On March 23, 2015, a strange cauldron of feelings

As the head of the organising committee for Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s state funeral, Acting Education Minister (Schools) Ng Chee Meng witnessed first-hand Singaporeans’ outpouring of grief as the nation united to mourn the death of its founding Prime Minister.

Looking back, Mr Ng said the experience was personally uplifting, after he was saddened by what he felt was a divided society post-2011 General Election. “This affirmation of Singaporeans’ unity (during the national mourning) ... gave me great optimism about Singapore’s way forward,” he told TODAY during a recent interview.

“When asked (to join politics), I was quite ready to step forward,” said the former Chief of Defence Force, who added that he felt the need to play a part in Singapore politics after the 2011 General Election.

A sense of responsibility and a desire to give back to society, he said, were also factors which motivated him to swop his military uniform for the People’s Action Party’s all-white garb.

One year on since Mr Lee’s death, Mr Ng remembers the exact details — down to the minute: At 3.29am on March 23, the organising committee was alerted and told to wait for doctor’s confirmation before activating Operation White Light — the codename for the state funeral. Mr Lee’s death was certified at 3.54am. At 6am sharp, the state funeral swung into place.

(Photos: Raj Nadarajan/TODAY)

Mr Ng’s eyes reddened as he recalled the many Singaporeans he met during the seven days of national mourning, including an 84-year-old lady who declined to join the priority queue for the elderly, and young students who turned up in the wee hours before heading off to school.

“It was a very strange cauldron of feelings ... you are facing the realities that the founding Prime Minister has passed on, but you’re also happy that Singaporeans are coming out in large numbers (to pay their respects),” he said.

(Photo: Raj Nadarajan/TODAY)

As he begins his own journey as part of the country’s fourth generation leadership, Mr Ng said he would draw inspiration and strength from Mr Lee’s political career, which saw him adapting seamlessly to changing circumstances.

“In this journey, we need to stay the course, but we also need to be able to sense, adapt and move again ... it might not be a straight line. This will not change for any generation of leaders,” Mr Ng said.

He reiterated the need for national leaders to keep in mind the big picture and core governing principles, such as having a clean government and maintaining the trust between the Government and Singaporeans. The leaders would also have to be close to the ground, in order to “develop the judgment and instinct and the wherewithal to understand the direction to go, to get the right things done to getting things done right”.

As the next generation of leaders takes over the mantle of steering the country forward, Mr Ng paid tribute to Mr Lee’s part in the smooth leadership transitions over the decades.

Noting that Mr Lee did not cling on to the prime ministership and instead relinquished it in 1990 — something that “not many people” in his shoes would have done — Mr Ng said: “We had two successful changeovers … (Mr Lee) has prepared for it (new leadership).”

On his education portfolio, Mr Ng said he shared Mr Lee’s emphasis on education. “It is a heavy responsibility. To prepare our children to be future-ready and the future is fast-changing, uncertain and complex,” he said.

During his time in Government, Mr Lee was steadfast in pursuing a bilingualism policy, which has become institutionalised in the educational system - much to the chagrin of some parents. Mr Ng said that by and large, the policy has served Singapore well. He noted that Singaporeans’ proficiency in English has allowed the country to plug into the world economy while the use of mother tongues has helped citizens strengthen their cultural identities.