Singaporeans bid farewell to Lee Kuan Yew

Singaporeans gathered in thousands on March 25 as Lee Kuan Yew's flag-draped coffin was transported on a ceremonial gun carriage at a short distance from the presidential palace - Lee's workplace for decades as prime minister and cabinet adviser - to parliament building.

Applause and shouts of "We love you!" broke out and some people were heard chanting Lee's name quietly as the dark brown wooden coffin, emerged from the Istana government complex. The carriage was escorted by Singapore's prime minister and his eldest son, Lee Hsien Loong, who is seen here with his wife Ho Ching, paying respect to his father.

Local media said Singaporeans began queuing after midnight Tuesday to mourn and get a chance to be among the first to pay their respects to the man popularly known by his initials "LKY." Roads nearby were closed despite peak-hour traffic. The government declared a week of mourning. Flags flew at half-mast above the parliament building.

Lee died on March 23 at Singapore General Hospital after more than a month of battling severe pneumonia. He is credited with transforming the Southeast Asian port city into one of the wealthiest nations in the world. For many Southeast Asian politicians, Lee remains the ideal leader; authoritarian but also the architect of a thriving economy, say experts.

Lee led Singapore from 1959 to 1990. Among his admirers were personalities like Henry Kissinger, Margaret Thatcher and Helmut Schmidt in the West, as well as Deng Xiaoping in the East, who modeled China's economic reforms of the late seventies on the pattern laid down by Lee's Singapore.

Lee's body will lie in state until Sunday, when he will be cremated after full state honors. Among those attending the funeral will be Southeast Asian heads of state and Prime Ministers Narendra Modi of India and Tony Abbott of Australia.