Indonesia Condoles Death Of Singapore's Founding Father

Jakarta (Antara Bali) -   The Government of Indonesia  has condoled the death of Singaporean founding father Lee Kuan Yew at 03:18 am local time on Monday.

Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto in a press release on Monday from Tokyo, Japan, said  the government and the the people of Indonesia expressed the deepest sympathy and prayed that the bereaved family and the people of Singapore are given strength and fortitude in the face of grief over the departure of Lee at the age of 91.

"The late former prime minister, known as the Founding Father of modern Singapore, was a close friend of Indonesia," Andi said in the press statement from Tokyo.

Lee, who oversaw Singapore's independence from Britain and separation from Malaysia, had been in hospital for several weeks with pneumonia and was on life support before he passed away in the early morning of Monday.

The cabinet secretary noted that as a great statesman who transformed Singapore from a small port city into a wealthy global hub, Lee was an influential political figure in Asia who loved his countrymen.

"Under his leadership, Singapore has become a main economic hub in Asia, and is in par with other developed countries in the world," Andi said. (WDY)