SG50 plans may be adjusted

SINGAPORE — The SG50 steering committee will consider whether to adjust plans for the Republic’s 50th birthday celebrations, in light of the death of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, said its chairman Heng Swee Keat.

Mr Heng, who is Education Minister, today (March 30) told reporters this on the sidelines of a visit to Changkat Primary School. Asked by reporters about whether the festivities will take into account Mr Lee’s death, Mr Heng said SG50 and its related activities are about “what we stand for as Singaporeans (and) what we are going to do together to build a better future”.

“How we are going to modify particular aspects of the programme, my committee will have to look at that in the coming days,” said Mr Heng, who added that he welcomed ideas from Singaporeans.

Mr Heng also revealed that Mr Lee’s now-famous red box, which he used to hold important working documents, could go on public display. Mr Heng was Mr Lee’s former Principal Private Secretary and had last week written a Facebook post about how Mr Lee had relied on the red box extensively, depositing in it papers, speech drafts, letters, readings and scribbled observations and questions.

Adding that the red box was a symbol of Mr Lee’s dedication to Singapore, Mr Heng said: “I feel we should let fellow Singaporeans have a view of this box and how much this was part of Mr Lee’s life and how much it is part of Singapore history.”

A National Heritage Board (NHB) spokesperson said that when it receives the red box, it will add it to the National Collection and showcase it together with other personal items belonging to Mr Lee in the National Museum of Singapore’s revamped galleries. The other items include his barrister wig when he was admitted to the Bar and a Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch presented to him by the Singapore Union of Postal and Telecommunications Workers in 1953. They are currently on display at the National Museum’s In Memoriam: Lee Kuan Yew exhibition until April 26.

Asked about the need to incorporate more content about Mr Lee into schools’ National Education syllabus, Mr Heng said he felt this was best left to education professionals to decide. He added that many parents already make efforts to explain to their children Mr Lee’s contributions.

Mr Heng also told reporters that an Education Minister from an Asian country sent his condolences yesterday morning and wanted to study Singa­pore’s education system.

“Mr Lee dedicated a lot of resources and his personal time to making sure that children have a good education, and that is another of Mr Lee’s legacy,” he said.