SINGAPORE on Friday said a final goodbye to S R Nathan, who hailed as a “super ambassador”, loyal servant to the country, loving husband and down-to-earth leader who was both a friend and a mentor.

The 92-year-old statesman was given a grand send-off, four days after he died peacefully at the Singapore General Hospital following a stroke.

The procession passed a number of landmarks of significance to Mr Nathan along the journey, including City Hall, Fullerton Hotel and NTUC Centre.

Singaporeans young and old cheered, applauded and wept when they saw the casket, draped with the national flag and protected by a tempered glass case atop a two-wheeled gun carriage.

Civil Service head Peter Ong, the master of ceremonies, began the two-hour service by playing a Tamil song Mr Nathan was particularly fond of.

“It is about a dollmaker who collects sand, water, clay and other material from different parts of India to make a doll. Mr Nathan saw that as a metaphor for how various races and heritage that came to our shore created the Singapore we know,” said Mr Ong.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the first of seven people to deliver a eulogy, said that it was with “great sorrow” that the nation was bidding farewell to one of its “greatest sons”.

He thanked Mr Nathan’s 87-year-old widow Urmila for being the “anchor” throughout her husband’s distinguished career, and supporting him with grace, charm and warmth.

“The central and brightest thread in (Mr Nathan’s) life was his love for Umi . . . their relationship spanned an astonishing 73 years, an inspiration to us all,” said the Prime Minister.

About SR Nathan

Sellapan Ramanathan,  (3 July 1924 – 22 August 2016),^[1] usually referred to as S. R. Nathan, was the sixth President of Singapore from 1999 to 2011, having been elected in uncontested elections in 1999 and 2005. In 2009, he surpassed Benjamin Sheares to become Singapore’s longest-serving President.

Nathan experienced a troubled youth – his father committed suicide, his three brothers died at an early age, he was twice expelled from school, and he ran away from home. After living by his wits as a translator for the Japanese Civilian Police during World War II, he completed his secondary education through a correspondence course, and then earned a diploma from the University of Malaya in Singapore in 1954. This was followed by a distinguished career in the Singapore Civil Service, which he joined in 1955. Between 1962 and 1966 he was seconded to the National Trades Union Congress, and then worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs. He was with the Security and Intelligence Division of the Defence Ministry when the Laju incident happened in 1974, and was among the government officers who agreed to accompany terrorists who had bombed petroleum tanks to Kuwait to secure the release of civilian hostages and ensure the terrorists’ safe passage. He served as First Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry from 1979 to 1982.

Nathan left the Civil Service in 1982 to take up the executive chairmanship of the Straits Times Press; he also held directorships in other companies. Between 1988 and 1996 he served as Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia and Ambassador to the United States, before his 12-year term as President of the Republic from 1999 to 2011.

Following retirement, Nathan turned to writing and also became a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the School of Social Sciences of Singapore Management University (SMU), and at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. He died in 2016 and was accorded the honour of a state funeral by the Government.

Among the awards and honours Nathan received were the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Star) in 1964, the Pingat Pentadbiran Awam (Perak) (Public Administration Medal, Silver) in 1967, the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Meritorious Service Medal) in 1975, and the Darjah Utama Temasek (Order of Temasek) (First Class) in 2013; and honorary degrees from the National University of Singapore and SMU.