A teary goodbye to a statesman who gave his all for Singapore

Singapore

THE waiting time stretched to two hours and the blazing sun was unforgiving at times - but that didn't deter thousands of people from queueing patiently on Thursday for their turn to enter Parliament House, where the body of former president SR Nathan was lying in state.

Most bowed their heads as they stood in front of the casket. Some wept openly. One man said a silent prayer on his knees. An entire family knelt and bowed their heads to the ground.

Ministers, civil servants, foreign dignitaries, corporate figures, soldiers, students, office workers, taxi drivers - they came from all over the island for one final opportunity to pay their respects to Singapore's sixth and longest-serving head of state.

Mr Nathan died peacefully at the Singapore General Hospital on Monday night at the age of 92, after suffering a stroke three weeks earlier.

On Thursday morning, his casket was transported from his Ceylon Road home to Parliament House. Following close behind was his family, including his wife Urmila, son Osith and daughter Juthika.

The hearse was received by Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob, and a nine-man coffin-bearer party then transferred the casket into the building and onto the bier.

Mr Nathan was accorded Singapore's highest honour for a leader when the state flag was draped over the casket. Uniformed officers making up the vigil guards stood at each corner of the casket with their heads bowed, backs turned in respect, and swords inverted.

President Tony Tan Keng Yam was the first to pay his respects at 10am. He later told reporters that Mr Nathan would be "very sorely missed" by all Singaporeans.

"He dedicated his life to Singapore. Whenever there was a need, he always stepped up to the plate and did what was necessary," said Dr Tan.

Among the foreign leaders who came to Parliament House were Johor Prince Idris Iskandar Ismail Abdul Rahman and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Mr Abe, on a stopover in Singapore en route to Kenya, was received at the main entrance by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Moments earlier, Mr Lee and his wife Ho Ching had paid their respects to Mr Nathan.

In a condolence letter to Mr Lee, Mr Abe described Mr Nathan as a "friend of Japan" who was also fluent in the Japanese language.

"He was our state guest in 2009, and has played a significant role in furthering the friendship of Japan and Singapore," Mr Abe wrote.

Labour chief Chan Chun Sing and National Trades Union Congress president Mary Liew led a group of some 750 unionists from the labour movement, all clad in white tops with a small black ribbon pinned to their chests.

Members of the opposition arrived throughout the day. Among them were Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang and chairman Sylvia Lim, and former MP Chiam See Tong and his wife Lina. Mr Nathan's body will continue to lie in state until noon on Friday. The state funeral procession will start at 2pm, and the former statesman's cortege will travel a 15.5 km route all the way to the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The procession will pass various landmarks of significance to Mr Nathan, including City Hall, Fullerton Hotel and NTUC Centre. The final stop will be the University Cultural Centre at NUS, with the funeral service scheduled to begin at 3pm.

Seven people will deliver eulogies: PM Lee; ambassadors-at-large Tommy Koh and Gopinath Pillai; labour chief Mr Chan; former senior minister of state Zainul Abidin Rasheed; and business leaders Jennie Chua and Ramaswamy Athappan.

The funeral service will be followed by a private cremation at Mandai Crematorium.