Goodbye Mr Lee Kuan Yew

I've stopped blogging for a while. But the events of today made me feel like writing how I really felt.

Founding father of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew passed away at 3:18am. It's been slightly more than 12 hours since he passed away and it still seems so surreal. Mr Lee has always been such a strong pillar, and even though he looks more and more frail each year at National day parades, no one expected that this day would come.

I'm not Singaporean, but Singapore has been the place I called home ever since I was in primary school. I lived in Singapore all my high school life, and I can sing the Singapore national anthem by heart, recite the pledge in both English and Mandarin by heart and also sing all the national day songs. My concept of merger and separation is how the Singaporeans tell it, and not the way the Malaysians do. Heck I even watch the Singaporean National day parade and feel a sense of pride like it is my own home! When I meet Singaporeans in Australia, I find it easier to connect to them than people of my own country.

Today, Mr Lee Kuan Yew has left us. Permanently. I've been following the news on how he's been doing in hospital daily, hoping that he would recover to witness SG50. 50 years of success stories as told by Singapore. I received news this morning from two friends that he passed away. The news came as shocking, as I had thought he would bounce back, like the tiger he has always been, never falling.

Now, there are a few heartfelt words I'd like to say.

李光耀先生，谢谢您。谢谢您给予我一个家。我在新加坡得到的一切 : 教育，朋友。当然也包括在新加坡得到的安全感。那是我在任何国家都感受不到的。谢谢您对新加坡的贡献，让我们和我们的子孙能够坐享其成。您努力了一辈子。现在您终于有机会休息了。想念？那是一定的。毕竟您就像是个永远不会倒下的柱子。但是我们也是时候放开您的手，让您休息了。安息吧，李光耀先生，建国英雄。

Thank you Mr Lee. What you've given me is a home. Thank you for giving me everything I got in Singapore : Education and friends. You also gave me security and peace, something which I'd never be able to experience in other countries. Thank you for hard work, giving us fruit for us and our future generations. You've worked hard your whole life and you've finally got a chance to rest. We will miss you, of course we will. You've always been a pillar of strength. However it's time for us to let go of you and let you rest. Rest in peace, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, our founding father.