Singapore starts preparing for celebration 50th independent anniversary
Singapore would preparing its 50th Independent Day nationwide a week ahead including a huge military parade and would ended fireworks display that pay a tribute to former founding leader Lee Kuan Yew.
The celebration would begin on Sunday morning when sirens blared at 9am (01:00 GMT) before national TV and radio stations broadcast a 2012 recording of Lee Kuan Yew rereading the original declaration of independence.
It is stated about 250,000 spectators would take part in the festivities, among the largest in the city state’s history.
Government funded the military procession on Sunday evening marked the high point of a jubilee year largely choreographed.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, “At 50 years, as we stand at a high base camp, we look back and marvel at how how far we have come.”
Most of the mainstream media is controlled by government-linked companies, and the few independent news websites were wary of strict defamation laws that government leaders have often used to silence critics.
The Reporters without Borders’ 2015 World Press Freedom Index ranked Singapore 153rd of 180 countries, below Gambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
During the celebrations, the prime minister would join by leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the parade at the landmark Padang grounds, facing scenic Marina Bay.
Reporter: Syeda Faiza Bukhari
