It is also the darkest day of the past seven days.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew is no more.
He has gone up in a blaze of fire, and finally at rest with his wife.
What used to be our founding father, is now interred in an urn.
His legacy, what he left behind, is modern Singapore.
His strong and indomitable spirit has been highlighted through the many tribute videos we've seen.
His love for the country will not be forgotten.
In these past seven days, we've seen the heartwarming actions of many Singaporeans.
We have felt the pride, as well as overwhelming sense of grief, amongst the people.
Mr Lee, in death, somehow still managed to ignite a spark of hope in everyone.
Of course, there has been an ugly side on social media.
Intially, I told myself, to not to read anything with scathing titles.
It is probably not going to do anything useful, except to make me angry.
I focused on the positives instead.
Personal words of tribute poured into my Facebook feed.
Everyone started to change their profile pictures, into the black ribbon of remembrance.
By the second day, however, I started to notice a trend.
My malay colleagues and friends, who had previously been very active on Facebook regarding sharing of news, had gone silent.
I was puzzled.
I thought that maybe I had missed out on their messages, because how can any Singaporean not be affected by Mr Lee's passing?
I was quite shocked to find out that I was wrong.
I whispered to Pok about my concerns.
I wondered if it was because of the fact that if Mr Lee had not campaigned for racial equality,
we may still have been part of Malaysia, and the Malays would have had better benefits for housing and education?
He told me that majority of the Malay community has feelings of dissent regarding Mr Lee,
due to his comments regarding the surge of Islam in one of his books.
He reassured me that nevertheless, there are still those who respect him deeply, even if they do not express it.
That is true, because while I was queuing under the hot sun on Wednesday,
I did see people of all races braving the relentless weather together.
However, I can't help feeling disappointed.
I am not a particularly religious person.
I don't understand much about Islam, but I have interacted frequently with Malays. (duh)
Some of them are more religious than the others.
I admire the kampung spirit that they have, because I've felt the warm hospitality at Malay weddings.
One brave soul shared this story.
I think respect to all, regardless of the religion, is the underlying message.
Mr Lee may have been wrong with his comments, but was he not human?
Was his comments so harsh and insulting, that it negated all that he had done for Singapore?
Perhaps staying silent would have been better than showing outrage, or glee (shame on you, Amos Yee),
but I wished that more of them would have be magnanimous and brave enough to express their gratitude,
instead of pretending that nothing has happened.
That would just be faking ignorance.
Moving on.
Mr Lee firmly believed in meritocracy.
If you have done something, merit will be accorded to you.
You would have earned your role, your rank, due to your value and contributions.
One must always fight for what is important, only then you will appreciate what you have achieved.
I think it is sad that some young people do not understand this.
We, as a young generation, were mostly born in an era of comfort and plenty.
Most of us did not suffer as much as what our ancestors did.
Our generally prosperous state is now possible, because it was earned with the blood, sweat and tears of the older generation.
The Chinese have a saying.
When we drink water, we must remember its source
It is a way of acknowledging our success, because to the even very basic human being, there is an origin.
We are here, on this earth, because of our parents.
Even if some may come from a broken family, it is up to that individual to fight for his/her better future.
I remember, when I was in Secondary One, my literature teacher was being stereotypical.
She was actually quite rude
She commented that children who came from broken families usually would not be able to succeed,
due to the lack of parental love and proper guidance.
One of my classmates was visibly upset and angry.
She wanted so much to shout at the teacher, to correct her insulting words.
However, she controlled her emotions throughout the class, and only ranted her anger to us later.
Had she burst out in a fit of anger, wouldn't she have proven my idiotic teacher right?
All our thoughts are ours, and ours alone.
However, it is our actions which are going to have an impact on the people around us.
In an era of liberal thinking and social media awareness,
We need to think much more about the consequences of our actions.
Often, it is no longer just a support/disagree reaction you get.
Many people have different points of view, and even more different ways of expression.
So at this point, it is even more important to reflect on what we, as Singaporeans,
can do to continue on our forefathers' hard work and legacy.
We need to be grateful more often.
We need to appreciate what we already have.
We need to fight more strongly for what we believe in.
We need to not just voice out, but start taking actions to improve.
We need to continue to be one united people, regardless of race, language or religion.
This is what I've reflected on during this sad week of mourning.
Finally, I wish to end with my thoughts of the entire day:
I've never felt prouder to be a Singaporean.
The heavens poured, but the nation never wavered.
The soldiers soldiered on despite the unrelenting rain.
Everyone was united in the face of sorrow.
Mr Lee would have been very touched, and very proud.
Even in death, he has rallied us together once again.
Rest in Peace, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
