SINGAPORE - New personal documents, including the "battleship" telegram, will be added to an exhibition on Mr Lee Kuan Yew from Friday, the National Museum of Singapore said.
"Some personal items and new speeches delivered by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew will be showcased at the In Memoriam: Lee Kuan Yew exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore," it said in a press release on Thursday.
Among the personal items to be displayed are the telegram with the cryptic message 'ARRIVING TODAY BATTLESHIP', which Mr Lee had sent on Sept 26, 1958, to his family while in Sibu (Sarawak).
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong came across the old telegram when he was going through the late Mr Lee's items. In a Facebook post on April 6, PM Lee related that no one knew what the telegram meant until his father returned home to explain that he wanted to have steam boat for dinner, but used the word "battleship" instead of two words "steam boat" to save costs. Telegrams charged by the word.
Other personal documents to be displayed include a copy of the Cambridge University Reporter from June 18, 1949. The official journal of the University of Cambridge listed Mr Lee and his wife Kwa Geok Choo graduating together with first class honours after the Law final examination.
Also to go on display are a memorandum from the Director of Posts to the Secretary of the Postal and Telecommunications Uniformed Staff Union from 1952, and a letter to Mr Lee from his then-employer John Laycock.
In a Facebook post on April 7, PM Lee wrote about the letter: "John Laycock complained that my father was spending too much time on these "lengthy arbitrations", and that he was not to take on any more of these disputes!"
Visitors can also listen to archival recordings of significant speeches delivered by the late Mr Lee in Mandarin, Malay and Hokkien. Some of the featured recordings are the 1959 People's Action Party victory rally after the party won the majority of the seats in Singapore's first Legislative Assembly General Election, and his 1982 National Day Rally speech.
The exhibition is open from 10am to 8pm from Sunday to Thursday, and from 10am till 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. It runs until Sunday, May 24, and admission is free for all visitors.
Two e-books on the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew free for download
The e-books are available on Apple's iPad (but not iPhone), and Android tablets and smartphones from The Straits Times Star E-books app. To get them:
- Go to the Apple App store on your iPad, or Google Play Store on your Android tablet or smartphone.
- Type "The Straits Times Star" to search for The Straits Times Star E-books app.
- Download it onto your iPad or Android device.
- Go to "I'm just browsing"
- You will find Lee Kuan Yew: The Final Journey and Lee Kuan Yew: The Man And His Ideas inside the app.
The app is designed to work on iPad devices running iOS 6 and above. The app is best viewed on tablets.
Due to its size, it is best downloaded over Wi-Fi.
The Straits Times has also released the PDFs of its print coverage of Mr Lee's death, from March 23 to March 30. This is also sponsored by DBS Bank.
