Former Cabinet minister Othman Wok dies aged 92

Former minister Othman Wok, one of Singapore's first generation of leaders, died at Singapore General Hospital on Monday (Apr 17) at 12.21pm, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

He was 92.“Mr Othman was one of the signatories of the Separation Agreement and a founding father of Singapore,” the PMO said. “He was a key member of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s Cabinet, during the critical period when Singapore was in Malaysia, and then separated from Malaysia to become an independent republic.

“He supported Mr Lee in the fight for a multiracial and multireligious Singapore, and became one of Mr Lee’s closest comrades.”

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said in a Facebook post that Singapore is indebted to Mr Othman and will always be. "He made a multiracial Singapore possible, which matters more than anything else we have," he said in his tribute. 

In a Facebook post on Monday, the People’s Action Party said Mr Othman was one of the earliest proponents of multiracialism in Singapore.

Mr Othman will be buried at Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery on Tuesday. The Government will accord him the honour of being borne on the ceremonial gun carriage for his final journey from Sultan Mosque to Pusara Abadi at the Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery, the PMO said.

A memorial service organised by OnePeople.sg will be held on Wednesday. The Government has ordered that the State flag on all Government buildings be flown at half-mast until the memorial service is over.