I’m at a total loss for words. My heart has sunk to a dark abyss. 

What words can convey the depth of emotions for the passing away of a great leader, a man for whom I’ll always be grateful to for what he has done for me and my family. 

What words can articulate a debt of gratitude to a man, without whom I would never have a proper education and found a place under the sun. 

What words can be used to speak of a man that help lay the foundation, upon which my business can build on and expand all over the world. 

What words can describe the sacrifice he made to fight seemingly insurmountable odds so that a people could survive and in so many ways succeed on a world stage. 

What words can be used to portray the long and arduous journey that he took to help turn a little red dot into one of the most admired countries in the world. 

What words can express the grief that I and many people are feeling at this dark moment of our life and history of our nation. 

No words suffice. No sentences matter. 

No articles, no matter how long or short can communicate the thoughts, feelings, and state of our being. 

His legacy is all around and within  us.  

Every breath of fresh air, every drop of water, every morsel of food, every shelter above our heads…carries marks of his effort and contribution. 

The trees, roads, parks, buildings, estates…reflect in part the vision that he had for a people that used to be mostly poor, uneducated and of migrant stock. A nation that had a relatively low reserves and with hardly any natural resources. 

He and the team that he led for years created a modern day miracle, all in less than one generation. A scale that had few precedence and will never be repeated again for years. 

That’s why many of us grieve for him. 

A tapestry of emotions run through us – feelings of loss, sorrow, and lament weaved together with a deep sense of gratefulness and thankfulness. 

Today we mourn the passing of a hero, one who appears in history once in a long while . 

Tomorrow when the sun rises, the baton will be passed to each and every one of us. 

How we unite as a people to create a better dream, how we rise up again and again to overcome challenges, how we fight on and on to craft a better future for our children and children’s children…I think that’s how he wants us to remember him and honour his legacy. 

R.I.P Sir.