SINGAPORE: Several past and present Cabinet ministers – including Prime Minister Lawrence Wong – paid their respects to Puan Noor Aishah on Tuesday (Apr 22) morning at the Ba’alwie Mosque, where funeral prayers were held following her death.
The 91-year-old, who was the wife of Singapore’s first President Yusof Ishak, died peacefully at Singapore General Hospital at about 4.30am on Tuesday.
Mr Wong said she had been “thrust into the public spotlight at a very young age” when Mr Yusof was sworn in as Singapore’s first Malayan-born head of state – or Yang di-Pertuan Negara – in 1959.
“She rose to the occasion and she made a lasting contribution … at a time when we were going through difficulties as a young nation,” Mr Wong told reporters.
“But she was also a force of good in her own right, championing various social causes, and she was patron to various organisations. Many Singaporeans have been touched by her.”
Mr Wong said he met and interacted with Puan Noor Aishah during a few public events and was “always struck by her grace and her dignity”. He also spoke with members of her family, including her son, Dr Imran Yusof Ishak.
