We were there

it has been an emotional week for all of us since monday.
our founding father, Mr. Lee (aka Ah Gong) left us.
the whole nation went into mourning mode, and we got into really intense "revision" of the singapore history. our history. our lives.
we may have forgotten the past, forgotten the fact that everything we have today was due to the hard work and perseverance of this great man and his team.
it's time for us to remember and keep it with us again.
"merdeka! merdeka!" we hear this familiar voice shouting from our tv screens. as i found out more about this great man, this pain started to radiate from my heart. i felt stifled with the sudden choke in my throat. by the end of the day, i find myself weeping.
regrets for not knowing enough of our history? for not knowing Ah Gong better?
yes.
but the bigger part of it was gratefulness. n the guilt of not appreciating what we have right now.

my bro, baby and i went to the parliament house yesterday to pay our last respects to the great man.
never mind the Q for 6 hours.
never mind the heat.
never mind the people who cut our queue.
for once, our objective was clear.
for once, all the wait was worth. for once, we can say singaporeans unite together to create a small part of history, for you know, this will never ever happen again in singapore.
never.
it will only happen once.
for him.
for Mr Lee.
for you and me, as singaporeans.
and there, we saw the kindness of fellow singaporeans (who say we don't have a heart?).
shop keepers along the way offered drinks, food and chairs, staff from banks offering packet drinks as well. strangers from the queue offered help to "chope" your place while you can go for toilet breaks or just to sit down in the shady corner.....
trust me, we care.
as we proceed with our long walk down by the singapore river, baby told me that it was like a walk down the memory lane. looking at the high-rise buildings, the historic sites, the clean river, it was hard to imagine how much our forefathers went through to build what we see now. we asked ourselves "what does it look like before? was the river really filthy 50 years ago?" we finally have the time to slowly appreciate what was done for us. it was indeed, the walk of our history.

the moment happened fast. and before you know it, it was over.
no one lament about it. because we know, we want all of us, singaporeans, to be part of it. to be in it. together, united as one.
this will be what Mr Lee wants. what he always wanted.
this will be the last gift from us.
we stay united as one.

"we were there.
that's all that matters." ~ ST reporter

bye bye our founding father.
bye bye Ah Gong.
you taught us what was love and devotion, for the country, for the people, and for your loved ones.
you taught us the importance of discipline, being firm and objective.
thank you for your selfless contributions for us.
you gave us whatever we see, whatever we have today.
you gave us our lives.
谢谢你，我们的国父。
谢谢你，李光耀先生。
Rest in peace, Mr Lee.

P.S: i sincerely hope that you can find Mrs Lee in heaven, although you've mentioned that it will be overcrowded up there...... :)

Mdm Kwa Geok Choo (1920 - 2010)

Mr Lee Kuan Yew ( 1923 - 2015)