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Tribute segment for Lee Kuan Yew at SG50 National Day Parade

The crowd cheers as Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (C) arrives at the Marina Bay Floating Platform for the annual National Day Parade celebrations in Singapore in this August 9, 2012 file photo. Lee, Singapore's first prime minister and architect of the tiny Southeast Asian city-state's rapid rise from British tropical outpost to global trade and financial centre, died early on March 23, 2015, aged 91, the Prime Minister's Office said. REUTERS/Calvin Wong/Files

A tribute segment dedicated to the life and accomplishments of founding father Lee Kuan Yew will be added to this year’s National Day Parade on 9 August, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday.  

As a mark of remembrance, there will be an empty seat for the late elder statesman at the Padang.

“All of us wished that Mr Lee Kuan Yew could be here to celebrate NDP 2015 with all Singaporeans,” Dr Ng said in the post. “But it was not to be.”

Mr Lee Kuan Yew passed away on 23 March at the Singapore General Hospital, aged 91. The first prime minister of the Republic had been to every single NDP since 1966.

NDP 2015, however, will still adopt a celebratory tone over Singapore’s progress and achievements, Dr Ng said.

Singapore will be celebrating its 50th year of independence this year at the Padang, where the first NDP was held.