UPDATE: Full details of funeral procession from Istana to Parliament House

This article is more than 12 months old

Mar 24, 2015 11:41 pm

Here's a detailed sequence of events for the moving of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's coffin from the Istana to Parliament House on Wednesday (March 25) morning.

1. At 9am, the coffin bearer party will march into Sri Temasek. The State Flag will be draped over Mr Lee's coffin.

2. The coffin bearer party, made up of officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Police, will carry the coffin to the Gun Carriage.

3. A foot procession will take place for about 70m while the SAF Band plays Beethoven's Funeral March No. 1. There will be 8 pallbearers, made up of Mr Lee's Istana staff and office, behind the carriage.

4. The Chief Mourner will be Mr Lee's eldest son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Also in the procession will be Mr Lee Hsien Loong's wife Ho Ching, his sister Lee Wei Ling, his brother Lee Hsien Yang and his wife Lee Suet Fern, as well as Mr Lee Kuan Yew's seven grandchildren.

5. The carriage will then pass by a military Line of Honour made up of 48 officers. Also present will be 20 representatives from Tanjong Pagar, where Mr Lee has been MP since 1955, and Teck Ghee.

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6. The carriage will then pass The Lawn, where 12 Istana landscape technicians and horticulturalists led by the Istana's curator Koh Soon Kiong will be lined up along the entrance to the garden.

7. At The Istana Plaza, President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong will be waiting to pay their respects. About 90 staff from the President's Office and the Prime Minister's Office as well as 24 ceremonial guards will also be there. A bag piper from the Gurkhas will play Auld Lang Syne.

8. At The Istana Guard House, three ceremonial guards will stand in salute. Six Istana security staff and 24 ceremonial guards will line up.

9. After passing through the Istana gates, the procession will take about 5 minutes to travel to Parliament House, moving at about 25kmh along the 2km route.

10. At Parliament House, eight pallbearers representing the legislature, the executive and the judiciary will accompany the carriage. The casket will be received by the Chief of Defence Force and Police Commissioner, Speaker of Parliament as well as PM Lee and his family.

11. After the casket is placed onto the bier in Parliament House, the first of many Vigil Guards will be mounted. This tradition of mounting of Vigil Guards during the lying in state is the highest form of respect accorded to the deceased. At any one time, four uniformed officers will stand at each corner of the casket with head bowed, back turned away and ceremonial sword inverted. The Vigil Guards will be led by a senior officer, who stands at the head of the casket facing inwards.

12. Members of the public can pay their respects from 10am to 8pm from March 25 to 28. Condolence cards will be made available for them to pen their tributes.