SINGAPORE — Nearly 12,500 people have signed an online petition calling on the Singapore government to rename Changi airport after Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew who died last month, the organiser of the petition said this week.
The petition to rename the airport to “Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) International Airport” on the “Change.org” website was handed to Singaporean Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew on Tuesday, the organiser said.
Lui was quoted as saying that he will bring the proposal up to the government for consideration.
Lee, who was prime minister from 1959 to 1990, died on March 23 after a bout with pneumonia. He has been credited for Singapore’s success as one of Asia’s most prosperous economies.
Hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans queued to pay their respects at Parliament House where his casket was placed during a week of national mourning after his death, and thousands also lined the streets on the day of his state funeral on March 29.