The Centre has declared national mourning on Sunday as mark of respect to the former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew.
The Indian National Flag will be flown at half-mast throughout the country and there will be no official entertainment on Sunday, Lee’s funeral day, an official statement said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the funeral.
91-year-old Lee, Singapore’s founding father who dominated the country’s politics for more than half a century, died of severe pneumonia on March 23.
- › Born in Singapore on September 16, 1923. Lee came from a middle-class Chinese Hakka family which had been established in Singapore since his great grandfather migrated to the island in the mid-19th century.
- › November 12, 1954: Together with a group of fellow English-educated middle-class men, Lee formed the ‘socialist’ People’s Action Party (PAP) in alliance with the pro-communist trade unionists.
- › May 30, 1959: National elections held, in which PAP won 43 of the 51 seats. Singapore gained self-government with autonomy in all matters except defence and foreign affairs.
- › June 3, 1959: Lee became the first Prime Minister of Singapore.
- › September 16, 1963: Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak merge and Malaysia was formed.
- › August 9, 1965: Singapore exits Federation of Malaysia, at Malaysia’s invitation, amid political and ethnic tensions. Parliament of Singapore passed the Republic of Singapore Independence Act, making itself a sovereign republic.
- › November 28, 1990: After leading the PAP to victory in seven elections, Lee stepped down on, handing over the prime ministership to Goh Chok Tong.