NTU holds memorial service for Mr Lee Kuan Yew
SINGAPORE – About 2,500 people attended a memorial service in honour of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) today (March 25).
With the Nanyang Auditorium able to accommodate some 2,000 people, the rest of the attendees followed the proceedings via a live stream at another lecture theatre and television screens across campus.
In his address, NTU president Professor Bertil Andersson spoke about the considerable impact Mr Lee had had on Singapore’s education system, and his admiration for Mr Lee in transforming Singapore into a First World country in such a short time.
In a separate speech, NTU Provost Professor Freddy Boey said: “Like many Singaporeans, my family, my children and my grandchildren owe a debt of gratitude to Mr Lee. Not just for what we have today, but also for what we can have tomorrow.”
NTU Students’ Union president Wu GuoYi noted that in just five decades, Singapore had grown quickly into “one of the world’s major commercial hubs and became one of the busiest ports across the globe”.
Expressing her gratitude to the founding Prime Minister for his contributions to Singapore, Ms Wu added that the young generation will need to carry on his legacy to make the nation more successful.
Two videos — one featuring Mr Lee speaking during the five ministerial forums held at NTU, and a tribute video — were screened during the memorial service. At the end of ceremony, the audience observed a minute of silence as a mark of respect for the late leader.
Earlier, a group of NTU students distributed 1,500 hand-made black ribbon pins to members of the audience before the ceremony started.
Student Donovan Sim, 23, said the group chose the black ribbon as it represents remembrance and is a symbol of great meaning that everyone can relate to.
Apart from the memorial service, there is also an exhibition showcasing Mr Lee’s life story, insights and his presence at NTU, at the foyer outside of the auditorium.
A portrait of Mr Lee which has gone viral — incoming NTU freshman Ong Yi Teck created the sketch by writing Mr Lee’s name 18,000 times — is also on display at the exhibition.
After the memorial service, many visitors lined up to sign the condolence books located near the exhibition.
Associate Professor Kwok Kian Woon was amazed when he saw some of the tribute messages written in the condolence books.
“Some of them (the messages) are like an entire page long. Many are at least half a page — it’s a sharp contrast to the one-liners we see on social media,” he said.
Humanities and social sciences student Tan Wei Xuan, noted that in Singapore, every child can get an education.
“Under Mr Lee’s leadership, we have universities, world-class education. We get our education based on meritocracy, and not like other countries where we might have to resort to bribery to get into universities,” the 22-year-old said.
Mrs Chong Mei Eng, 49, deputy director of NTU’s Career and Attachment Office, described the late Mr Lee as a “visionary leader”.
She said he could still keep an eye “on all the little things” while looking “at the really big happenings that are happening”.
“We have taken a lot of things for granted...the good things that have been happening in Singapore...we should ask ourselves how we can best contribute to Singapore as an individual,” she added.
