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Remembering Lee Kuan Yew

More efficiency as lines keep on growing

A

fter long lines that twisted and

turned around the Central
Business District on Wednesday, the sun rising over the neat rows of
tents on the Padang yesterday signalled
a more orderly day for those seeking
to pay their last respects to the late
MrLee Kuan Yew at Parliament House.
Still, as the night wore on, the crowds
swelled. At 11pm, the State Funeral organising committee said in its hourly
update that the expected waiting time
was about seven hours. On the ground,
ushers were heard informing visitors
that they may have to wait up to between eight and nine hours. They also
told TODAY that the waiting crowd
last night was much worse than on
the previous night. As at 11pm yesterday, 147,791 visitors had paid their respects since the lying-in-state began
on Wednesday morning.
Overall, the more efficient state of
affairs was a marked improvement
from the situation on Wednesday
at one point, around 10.45am, the estimated waiting time from the committee was only 90 minutes. Although
the committee in the afternoon upped
the estimate to seven hours, many of
the visitors TODAY spoke to reported
waiting times of around three to four
hours. Those in the priority lane the
elderly, pregnant women, school children, families with children under six
and those with special needs waited
less than an hour.
By daybreak yesterday, tents and
barricades were set up to organise
the queues, while the lines of people
continued unabated with Parliament
House and MRT train services open 24
hours. Signs directing people towards
the Padang and marking the priority
lane were also up, and ushers were on
hand to direct people, including those
eligible for the priority lane in the
right direction.
The public wake for Mr Lee began
on Wednesday after his casket was
transferred from the Istana to Parliament House in a solemn procession,
and drew overwhelming response, with
lines of people snaking all the way to
Clarke Quay causing confusion on the
ground, prompting the authorities to
extend visiting hours.
Singapore Institute of Technology
student James Leong, 22, was among
those who decided to take advantage of

The public wake

for Mr Lee began
on Wednesday
and drew an
overwhelming
response, with lines
of people snaking
all the way to Clarke
Quay, causing
confusion on
the ground.
Photo: Wee Teck Hian

Shorter extension
for train services
due to low ridership

ith ridership being low for

the around-the-clock train
services on Wednesday
night to cater for those who went to
pay their respects to the late Mr Lee
Kuan Yew, service hours from City

the late hours and the extended hours

for train services. He arrived at 1am
yesterday and waited two and a half
hours before he could pay his respects.
My schedule is full. My lessons are
from 9am to 6pm, he said.
Lawyer Gerald Tan, 30, woke up
at 4am and arrived in office attire. I
thought this was the best time to avoid
long waiting times. I waited for about
45 minutes, said Mr Tan, adding that
he would head straight to work.
As the crowd swelled over the course
of the morning, several Cabinet Ministers were seen out and about thanking
members of the public for taking time
off to pay their respects to the late
MrLee. They included Deputy Prime
Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam,
Law Minister K Shanmugam, Minister in the Prime Ministers Office Lim
Swee Say. Also spotted was Speaker
of Parliament Halimah Yacob.
Businesses and individuals continued with acts of goodwill by providing
drinks and snacks, as well as umbrellas
to keep out the glare of the sun. Umbrellas were given out at the Padang
and signs were posted reminding the
public to return them at the end of the

visit for others to use. Volunteers helping were not forgotten a TODAY
reader spotted a box of apple pie for
volunteers with a note that said thank
you for your hard work. Businesses
giving away drinks included Timbre
Group and Marigold.
Even so, the heat and wait still
proved too much for some. Around
12.35pm, a woman fainted at the Padang and was carried away by emergency personnel.
Research officer Sharon Niam, 36,
research officer joined the queue with
a colleague at about 4pm and was surprised when she only had to wait two
and a half hours. I guess we came at
the right time. We heard that the queue
time was eight hours in the afternoon.
Compared with yesterday, from what
we saw on the news, the queues today
are a lot more orderly and systematic.
Ms Nancy Tay, 62, an assistant finance manager and Ms Adeline Lim,
59, waited for three and a half hours.
Said Ms Lim: The food and water and
umbrellas being distributed brought
some form of comfort despite the heat.
It was quite a rough time waiting under
the sun, but once we entered ( (Parlia-

Hall, Raffles Place and Clarke Quay

stations were extended by only 55 minutes, from 11.50pm yesterday to 12.45
this morning.
In a joint media statement, the Land
Transport Authority, SBS Transit and
SMRT said data indicated that trains
running from midnight to 6am yesterday carried an average of less than
10per cent of their maximum capacity because many chose to drive or
take a taxi.
With demand expected to be lower
yesterday, they decided to cut the ex-

tension of operating hours, with LRT

and 41 feeder bus services running till
later to match the arrivals of the last
trains. The 13 Night Bus services continued to be provided throughout the
night. These services provide connections to major residential areas such as
Jurong, Bukit Batok, Yishun, Ang Mo
Kio, Sengkang and Tampines.
The joint statement also said the
public transport operators were not
able to continue providing full-night
services for a second consecutive day as
they needed to carry out maintenance

ment House), I forgot about how tired

and hot I was.
Ms Jean Tan, 48, who waited about
three hours with her husband Clifford
Chua, 49, said: I wish we had more time
to say goodbye and pay our respects,
but the line was moving so we could
only do a quick bow and go on our way.
By evening, waiting times had
lengthened staff on the ground said
even the wait in the priority queue was
about four hours.
Childcare teacher Pei Wen waited
for more than five hours, but said it
was shorter than what she was expecting. (It was) very orderly. (I am) quite
impressed with the way things were
handled, she said.
Mr Tony Chua, 62, a retiree, queued
for three hours on Wednesday and returned yesterday to sketch the crowd at
the Padang. This is once in a lifetime.
I wont get the chance again. I might
come back again to capture this from
another angle, maybe near Parliament
House. No matter how hot the sun is,
queuing to pay respects to Mr Lee is the
last thing you can do for him. REPORTING BY XUE JIANYUE, VALERIE KOH, JORDON
SIMPSON, JEAN KHOO, YVONNE LIM

of trains and tracks to ensure safe and

reliable services.
Both operators deployed additional
staff last night to catch up on maintenance work that were missed on
Wednesday night.
The LTA said it will continue to
monitor the level of demand and make
adjustments as needed.
Commuters can visit http://www.
mytransport.sg/, http://www.sbstransit.com.sg/ and http://www.smrt.com.
sg/ for more information on public
transport operation hours.