SINGAPORE - Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen has paid tribute to Singaporeans for making the National Day Parade (NDP) 2015 "their show".
"They reminisced over the vintage parade, gushed when SAF fighter planes did their aerial display, sang our songs with gusto and cried at the end of the tribute for LKY (Mr Lee Kuan Yew)," wrote Dr Ng in a Facebook post on Monday (Aug 10) morning.
He also congratulated BG Melvyn Ong and Dick Lee - this year's parade organising chairman and creative director respectively - and their teams for the successful execution of the "biggest show ever staged in NDP history".
More than 200,000 people were present in the Marina Bay area for Singapore's Golden Jubilee celebrations on Sunday.
Urging Singaporeans to look forward, Dr Ng revealed that he had "exhorted" the NDP organisers to ensure that the parade focused on the future while still providing a poignant tribute to the late Mr Lee, who died in March.
"This is what Mr Lee would have insisted on. But in truth, all of us with aching hearts wished Mr Lee could have joined us for this parade," he added.
"So we decided a tribute to LKY that included an empty chair with the orchid Aranda named after him could fill up partially that longing."
