Only 5 leaders attending funeral

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

World leaders gather for Lee Kuan Yew's funeral in Singapore

World leaders, current and former, were due to attend the state funeral on Sunday of Singapore’s first prime minister and founding father Lee Kuan Yew.

The Indonesian president Joko Widodo, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe will attend as will the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott.

Former leaders, including US president Bill Clinton and US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, will also be among mourners.

More than 1.2 million Singaporeans have formally paid their respects to Lee: nearly half a million queued to file past his body lying in state at parliament house, while more than 800,000 attended community tribute sites around the island.

A funeral procession, past significant landmarks such as Singapore’s Old Parliament House, Marina Barrage, and St Andrew’s Cathedral, will precede Lee’s funeral service at the National University of Singapore Sunday afternoon.

The country will observe one minute’s silence at 4pm.

Singapore’s current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, is Lee Kuan Yew’s son. On Saturday night, he thanked the people of Singapore for their condolences.

“My father will be laid to rest tomorrow,” he said. “My family and I are deeply grateful to everyone who came to pay their last respects to Mr Lee at Parliament House, [prime ministerial residence] Sri Temasek, and the 18 island-wide community tribute sites. We are overwhelmed by your good wishes, messages, gifts, understanding and patience.”

Standing at the starting point of the queue of Singaporean citizens lining up to pay tribute to the country’s first prime minister, the younger Lee said the country had been united by his father.

“It has been a tremendous experience this week since Mr Lee Kuan Yew passed away. I think the response from all segments of our society, everybody, has been overwhelming.”

The elder Lee, who died aged 91 on Monday, was a founding member of the governing People’s Action Party and is credited with transforming Singapore from a sleepy Asian entrepot into a bustling and wealthy financial hub.

He encouraged economic growth with easy regulation and low taxes for business, and by employing a large government apparatus to look after citizens.

Singapore enjoys one of the world’s highest per-capita incomes and its residents enjoy near-universal home ownership, low crime rates and first-class infrastructure.

But progress came at the expense of civil liberties. Critics and human rights groups condemned his iron-fisted rule of his country which saw his political opponents jailed, exiled, or driven to financial ruin through costly libel suits.

Media freedoms were also stifled, and political dissent was not tolerated.

Only 12 opposition politicians have ever been elected to parliament in Singapore.

From 1965 to 1981, the ruling party won every seat in every election. Parliament was formed with no elected opposition MPs for almost two decades.

Lee retained cabinet-level advisory posts – such as “minister mentor” after handing over the premiership to Goh Chok Tong in 1990.

He resigned from the cabinet in May 2011 after his party won its 14th consecutive general election.

The People’s Action party’s 2011 election win was by its slimmest ever margin, though the party still commands a dominant parliamentary majority.

Lee was re-elected to his seat unopposed and remained a member of parliament until his death.


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