Remembering Lee Kuan Yew

Gun carriage will convey Mr Lee Kuan Yew's body from Istana to Parliament House on Wednesday

SINGAPORE - A gun carriage will convey Mr Lee Kuan Yew's body from the Istana to Parliament House on Wednesday, March 25, morning, where he will lie in state until Saturday.

The gun carriage will leave the Istana at 9am. It will go along parts of Orchard Road, Bras Basah Road and North Bridge Road. These stretches of roads will be closed to traffic from 8.45am to 9.30am.

Motorists can expect traffic delays along affected roads, said the Traffic Police in a statement. It added that police officers and auxiliary police officers will be deployed to direct traffic.

Ceremonial gun carriages are used for state, state-assisted and military funerals. The tradition dates back to the time of the British.

The procession includes a coffin-bearer party comprising two officers each from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Singapore Police Force. The headdress of the pallbearers will be removed as a mark of respect to Mr Lee.

The national flag will be draped over the coffin.

The gun carriage consists of a 25-pounder gun overseen by the Singapore Artillery headquarters.

The coffin will be placed in a glass case on top of a platform. A ceremonial Land Rover manned by six SAF personnel will pull the gun carriage.

The public may pay their last respects to Mr Lee at Parliament House from 10am to 8pm daily between Wednesday and Saturday, March 29.

Those with enquiries about the gun carriage procession or events at Parliament House can call the hotline at 6336-1166.

Mr Lee, Singapore's first prime minister, died on March 23 at the Singapore General Hospital. He was 91.

State funerals are accorded to persons who have made truly exceptional contributions, although there is no set formula. The decision to hold one is made by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

The Singaporean politicians who have been granted state funerals before include former presidents Yusof Ishak, Benjamin Sheares and Wee Kim Wee, and former Cabinet ministers S. Rajaratnam and Goh Keng Swee.

The late Mr Lee's wife, Madam Kwa Geok Choo, was also accorded a state funeral in recognition of her "exceptional and unique contributions to Singapore for more than five decades, beginning before Singapore became independent".

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