Over 100 ground-up events to remember Mr Lee Kuan Yew

SINGAPORE — Almost three weeks before the first death anniversary of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, efforts to commemorate the occasion are already under way. At least 100 ground-up initiatives — ranging from tree-planting activities to remembrance sites and a family ­carnival — have been planned, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing on Wednesday (March 2).

Mr Chan, who is also the deputy chairman of the People’s Association (PA), said the low-key approach would be befitting of Mr Lee’s wishes. “(Mr Lee was) not the kind of showy person who emphasised the form. It was always about the substance. He would want us, the younger generation, to keep looking forward,” said Mr Chan.

The best way to remember Mr Lee is to build on Singapore’s success, he added. “It is not a session to grieve but a celebration of his life’s work… The best way to honour him is to make sure that we continue to make Singapore a success.”

The remembrance sites will be located at the Parliament House, Istana Park and Duxton Plain Park for the public to “quietly reflect” on Mr Lee’s contributions to the country and draw strength from them, said Mr Chan. Panels would be put up from March 19 to 27 at these places to depict significant moments of Mr Lee’s work.

The sites were chosen specially for their strong links to Mr Lee and their symbolic value. For example, Mr Lee spent much of his working life at Parliament House and it was also where his body had lain in state during a period of national mourning. Duxton Plain Park is situated in Tanjong Pagar, where Mr Lee served as Member of Parliament for almost six decades.

Apart from the remembrance sites, the public will also be able to post tributes on the Remembering Lee Kuan Yew website, which was set up last year following Mr Lee’s death.

Mr Lee died on March 23 last year at the age of 91. Speaking to reporters during a visit to Yio Chu Kang Community Club, Mr Chan said some members of the public had begun asking several months ago about plans to mark the first anniversary of Mr Lee’s death. The organisers of the various initiatives include residents, business associations, photography hobby groups and Inter-Religious Organisations.

Senior Minister of State (Law and Finance) Indranee Rajah, who is also an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, said there will be two events in the constituency, which will be open to the public.

On March 19, greening activities such as terrarium-making at Duxton Plain Park and Orchid Pavilion will be held to symbolise how Singapore as a garden city should “grow and flourish”. The Tanjong Pagar advisors and residents will also plant seven mempat trees, the same species as the tree planted at Farrer Circus by Mr Lee in 1963 to kick-start a national tree-planting effort.

On the evening of the anniversary, an “intimate” remembrance service will be conducted at the Tanjong Pagar Community Club, where residents will share their thoughts on Mr Lee and their aspirations for Singapore, Ms Indranee said. “These are just our small ways of remembering the man who transformed so many lives and made the past a springboard for the future of us,” she added.

Mr Chan said it was too early to say whether commemorative events would be held in subsequent years. “We are a very young nation so we would tend to want to organise everything,” he said. “Some of these things need time to sink in, rather than rush into it ... With the passage of time, I think people can see things with a certain depth of perspective.”