Mr Lee’s death ‘cast sadness over SG50, but made celebrations profound’
The Youth Celebrate! event, with performances put up by 4,100 students, left an indelible mark on Mr Heng, who says it gave Singaporeans a glimpse into the possibilities for the future. TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — It was a year of celebrations to mark all that Singapore had achieved in the last 50 years, but the joy of the occasion was also tinged with sadness — that the nation’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew could not be around for the occasion.
In the immediate months after his death on March 23, the SG50 steering committee had to avoid having too many “big celebratory events” as the nation grappled with the loss.
But the “shared sense of grief” and the deep reflection that Singaporeans plunged into after Mr Lee’s death also lent a “certain profundity” to the jubilee-year celebrations, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, who chairs the SG50 steering committee.
“It was no longer just a rah-rah celebration, but it also got us to think very hard about what matters to us as Singaporeans and how by coming together, we can beat the odds, we can do the impossible, we can stay cohesive as a people,” said Mr Heng in an interview with media wrapping up the year’s festivities.
Mr Lee’s death had marked a low-point in the year-long SG50 festivities, said Mr Heng. “I had in fact, briefed him on at least two occasions on SG50 celebrations and I think we all wanted so much to have Mr Lee join us for this whole year of celebrations and certainly for our National Day Parade,” he added, becoming emotional as he spoke.
The occasion also put Singaporeans into a state of “very intense introspection”. “Not only (of) what Mr Lee has done, not only what the founding generation has done but how we as a people had gone through this very difficult journey to build Singapore to what it is today,” Mr Heng said.
Apart from postponing some events in the wake of Mr Lee’s death, a segment paying tribute was added to the National Day Parade. A sprig of green-yellow orchid — the Aranda Lee Kuan Yew — was also laid at the seat Mr Lee was to occupy during the parade held at Padang. “I took a photo, I must say, it was, for me, a very intense feeling looking at that empty seat, wishing that Mr Lee was there to celebrate with us,” Mr Heng added.
But every single SG50 event that was organised – whether it was a ground-up initiative or a large-scale event – was meaningful, he stressed. “It’s meaningful because (for) every one of us (it includes) some aspect of what we love about Singapore, some aspect of how we want to celebrate Singapore, how we want to celebrate ourselves as Singaporeans,” he said.
In particular, the events with the country’s pioneers were unforgettable because Mr Heng said he was able to speak with them and learn “a great deal” about the hardy and rugged generation that left him with a “very deep impression”.
The joint sports and arts event Youth Celebrate! also left an indelible mark on Mr Heng, who previously held the position of the Education Minister. “It gives us a glimpse into the future, it gives us a glimpse into the possibilities for the future”, he said. That event saw 53,000 people turn up for perfomances put up by 4,100 students.
The Jubilee weekend alone saw 1.7 million people participating in the island-wide celebrations. In March, the Government had declared Aug 7 a public holiday as part of the celebrations.
An internal poll of some 7,000 Singaporeans over 14 months also found that about 80 per cent of them felt that the ground-up initiatives have created a sense that they are part of Singapore. 90 per cent of those who were polled felt that SG50 events have made them feel an even stronger sense of national identity, that “each of us can do something about Singapore’s future,” said Mr Heng.
“SG50 is about appreciating our past, appreciating our pioneers. It’s reflecting about what brought us here and it’s about inspiring us about the future.”
“So I’m very pleased with the outcome,” he added.
He also took the opportunity to thank everyone, from fellow Singaporeans who came up with the various ground-up initiatives, to the companies and agencies for organising a “whole range of very diverse, interesting and meaningful activities”.
Asked if there could have been public fatigue from the numerous events throughout the year, Mr Heng said the events were very well-spaced out.
“They were actually quite different,” he said, pointing out that some were arts- and sports-related while there were others that were held at the community level.
“So because of the variety and pacing, I think many people were able to participate and many people were able to enjoy different facets of it,” he added.
