Singaporeans express gratitude on social media

SINGAPORE — From the time they woke up to the news of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s death, Singaporeans took to social media to pay tribute to the nation’s founding Prime Minister, sending these sites awash with his portraits, famous quotes and their personal words of appreciation for the progress he had led the country through.

A black ribbon enveloping Mr Lee’s side profile — conceived and designed by the People’s Action Party (PAP) that he co-founded — was used by many as their social media profile picture. Politicians including Social and Family Development Minister Chan Chun Sing, Culture, Community and Youth Minister Lawrence Wong, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Grace Fu, as well as Members of Parliament Baey Yam Keng (Tampines GRC) and Alex Yam (Chua Chu Kang GRC), were among those to do so.

Another iteration was that of Mr Lee’s side profile incorporated into an image of Singapore’s national symbols, the crescent and five stars.

Hashtags such as #RememberingLKY, #ThankYouLKY, and #TributetoLKY trended in the country for the entire day, while some changed their own social media profile pictures to black-and-white.

The video clip of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s live address to the nation at 8am yesterday, during which he choked back tears a few times, was shared by many who sympathised with the fact that he had to assume his political duty at a time of personal loss.

As a swathe of international news outlets published obituaries on Mr Lee, ordinary Singaporeans put out their personal anecdotes of him and their words of gratitude for his contributions to Singapore. Many of these were accompanied by pictures of Mr Lee spanning his youth to recent years or generic photographs of landmarks such as the city skyline, as they hailed these as the legacies he built for the country.

In the corporate sphere, local brand names such as Singapore Airlines, Singtel and DBS, together with local media outlets, converted their logos online to a monochrome scheme. Even faraway football clubs such as Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea conveyed their condolences on their respective Facebook pages, alongside messaging service apps such as WeChat and LINE.

In response to queries, a spokesperson from the PAP HQ said the black ribbon motif was designed to mourn the death of the party’s founding secretary-general.

“(It is) also to serve as a mark of respect for his achievements and unwavering determination to transform Singapore from a Third World country to the metropolis that it is today,” she said. “We hope more Singaporeans would kindly share the same thoughts as us and post this picture as their social media profile.”

To mark the day, Google Singapore posted an image of a black ribbon on its page. Requests have emerged for the image to be replicated for other uses. For instance, Mr Darren Tang, 29, a designer with DFM Pte Ltd, which produces vehicle decals, said the firm received requests from customers for the design to be made into decal stickers.

When asked about the use of this design for other purposes, the PAP HQ spokesperson said it hoped members of the public would “use this image fittingly and in a dignified manner, befitting Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s status”. The design is meant to be solemn and dignified, which is befitting for a person like Mr Lee, she added.

The tribute page (http://tributetolky.org) set up by PAP HQ for Mr Lee was filled with images of Singapore’s skyline, paintings and creative illustrations that made use of the national motifs.

As a tribute to the former Prime Minister, social media agency GOODSTUPH and Organisation of Illustrators Council Singapore also came together to share images of Mr Lee created by local illustrators.