“Working Overnight Is Nothing Compared To The Years Lee Kuan Yew Gave To Singapore”

This article originally appeared on Vulcan Post. 

Yesterday was a chaotic day, as public mourning for Lee Kuan Yew began. A great queue that created an 8-hour waiting period grew from its start at the Parliament House all the way to Clarke Quay. This prompted organising officials to change the timings of public mourning to run 24 hours, and SMRT has also announced that the MRTs will be running overnight to cater to people who might want to pay their final respects to Lee Kuan Yew after midnight.

But with the 24 hour time set in comes the unsung heroes that are working overnight shifts to make sure that everything runs smoothly. Cassandra, a Singaporean keen to help, decided to show her appreciation for the staff supporting public mourning.

She bought several packets of McDonalds Apple Pie, labelled each of them with handwritten notes, and began handing them out late last night. Amongst the people that she approached were MRT staff, technicians, and cleaners at Hong Lim Park.

When Cassandra thanked a pair of MRT captains, one of them replied, “it’s nothing compared to LKY working 91 years (for the nation).”

Since public mourning began, Singaporeans have shown a tremendous amount of graciousness and respect for each other. From patiently waiting in line for up to 8 hours, to handing out bottles of water, random acts of kindness have been documented on Facebook pages like Hosaybo, reviving the hope and pride we have in Singaporeans. But while we go through this week of mourning, let us not forget the other Singaporeans that are working behind the scenes to make this all possible — MRT staff, bus captains, cleaners, and paramedics.

If you’re heading to the Parliament House to pay your last respects to Mr Lee, remember to reach out and thank one of these people. Mr Lee might have been the architect of modern Singapore, but this nation was also built with the hands of many other capable people, who work silently to keep Singapore the efficient metropolis it is today.