JEAN KHOO, YVONNE LIM