Former South African President Nelson Mandela "embodied the best of the human spirit", Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam said on Friday.

Writing on his Facebook page, Mr Shanmugam, who is also Law Minister, said Mr Mandela inspired a generation with his courage.

"He... showed us the true meaning of reconciliation. One of the greatest of men. His legacy will live on and inspire generations to come. Condolences to the family of Mr Mandela and the people of South Africa".

Also sharing his thoughts on the passing of Mr Mandela was Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh, who called him a "great man who downplayed his greatness".

"At his (1997) Singapore Lecture I had asked him what had led him to reject the normal path of revenge and justice and to choose instead the abnormal path of forgiveness and reconciliation.

"His reply was that he had no choice but to do so... To the cynics of this world I would say that a miracle can happen even in a seemingly hopeless situation like apartheid-era South Africa".

Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim and Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivan Balakrishnan also posted tributes on their Facebook pages.