Singapore honours Lee with grand state funeral
Officials said more than 450,000 people had paid their last respects to the 91-year-old, who served as prime minister for 31 years, before his public wake ended in parliament on Saturday night.
Thousands of people braved heavy rains Sunday to line major streets in Singapore for a final farewell to founding leader Lee Kuan Yew, who will receive a rare 21-gun salute before a state funeral attended by world dignitaries.
Officials said more than 450,000 people had paid their last respects to the 91-year-old, who served as prime minister for 31 years, before his public wake ended in parliament on Saturday night.
"It has been a deeply moving experience," his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said in a Facebook post thanking the public for honouring the former leader, who died Monday after seven weeks in hospital.
Families turned up early to catch choice spots along the 15-kilometre (10-mile) procession route from parliament to the National University of Singapore, where the state funeral will start at 2:00 pm (0600 GMT).
"We are here today as a family to witness this historic moment. As Singaporeans we may have our differences, but when it comes to a crunch we stand together. That is what Singapore is about and that is Mr Lee's legacy," said teacher Joel Lim, 35.
Lee became Singapore's first prime minister in 1959, when the island gained self-rule from colonial ruler Britain. Singapore became a republic in 1965 after a brief and stormy union with Malaysia.
Lee stepped down in 1990 in favour of his deputy Goh Chok Tong, who in turn was succeeded by Lee's son.
Shortly after midday, Lee's dark brown wooden casket, draped in the red-and-white Singapore flag, will leave parliament in a glass case atop a gun carriage pulled by an open-topped ceremonial Land Rover.
It will pass by landmarks associated with the British-trained lawyer's 60-year political career.
Howitzers will give Lee a 21-gun salute normally reserved for sitting heads of state, even though he was just an MP when he died.
Four F-16 fighter jets from the Air Force's aerial display team, the Black Knights, will do a formation known as "The Missing Man", with one of the planes peeling away to signify Lee's passing.
During the state funeral, sirens will sound for the nation to observe a minute of silence for their former leader.
Former US president Bill Clinton will lead the American delegation that also includes former secretary of state Henry Kissinger, a close friend of Lee.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Malaysian King Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah and Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah are among the leaders attending the funeral.
Singapore's former colonial ruler Britain will be represented by Leader of the House of Commons William Hague, who earlier served as foreign secretary.
Lee is revered by Singaporeans for his economic and social legacy but criticised by rights groups for sidelining political opponents, muzzling the press and clamping down on civil liberties.
Singapore has one of the highest GDP per capita incomes in the world at $56,284 in 2014, up from a mere $516 when it gained independence.
Ninety percent of Singaporeans own their homes, thanks to a public housing scheme launched by Lee, and the country enjoys one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
Its highly paid civil service is consistently ranked among the world's most honest.
But development has created fresh problems, topped by a rapidly ageing population, making Singapore dependent on foreigners who now make up nearly 40 percent of its 5.5 million population.
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