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a man who loved his wife till the end he walked to her casket and placed a single stalk of red rose green leaves still on its stem on her body he raised his 87 year old body and walked half a step towards the head of the casket supporting himself on the frame then he bent towards her and reached for her face with his right hand he brought his hand back to his lips and planted a kiss on her forehead as though he could not bear to part he did that again and then he walked away composed and un aided minister mentor lee kuan yew gave his wife two final kisses as she lay peaceful in her casket at the mandai crematorium madam kwa geok choo his beloved choo had died on saturday aged 89 after being bedridden for over two years as a result of a series of strokes his kiss was a private gesture of love but will linger in the memories of those who witnessed it as a public affirmation of the abiding love they shared earlier in his eulogy he spoke of their years together as starry eyed lovers at raffles college and cambridge university he spoke too of her support as he fought for independence and through his many years as prime minister as he and his colleagues built a new nation he spoke of their public life together reminding his audience of her role in helping to draft legal documents at pivotal moments in singapore s history and of her role as his confidente and adviser of his private feelings at losing his wife he would only say he would have been a different man without her with a completely different life adding at the end with his head bowed i should find solace in her 89 years of her life well lived but at this moment of the final parting my heart is heavy with sorrow and grief after lying at sri temasek for two days mrs lee s casket was borne on a gun carriage to the mandai crematorium hundreds gathered outside the istana gates to send her off her casket travelled down roads bordering the central catchment and nature reserve areas down thomson road past macritchie reservoir where she went courting with her then fiance more than 60 years ago past the lower pierce reservoir down leafy upper thomson road lined with the beautiful albizia to her final stop at mandai a route apt for one who love botany and enjoyed watching birds in the istana grounds thousands of singaporeans and foreign dignitaries had gone to sri temasek the official residence of the prime minisster to pay their respects over the last two days the crowd included a stenographer she had encouraged to become a lawyer and a butler s son she had encouraged to become a policeman others came to pay their respects to a woman they had never met but whom they admired for her faithful support of her husband and for her quiet grace in public but yesterday s funeral service at the mandai crematorium hall 1 was private a family affair with about 300 guests colleagues friends and relatives as well as representatives from the pap and grassroots organisations and the doctors nurses and others who cared for mrs lee over the years mr lee hsien loong spoke not as prime minister but as the grieving son clad in mourning garb of plain white t shirt and black trousers addressing the minister mentor as papa for the first time in public after two days of standing for hours by his mother s casket to receive well wishers there were shadows under his eyes however his face lit up when he spoke of her hand knitted sweaters and his voice swelled with grief when he recalled how she had taken care of his two older children when their mother died on behalf of the family he said over these last few days i and my family have been deeply touched by the outpouring of condolences and fond recollection of people from all walks of life we stood receiving the visitors all moved that so many had come she was a doting mama so attuned to her children s needs she seemed to know just when daughter wei ling needed a toothbrush or when youngest child hsien yang needed medical attention the family s eulogies gave glimpses into life in the fiercely private lee family one highlight was sunday lunches at oxley road with three or even four generations with the grandchildren tending to eat far too fast and play too loudly as grandson shengwu put it granddaughter xiuqi in a fond tribute celebrated the zest for life her beloved nai nai chinese for granny had relating how she in her last years developed a fondness for dessert and ribbons as mrs lee grew frail and her husband became more attentive to her every need she acquired the flow of a girl who knew she was adored what mr lee a traditional chinese gentleman in his restraint and composure had declined to reveal his children and grandchildren chose to say for him describing how he learnt to care for his wife after she became frail as hsien yang said looking teary eyed he adjusted his routine to accomodate her changing circumstances and physical condition his abiding love devotion and care must have been a great comfort to her and an inspiration to fern and me on how to manage a lifelong partnership through good health and illness his wife suet fern and pm lee s wife ho ching were present by their husbands sides throughout the wake and funeral historians will accord mrs lee kuan yew an illustrious place in singapore history for her pioneering legal career her quiet contributions to constitutional draftsmanship and as the wife of singapore s founding prime minister but in her final journey yesterday she returned to the roles she most valued that of wife mother and grandmother and listening to her family members moving tributes there is no doubt that she loved them all and was much loved in return in the end there was just a woman who stood by her husband over a lifetime and cared for her children and grandchildren that woman was madam kwa geok choo a tribute in cartoons by akshita nanda source straits times 9 september 2011 madam kwa geok choo mr lee kuan yew s wife now has a book of sketches in memory of her wife of singapore s founding father lee kuan yew and mother of the current prime minister the late madam kwa geok choo was often captured on camera and now in cartoons a new book by well known artist morgan chua in memory of madam kwa geok choo 1920 2010 sets out her life story in a series of affectionate light hearted sketches she died in october last year at the age of 89 the drawings many inspired by photographs in the national library board archives emphasise her achievements as a lawyer breadwinner and home maker as well as her public persona as mrs lee kuan yew the 72 page self published volume begins with a note from former president s r nathan he writes i hope that it would stir interest among younger singaporeans to get to know this remarkable lady better historian kwa chong guan who is madam kwa s nephew and in his mid 60s says i think the book is a nice balance between historical accuracy and artistic creativity the head of external programmes at the s rajaratna m school of international studies lent cartoonist chua family photos for reference the author singapore born chua 61 was the editorial cartoonist for the now defunct far eastern economic review in hong kong for 25 years until 1997 his work also appeared in the singapore herald in 1970 a best selling illustrated history of singapore my singapore 2000 raffles publishers and chronicle of singapore 2009 in which editions didier millet condensed 50 years of newspaper history artist morgan chua chua never met madam kwa but last november a month after she died he says he felt driven to begin researching her life everyone was talking about her but i felt they just echoed what mr lee kuan yew had written in his books nobody went beyond what he said though based in tanjoung pinang on bintan island with his wife and one year old daughter chua began spending up to five days a week in singapore reading microfilms and old school magazines in the national library board collection he unearthed interest photos such as one of madam kwa riding an mrt train in the 1980s when the train lines opened for use she played a part in the history of singapore and she deserves a place in the history of singapore and she deserves a place in the history books he says in his sketches he adds his own signature twist to well recorded events such as the 1940s courtship of mr lee and madam kwa in singapore and england drawings based on photos of the couple together in a park for example include curious animals in the background chua also mingles facts about madam kwa s family career hobbies and pets with snippets of singapore history a page about her days at methodist girls school also summarises that institution s origins when done with the draft in june he enlisted friends such as heritage buff and national university of singaproe s law professor kevin tan as fact checkers dr tan 50 who just retired as president of the singapore heritage society says he was impressed by chua s determination to get the facts right and also the detailed tongue in cheek drawings i ve always thought this guy has something special says the self confessed fan who devoured chua s work for years in the far eastern economic review there have been all these sombre tribute to madam kwa geok choo but this is a lighter touch i think he did a fantastic job my personal acquaintance with morgan chua the first time i met morgan chua at the photostating room at lee kong chien reference library at level 11 of the national library building victoria street many years ago i did not know he is the famous and popular artist of singapore and he is a friendly and modest guy it is my pleasure and honor to know him in person many years ago we often meet at the library when both of us were doing our research at the reference library a goldmine for published resources and material we were at the library for many hours and once when we were hungry for dinner time we decided to have chicken nasi bryani at an indian stall at the coffee shop opposite the library i have lost contact with him for many years now long before he published the book on madam kwa geok choo a few selected drawings from the book are shared on this blog with thanks to morgan and hope more readers would like them and learn from an interesting book posted by thimbuktu 3 08 pm 0 comments mar 18 2020 making memories count emotional connections a photograph of mr gene tan director of the singapore memory project with his mother and three older siblings growing up in a one room flat in circuit road by jennani durai the singapore memory project shifts its focus to quality instead of quantity of memories i started with big dreams of collecting five million memories before singapore s 50th birthday but the singapore memory project now wants quality over quantity mr gene tan director of the singapore memory project says the project is beyond numbers now we feel that singaporeans can feel something for the project and people are responding more to the emotions behind the memories he says so we are moving towards memories that are able to connect with other people he elaborates once we put up a picture of a singer sewing machine on our facebook page and the memories came flooding in people talked about how they got their clothes sewn by their mother or grandmother that sparked off more memories of the people they love the most powerful memories people connect to have to do with relationships heritage experts here say the project s change in focus is for the better dr chua ai lin historian and vice president of the singapore heritage society agrees with the move saying that the richness of the contributions is more important than the number she says people could submit just one line and it might not even be meaningful the things that will speak to people who look at these contributions are rich descriptions that evoke textures and memories of the past that create emotional connections similarly dr hui yew foong of the institute of south east asian studies says memories can revolve around just recollections of everyday life he says memories are important not because we have many of them but because some of them are meaningful to us and define who we are the project initiated by the national library board in 2010 was envisioned to hit its target of five million memories by 2015 however in the last three years it has garnered over 800 000 contributions a far cry from its original lofty aim but mr tan adds that the shift away from numbers does not mean they are no longer important for any project 800 000 members are sufficient to build a story now we must try to figure out whether there are any areas of the singapore experience which we may not have memories yet he says anyone can submit memories through the project s online portal www singaporememory sg or through its various roadshows at libraries community centres and housing estates there are also more than 180 volunteers in the memory corps says mr tan who help collect and document the contributions at the project s outreach events writer justin zhuang 29 who contributed an e book on retro playgrounds to the project feels strongly that the project s success should not be discounted although the singapore memory project may look like it s lacking in numbers at the moment i think it has created an awareness of the values of our past and a platform for people to explore historeis he says he adds that the project is important in that it signals the state s recognition that every singaporean is part of its history not just great men or women mr alvin tan director of the national heritage board says the project could consider highlighting particularly evocative memories that have been submitted and leveraging on them to generate more memories historian dr chua adds that collecting any oral history can take a lot of effort it takes a long time for people to warm up and share in the vivid way that the project is looking for you may have to meet someone four or five times before they really begin to talk she says she adds it may not be as straightforward as just telling people to come forward and share civil servant jacky tan submitted this photograph of his late father selling kueh tu tu from a tricycle stall in chinatown in the 1970s human resources coordinator petrina edema submitted this 1975 shot of her with her mother and brother outside the national theatre after a visit to the van kleef aquarium photo courtesy of gene tan jacky tan petrina edema one s pore many pasts as the nation turns 50 does its history matters to singaporeans the debate continued in the post live show segment of thursday s voicestoday source today 22 february 2014 gary gan history must be taken in context if it is being used to educate and help people shape their decisions that would dictate their future then it is an important tool and we can learn from the lessons the pioneer generation taught us in building this nation if history is used as a crutch because we want to hark back to the g...