SINGAPORE, April 15 – Singapore Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong will attend the state funeral of former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Kuala Lumpur today, its Prime Minister’s Office announced today.
The Straits Times reported that the former Singapore prime minister will be accompanied by his wife Ho Ching and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Lee and Abdullah’s stints as prime ministers of their respective countries overlapped between 2004 and 2009.
Last night, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also paid tribute to Abdullah, calling him a respected leader who helped Asean stand tall globally.
Wong also highlighted Singapore’s strong ties with Malaysia under Abdullah’s leadership, particularly through the development of Iskandar Malaysia, an economic zone in Johor established in 2006.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan also praised Abdullah’s leadership and his long service in Malaysia’s Cabinet.
Dr Balakrishnan recalled attending the first Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat in Langkawi in 2007, where both leaders discussed key bilateral issues and strengthened ASEAN’s position.
The politician known as Pak Lah will be accorded a state funeral today. His remains were brought to the National Mosque at 8am for funeral arrangements, with the lying-in-state to take place at the Main Prayer Hall of the mosque from 11am to 1pm.
The statement also said that all buildings within a two-kilometre radius of the National Mosque must fly the Jalur Gemilang at half-mast until the completion of the funeral ceremony.
Abdullah breathed his last at the National Heart Institute at 7.10pm at the age of 85.
