Nathan will be accorded a state funeral on Friday, which will be followed by a private cremation ceremony.
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On the advice of doctors, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be on medical leave and will resume his duties on Monday (Aug 29), according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Lee has spoken each year at the annual National Day rally since taking office in August 2004.
Nathan’s death comes one day after Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 64, fainted during a televised national address, disappearing for almost 90 minutes before returning to finish the speech.
Moreover, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam assured the people that it was nothing to worry about because it was just a result of his recent taxing schedule. I’ve never had so many doctors look at me at once. He also suffered a stroke in April past year. “The last time I did this was [when I fainted] on the parade square”, the former brigadier general said.
Lee took ill during yesterday’s Rally – a traditional address to the nation on economics, policies and politics – after he had a “brief fainting spell”, Channel News Asia said in its report.
Mr Lee, 35, said: “He acknowledged me first, asked for my name, and I was surprised”.
Ramanathan, more widely known as S R Nathan, had been warded in the Singapore General Hospital since suffering a stroke July 31. The Obamas are hosting the prime minister and his wife for an official state dinner.
What makes Singaporeans proud is how, during the Laju ferry hostage crisis in 1974, Mr Nathan and his team stood as guarantors for the safe release of the passengers. Mr Lee also said he will appoint Lawrence Wong, who is now minister for national development and a member of the central bank’s board, as second minister for finance.
Lee underwent surgery in February 2015 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, but the 64-year-old was told two months later he was cancer-free.
Nathan’s body will lie in state at the Parliament House from around 10:00 AM on Thursday till Friday for the public to pay their last respects. “His schedule has been demanding, including quite a number of trips overseas in recent months and in the next few weeks”.
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“I think that’s what happened”.
