I mean I want to see

SOMETIMES I have to tell myself to have patience when faced with the smugness of some expats who live off the fat of a country they have a less-than-thinly disguised contempt for.

Would love to have a “gift” kit to present to them consisting of fibre chewable, laxative and lubricant. In fact, that’s what I think I’ll do.

Southern Ridges hike. Image © Yvonne Koh

 

我缺乏耐性 没甚麽事能让我满意
我常得罪人 这好像是天生的本领

– 王菲 《出路》

我不喜欢政治 因为觉得充满阴险…关心社会 可社会沦陷 当然也有好的一面

I’VE pretty bad vibes about this person whom I think will easily 借刀杀人 and has ego problems. I’m OK, You’re OK, but I don’t have to get too close to you.

Interesting background on intuition, though. I like the Berkeley series, which has gems such as these.

And I really love this interview:

One final question, looking back at this journey that you’ve been on. For students watching or reading this interview, is there one particular lesson that they might draw from this intellectual journey that you’ve taken?

A lesson I draw is one that my father always taught me, which is about the importance of late bloomers. My father had students in junior year in high school who were C students, and thirty years later they were the Mayor of Manchester, New Hampshire, and they were college professors, and they were physicians and lawyers. We all mature at different rates. One of the things a liberal education does is to make you ready for the moment. Make the ground ready for the moment when the seed is prepared to drop. I think students too often think, if they’re not a success in college, they’re a failure forever, or if they’re not a success in a professional school. We all grow at different rates. The late bloomers are legion, starting with Winston Churchill and you can go through lists and lists and lists — Harry Truman. I hope students understand and they’re preparing themselves, even if they’re not quite sure now where they’re going.

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A: Yes I tell her: “Oh hi, I can brush your teeth for you.”
A (on a roll): “I can fill your teeth. Your mouth will be full of my fillings.”
Audience studiously ignores A.

A (still on a roll): My friend told the dental nurse: “Suck here! Suck here! Harder!”
We walk away from A.

*

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

– Emma Lazarus, 1883

*

The problem of graduates with loads of energy and intelligence but who are underemployed…I suppose we could start companies.

The dynamism of emerging regions in Asia draws skilled immigrants homeward. Even when they choose not to return home, they are serving as middlemen linking businesses in the US with those in distant regions.

& also so many of my classmates who are doctors or lawyers are working in the UK or Australia. This raises tricky questions about the potentially harmful impact of this brain drain of skilled professionals. We’re ok in SG, but these professionals are already desperately rare in the poorest countries. Does it make sense to import foreign doctors on a permanent basis? If doctors are trained abroad, rich countries can economise on the vast costs of their education. But the quality of care might be inferior if they are not as well trained as Western ones. Local talent might also be going to waste.

There is a buzz about big global cities like London and New York and Tokyo. It’s why people from all over the world flock to live in those cities. There is a wide variety of people and choices of cultural experiences and restaurants and entertainment. Places with diverse mixes of creative people are more likely to generate new combinations, with diversity and concentration. This is the argument made by Richard Florida in The Rise Of The Creative Class. Most of the great cities — ancient Athens, Elizabethan London, post-revolutionary Paris, Weimar Berlin and fin-de-siecle Vienna — attracted talented people from afar and sparked new ways of doing things due to diversity.

But I find the cosmopolitan and the rich often self-congratulatory and smug. “Bohemians” are often written into narrow stereotypes, too.

SIN city! Image © here

 

MAYBE I’ll go on a solitary sampling tour of all the ice-cream brands in the neighbourhood mamak shop. I think Magnum is overpriced and not yummy. I’d rather pay for Haagen Dasz (sp?) green tea ice cream actually, but sometimes it’s fun to just eat trash.

Didn’t sleep enough, as usual, and am self-medicating with sugar! Hey it’s the weekend and I can do exactly as I please, which is to lie around, eat junk food, and snipe. Maybe embark on some hysterical moral panic act. Try to see how I can put my grubby paws on other people’s money. Maybe — argggggg even read something in Bahasa. Sigh. Work! Work! I don’t want to work. We should just sit around on the beach under the coconut tree and eat coconuts and grow fat.

*

YES, I’m feeling snipey today, so let’s jump onto one of my favourite hobby horses, GAMBLING. I’ve some statistics here.

Firstly, from One Hope Centre, which helps gambling addicts and helps them on the path to recovery. (I’m ambivalent about it being a church group, but so far it’s the best non-profit I know of other than Credit Counselling that helps gambling addicts.)

The info below has been collected by an anonymous volunteer:

One Hope Centre support groups are large, numbering anywhere between 30 to 60 participants. Among One Hope clients, 35% are aged 35-44, 35% are aged 45-54, 90% are married, 90% are Chinese (YES, all the stereotypes are TRUE), and 35% are Buddhist. According to Reverend Tan, gamblers think they can control their emotions, and also believe they can control and recoup their losses. Problem gamblers can’t forgive themselves for their losses, and they become detached from society. Each compulsive gambler, according to the group, can also adversely affect the lives of somewhere between 10 and 20 relatives, friends, and business associates around him.

Many people here claim to use gambling for stress relief, leisure or (gasp) “family time”. As an example, Reverend Tan cited an MCYS 2008 survey which revealed that 50% of the respondents viewed gambling as a leisure activity, while another four in 10 undergrad students gamble. In addition, a similar SMU survey found that three youths out of 100 gamble, while the National Council on Problem Gambling reported that calls to their hotline have doubled since Resort World Sentosa opened its doors. When another casino theme-parm opened in April 2010, gamblers started using the excuse of “whole family entertainment” to pay a visit, throwing family members at the theme park and going into the casino themselves. “We are living in a world of gambling,” said the reverend, “and no one is immune from becoming a gambling addict when given the right opportunity.” He quoted Michael Franzsee, noting that “more lives are destroyed by gambling than by drugs and alcohol combined”.

(Note: This can also take the form of STOCK MARKET GAMBLING, or “land banking” or whatever, all you idiots who “invest” without really knowing WTF you’re doing.)

In Singapore, there’s the case of Simon Lee, a problem gambler who killed his family (a wife and two children) in March 2005. In another case, a Singapore businessman lost $6 million and was reduced to driving a taxi for a living. The reverend also pointed out that gamblers often get into heavy debt and borrow from illegal loansharks, who come knocking for payment. When gamblers can’t pay, they often want to kill themselves, thinking that they can then relieve the family of these problems. When callers phone One Hope, they are already at their wit’s end, and One Hope becomes their last hope.

While IMH maintains that gambling is a “problem of the brain” (WAKE UP, doctors!!), Reverend Tan claims it is a “heart problem” — greed. He says that strong family support is the key to recovery for problem gamblers. One Hope views its programme as a “family package treatment”, inviting family members to participate in the gambler’s recovery and restore the broken relationships. Otherwise, given the opportunity, a gambler can easily fall back into addiction.

Credit Counselling Singapore assists consumers in recovering from serious debt problems by providing general credit management information, credit counselling and debt management. While One Hope helps clients with emotional issues and illegal loansharks,
CCS deals strictly with debt management and legal loansharks.
CCS’s typical client is 39 years old, earns $2,700 a month, has about seven creditors, and owes $71,000 in debt. About 66% of clients are married, with 49% holding an A-level cert or above and 46% staying in a five-room flat or larger.
CCS charges $30 for a counselling session and $100 for its Debt Management Programme. These charges, it says, are levied so that the client will not take its services for granted and will be more committed to the programme.

Volunteers from
CCS started counselling debtors in 2005. Clients fall into four categories: a “hard luck” client suffers from an unexpected crisis, such as retrenchment or medical bills. The second category is the “spender”, where a client who earns $3,000 a month can actually spend over $5,000, using the $2,000 from credit lines. Men in this category typically make a few big purchases, such as a house or a car, while women typically make several small purchases that accumulate into big debts. For example, they might argue that it’s cheaper to “buy two, get one free”, which actually leads to more spending (YES: WAKE UP when you read those fancy credit card brochures for cosmetics + other “cute” items!) A third category is “muddle-headed” client, who borrows from the banks to lend the money to friends and family. For example, many people lost jobs last year and borrowed money to start their own companies. As the crisis worsened, many new ventures failed, leaving clients unable to repay their loans. Finally, the fourth category is the “punter” clients, who plays the stock markets or gambles on lotteries, soccer games or horse racing.

For someone to repay $71,000 in debt, the
CCS counsellor said that it would take 26 — yes, 26!!! — years of the client not buying anything to eat or drink. Troubled debtors rarely approach
CCS directly — more often than not, it’s a concerned family member who seeks resolution to the family debt.

With Marina Bay Sands Resorts Casino, the Casino will definitely want to recoup the $7.5 billion (I think) they sank into building this “theme park”. Let’s see where the money actually comes from.

Bist du zu schlau, um nicht unangenehm aufzufallen
und nicht schön genug, um damit durchzukommen?
Weißt du genau, wie es ist, immer raus zu fallen
nur nicht weit genug, um woanders anzukommen?

Es tut weh, so zu sein, wie du solltest
Es tut weh, zu sein, wie du bist - Aber wenn der
Quarterback kommt, um dir die Brille abzunehmen Sag ihm:
Danke, die bleibt wo sie ist
Ich weiß doch:

Die Verletzten sollen die Ärzte sein
Die Letzten sollen die Ersten sein
Sieh es ein: The Meek shall inherit the earth
Die Verletzten sollen die Ärzte sein
Die Letzten sollen die Ersten sein
Die Ersten sehen als Letzte ein:
The Geek shall inherit the earth

Nicht deine Zeit, nicht deine Füße,
nicht dein Beat, nicht deine Leute,
deine Welt nicht, und nicht mal dein Schmerz
Du musst hier nicht dazugehören, aber such dir, was zu dir gehört
Du musst nicht tanzen, aber beweg dein Herz

Es tut weh, so zu sein, wie du denkst, dass du solltest
Es tut weh, so zu sein, wie du denkst, dass du bist - Aber wenn die
Homecoming Queen kommt, um dich wach zu küssen
Sag ihr Danke, ich hab nichts vermisst
Ich weiß doch:

Die Verletzten sollen die Ärzte sein
Die Letzten sollen die Ersten sein …

Es tut weh, so zu sein, wie du denkst, dass du solltest
wenn dein Lehrer dich fragt, sollen wir uns nicht öfter sehen
Es tut gut, so zu sein, wie du denkst, dass du möchtest
wenn du sagst: Herr, lass diesen Knilch an mir vorübergehen

– Lyrics of one of my favourite songs.

TALKING to one of my best friends about Queen Bees in her department…having been a bully once in my primary school days I understand how the alpha thing works. Unfortunately I turned out to have a butt-ugly period during my teens and joined totally uncool activities like the Interact Club (community service) and the Environment Club (we reared worms for composting, for Chrissakes) and went through a period of being the geek, so I’ve been on the other side of the “cool” line.

Seriously. I’m a peasant, not a princess, and I don’t need the titles or the handbags or the backstabbing that comes along with playing politics to get ahead. I also don’t need the pit vipers competing with me for the “alpha” high-status males. That’s not to say I’m without envy or malice myself. Believe me, I do feel it. The thing is to give your conscience free rein to bite you hard and kick you in the arse.

Save your energy, mean girls, I’m out of the game. Odd thing about the rat race: No matter how far ahead you get, you remain. A. Rat. And Golden Boys, be careful about who’s hanging out with you and for what reasons. I’ve been backstabbed a couple of times, and while I forgive, I never forget. 这样才会成长。 That’s how we learn. And that gut feel, yeah — very important.

I’d rather have a simple life than worry about my conscience. I’d rather be a starving poet (though law *is* beginning to interest me) than do all that bitchy manoeuvring. If we can’t change the system, just get out of it. Burn bridges. Block the energy sappers. And what goes around always comes back around.

READING this book now. ISBN 1-84408-047-1, Library call number 958.10460922

Sultan was convinced that under the Taliban the country grew increasingly poor, dismal and insular. The authorities resisted all modernisation; they had no wish to either understand or adopt ideas of progress or economic development. They shunned scientific debate, whether conducted in the West or in the Muslim world. Their manifesto was above all a few pathetic arguments about how people should dress or cover themselves, how men should respect the hour of prayer, and women be separated from the rest of society. They were not conversant with the history of Islam or of Afghanistan, and had no interest in either.

Sultan Khan sat in the car squashed between the illiterate Taliban soldiers, cursing his country for being ruled by either warriors or mullahs. He was a believer, but a moderate Muslim. He prayed to Allah every morning, but usually ignored the following four calls to prayer unless the religious police pulled him in to the nearest mosque with other men they had snatched up from the streets. He reluctantly respected the fast during Ramadan and did not eat between sunup and sundown, at least not when anyone was looking. He was faithful to his two wives, brought up his children with a firm hand and taught them to be good God-fearing Muslims…

The Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Extermination of Sin, better known as the Ministry of Morality, was behind his arrest. During the interrogation in the prison Sultan Khan stroked his beard. He wore it according to Taliban requirements, the length of a clenched fist. He straightened his *shalwar kameez*; it too conformed to Taliban standards — tunic below the knees, trousers below the ankle. He answered proudly: “You can burn my books, you can embitter my life, you can even kill me, but you cannot wipe out Afghanistan’s history.”

I think morality should stand behind ministry. Not ministry before morality. :)

“The unreal is more powerful than the real. Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. You can change the way people live their lives. That’s the only lasting thing you can create.”

– Chuck Palahniuk

From this blog. This man sounds like such a lovely man. In Vienna.

He reminds me of why teachers in Asia are my favourite people. I love the Princeton programme…I met some of his friends on my trip through Laos, and they remind me of X. Educators *are* my favourite people. The people I met are friendly, easy-going, empathetic, and intelligent and hungry and funny.

I hope you find your harbour. I hope you find your sanctuary. I hope you find your heart’s home. God bless, god speed, and bon voyage. If you want to stay where you are and sleep all day, I think that’s perfectly fine too. :) That’s how dreams are made, you know.

That reminds me, I have to go read The White Tiger. Mmm…reading. You adult readers can go and watch football and surf for porn and watch TV if you want. Just remember to stay clean, go slow, and relax. :)

I think Singapore’s the best place for that, actually.

MAYBE they’ll come back, maybe they won’t. But let them have time for play.

Speaking of which, Sunday seems nice and bright. Maybe I’ll open the door and leave the house. I kinda envy Jo and her two sons. :)

ISBN 978-1-846-14213-0 Welfare, freedom, and virtue. Please read this book. It’s in the library under 172.2 SAN.

To ask whether a society is just is to ask how it distributes the things we prize — income and waelth, duties and rights, powers and opportunities, offices and honours. A just society distributes these goods in the right way; it gives each person his or her due. The hard questions begin when we ask what people are due, and why.

TALKING to one of the best friends I’ve made recently who’s leaving for HK soon…I like C a great deal, she’s funny and wise and accomplished, and I’ll miss her a lot, but yay to weekend trips in HK. She got her confirmed offer when we were talking over a dinner of salads and fish at yuppie paradise Cedele. L is moving to Taipei. People come, people go…if only there’d be more people I love coming in.

In any case, we are an incredibly blessed bunch of people. In material terms:

This list seems very basic. Yet not everyone in this country or in the world has, or will be able to be grateful for, all of these things. In their life some of these things do not exist now, nor have they ever existed. Thanksgiving Holiday is more than turkey, Grandma’s pumpkin pie, half-price sales and sports events. This list is one which, hopefully, everyone reading it can say applies to them. However simple it may seem, it is humbling and sad to realize that many in our country and even
more in other countries, only have 1-2 things on this list each day, while most if not all of us have all ten! Perhaps if we are thankful for these basic things daily, it will help ourselves and others gain more abundance, or at least we will appreciate our own more.

1. Waking Up Alive.
George Burns once said a great day for him was waking up and not seeing candles, a church, and his friends all dressed in black. He was blessed financially and health wise. Many, in this country and in other countries, are lucky to make it to age 10, let alone 100.

2. Decent Air to Breathe.
While everyone has this, in some places in the world, the air is so polluted and foul smelling, the people die of respiratory ailments just from breathing.

3. A New Day to Learn and to Earn a Livelihood.
Most of us live in areas with very low un-employment rates. If we choose and need to work and have a job, we can earn money daily or weekly *somehow*. Others are in school or educational environments. They can learn or increase what they already know. Many people have no jobs and will never have a chance to learn a basic education.

4. A Home In Which to Eat, Sleep, Live, and Relax.
We are blessed if we are not one of the millions of people whose home consists of a car, an abandoned house or building, cardboard or tin constructed “shelters,” or the bare earth or grass. Think about pictures you may have seen of the homeless when you complain about your home or apartment being too cold or warm, or the utility bill being too high.

5. Ample Clean Food to Eat and the Option to Buy as Much as We Need.
Most of us never have experienced waiting in line 2-6 hours to buy a loaf of bread, some flour, eggs, etc. We don’t know what it is like to wait for a truck to pull up and hand out boxes or containers of rice or Red Cross rations. We’ve never dug in dumpsters behind a grocery store or restaurant to get the food that was thrown out to have for our daily meal. Food is expensive for many. At least in the U.S. we have no lack of it and it is not rationed out to us or sold at black market prices.

6. Friends, Family and Pets.
Most all of us have one or more of these three things in our life. In some parts of the country and the world, people are alone–young children are alone. And the “pet” may have to end up feeding a family or a group of people due to lack of any other food supply. We spend more money on the food and vet bills for our pets than many people in poor countries MAKE in income in 1-3 years!

7. Living in a Democratic Society.
Not talking or pushing politics. But we are free to pretty much do and say what we wish as covered by the Bill of Rights. And we don’t have tanks and armed soldiers walking the streets 24 hours a day looking for looters, guerillas and terrorists. Life and the government isn’t at all perfect here?. But it sure beats anything else I have seen or read about in my lifetime.

8. Abundant Natural Resources.
Yes we need to clean up our water and air, and plant more trees, etc. But we *do* have in our towns, water and sewage control that are sanitary to use and maintained. Our air quality varies from town to town, and on average is much better than in many other countries in the world. We also have ample supplies of electricity, gas, and other resources we need to live and thrive personally and industrially.

9. Clothing to Protect Us from the Elements and to Even Enhance Our Appearance.
True, there are places in the U.S. where people in poverty lack adequate clothing. Compared to our population, however, the majority of us have adequate clothes, and many of us have clothing that is both functional and attractive as well.

10. The Gift of Choice.
This is something everyone has no matter where they live. Even if they live in a poor non-democratic society, we all have the choice to make decisions, to act, and to be however we wish, as adults at least. This was given to us at birth and is never taken away, but is often taken for granted, ignored, or not fully developed or used.

About the Author:
Dennis R. Tesdell is an experienced personal development and self-care coach as well as an author on personal growth, self-care and self improvement issues.

And in emotional terms, I come from a family that’s always given me care and attention and affection. C and I were saying how meal-times have always been important to us growing up…I know kids who are materially well-off but are needier emotionally than third-world children, because their parents were busy working and thought throwing money at them would work. I’m pretty well-adjusted and though the Aged Parents can get on my nerves now and then I love them very much and like to think the sentiment’s returned.

I’ve had the whole international experience thing, and I’m a beneficiary of the system here in Singapore. If things had gone one way, I would be working in a third-world factory somewhere. No Providence, no Boston, no Oxford, no Paris, no Vienna, no backpacking trips across SE and E Asia. There are all these debates about factors that matter in development: economic discipline, socio-cultural causes, the ‘”hero” view that individuals matter (see Tom Plate quotation in previous article). We were *lucky* that a team of people with clean hands and pure hearts came to power at that particular crossroads in history.

I know those of us who’ve spent time abroad tend to yearn a little for the golden cities. And oh, I miss the art galleries and I miss spring and autumn and wonderful libraries. But jia jia you ben nan nian de jing…I feel safer here at home than in many other places. I like how multilingual we are. I fell in love with SE Asia.

Of course, adjusting back was hard at first.

1. Academic life to working life
- wanting to be an academic but working on ST stories. Led to overextending myself with a crazy programme “not to fall behind”, memorizing French conjugations on the MRT, reading books off reading lists I got from my friends in PhD programmes, sleeping an insane 4 hours a day.
- verbally abusive work culture. Exponential increase in number of assholes compared to school, when I happily surrounded myself with fuzzies.
- pay a fraction of what my peers were getting.
- weird-ass happenings when people drugged me.

2. LDR
- Oh God, never again. Nevermore. Oh, Lord, Nevermore. A. Colossal. Mistake. Cut loss, cut loss, I should have told my younger self. Don’t throw in more money after the bad!

3. Sans-mere-sans-pere to sharing a living space again.
- Pay was so low that I prefer to save and not rent.
- Mere et pere excellent at playing the guilt card whenever I mention “moving out”.

4. Stress of urban commuting.
- rudeness and bad vibes.
- incessant chatter. It took me five years to decide to shell out for an iPod — as Janice could see I was using a decade-old Panasonic CD player.

BUT

Whining aside, this was the place that gave me the opportunities I had. Mawkish old me. I hear the sirens of the Roll-Your-Eyes-Cheese police…but it *is* a happy story. So many of us kids, like Cinderella waiting to go to the ball :) I’ll always remember how I was so excited over the Brown catalogue when I was a high-school teen, then heading over to the bookstores and libraries and checking out every single guide book I could once I realised they gave me the scholarship. Fast forward to junior year, when I headed to the Brown bookstore and checked out every single England book…then planning for the Paris/Nice/Italy trip with G and S when we were in England.

Even now, I complain that I’m poor as a churchmouse, but the reality is I can afford to go flying off on breaks now and then, buying artwork in Hanoi, shopping at Uluwatu Lace in Bali, eating at yuppie restaurants. I decry the “Lifestyle” — but the truth is I’m about as bourg and middle-class as they come.

*

A: The truth is, many boring buy-side people have interesting and cool sell-side friends.

B (on someone she terms the Yale Toady): I can’t deal with them! We went to a treehugging school! We befriend animals! I just want to cry!

“To lead people, walk beside them…
As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence.
The next best, the people honor and praise.
The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate…
When the best leader’s work is done the people say,
‘We did it ourselves!’ ”

- Lao-tsu

A generous heart, kind speech and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.

- Source unknown.

THE best leaders I’ve seen in education get their hands dirty and lead by example. Look at Mrs Chua, for instance, who picks up litter as she walks around the school and is loved by all her staff and students. Learning from her example, I now “de-rubbish” the park when I go cycling — you don’t have to sign up for a beach clean-up (though it’s fun to do things in groups! I’m asking the Brownies to join me in a beach clean-up exercise come September); all it takes is a little effort from each of us.

AL-JAZEERA on Empire. Good stuff.

Featuring:
Tony Benn — Former Labour minister in the British government
Sir Christopher Meyer — Former British ambassador to the US
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown — Journalist and author

Zaobao picture taken on the day after he died

 

GOOD pieces by Janadas Devan + Tommy Koh in today’s Sunday Times. (I’ve boycotted the site for the longest time due to their stupid policy of making subscribers pay for the online version…it’s a shame they don’t showcase their best writers and put cr– blogs on the main site instead.)

From Janadas:

Dr Goh Keng Swee has been described as the founder of the Singapore Armed Forces, the architect of Singapore’s economy, the master builder of independent Singapore. He was also, as I have said on many occasions in this space, a remarkably gifted writer — indeed, the most distinguished writer of English prose this country has had.

…To begin with, he was possessed by the desire to write — to communicate, to explain policy, to clarify, to argue, to convince. As Dr Goh himself noted, not without some pride, he and his Old Guard colleagues “may be the few remaining members of a vanishing breed of political leaders: We write our own speeches. We have our ideas as to how societies should be structured and how governments should be managed. We prefer to express these ideas our way.”

As a result, as Dr Goh went on to observe in the preface to his first collection of essays, The Economics Of Modernisation, he and his Old Guard colleagues ended up addressing “their citizens on matters of public policy more often than is usual in most countries”.

And in Dr Goh’s case, at least, speaking about public policy really meant speaking about public policy. He was never condescending to his audience, no matter how humble they were; he never acted or behaved as though public policy, no matter how complex, could not be understood by the public.

I will, if I may, cite a personal memory here as evidence: The first time I heard Dr Goh deliver a speech was at the NTUC’s historic Modernisation Seminar in 1969, which my father, Devan Nair, organised and chaired. Only 14 years old then, I had been dragged to the seminar because I was a nuisance at home, and was dreading listening to Dr Goh speak.

To my utter surprise, I not only understood what he said, but also found it most interesting. And if I, a 14-year-old, could understand him, so could the unionists.

There were no scholars in the NTUC in those days. The best-educated unionists then would have come from the teachers’ union, and possibly the journalists’ union, but even then, few among the teachers or journalists would have been university graduates. And yet, Dr Goh spoke to the unionists as equals, without a hint of condescension, and explained to them in great detail the economics of cooperatives, with his English being translated simultaneously into Mandarin, Malay and Tamil.

“I suggest that the financial base could be built upon a life insurance cooperative,” he urged, arguing against the proposal to start with a bank, as the NTUC had been advised to do by some European trade unions. “The insurance cooperative should not, at any rate in the initial stages, move into other fields of insurance such as fire, marine, motor and general insurance,” he continued. “There is no advantage that a cooperative enterprise enjoys in these fields over private enterprise. It is otherwise in respect of life insurance.”

And so on — very serious but plain talk. And thus was NTUC Income born — not as a result of scholar-officials shuffling papers in a hermetically sealed committee room, but as a result of scholar-officials shuffling papers in a hermetically sealed committee room, but as a result of a world-class economist speaking directly to the representatives of port workers, postmen, petroleum workers, road sweepers, seamen, bus drivers, bank clerks and factory hands. Speaking directly to them, moreover, of complex issues in so accessible a fashion that even a 14-year-old could understand; and speaking of these weighty matters without in any way misrepresenting their complexity or talking down to his audience.

Even now, more than 40 years later, I doubt if any academic — or journalist or civil servant, for that matter — would be able to produce a more exact, thorough and accessible account of the principles of cooperatives as Dr Goh produced that day for unionists. I was too young to realise it then, but it appears clear to me in retrospect that what Dr Goh did that day was profoundly democratic.

And here I think is a hint of how his linguistic gifts contributed to his statesmanship. He was a graceful, even stylish writer, to be sure. His ear — in part because he listened to a good deal of music, especially Baroque — was unerring. His diction and his tone had a classical purity. I don’t think he ever wrote a sentence that didn’t *sound* good. But all this was incidental.

What made Dr Goh so important a writer was the same thing that made him so important a statesman: a deep ethical sense. His writing — the way he worked at it to arrive at the precise formulation, the way he always used the simple word in favour of the difficult, the way he strove for clarity — all this was a technique in sincerity, in honesty. He wanted to explain; he desperately wanted to communicate; he felt writing was a way of speaking clearly, honestly and sincerely to his fellow men.

As I look back 40 years to that speech in 1969, I am struck by how unlikely it all was. In how many countries would a finance minister, as Dr Goh was then, even attempt to seriously engage unionists on the principles of cooperatives? How many world-class economists, as Dr Goh was also, would go out of their way to eschew technical language as he did? How many people in his position — at least a foot smarter than anybody else in almost every room he found himself in — would take this much care to talk to perfectly ordinary people about complex issues?

“The vicissitudes of fortune which we experienced in our quest for a decent living in a none too hospitable environment bears resemblance to the biblical journeys of the children of Israel in their search for the promised land,” he wrote once. “And like Moses, we had to explain, exhort, encourage, inform, educate, advise — and to denounce false prophets.”

The prophet is dead. May his soul rest in peace. We have only his prophecies left. They still bear reading.

janadas@sph.com.sg

(OK break, I got to go shower to go out, continue typing when I get back home.)

*

Read this. Can’t understand Chinese? Well that’s what Babelfish is for, isn’t it? And the Internet…and your neighbourhood CC that runs classes…and the Confucius Institute…and dictionaries. :)

“Fifty years ago, many countries in Asia, in Africa, some in South America, attained self-government or independence. Fifty years later, Singapore has separated itself from the pack and we are a very different place. And, in part, it was because of him. All those years ago, we had dirty streets, contaminated water. But we had men with clean hands and pure hearts, and that made the greatest difference.”

- Lui Tuck Yew

“For those Singaporeans who, either through their parents or through reading, know what he had done, they go away thinking a giant like this strides the world only once in several generations…So that’s the kind of person he was, and we were fortunate that Singapore had a collection of very great individuals at that point in time.”

- K. Shanmugam

“My father used to run a photo studio in Pagoda Street, Kreta Ayer constituency, and Dr Goh was the MP then. As a little boy, I would see Dr Goh coming to the MPS because the PAP branch office was above my father’s shop.
“He did a lot for the people of Kreta Ayer, especially the hawkers and shopkeepers. He’s always very unassuming and approachable. Anybody would ask him for help and he would always help.
“I think he had a very keen understanding of the people, especially hawkers. He understood that being a hawker in those days was not easy. Not only was it a struggle to make a living, a hawker also had to face extortion from secret societies.
“I had the opportunity to meet him as an undergraduate in New Zealand when he went there on an official visit. He invited four or five of us who were studying there to meet him. We were surprised.
“He met us in his hotel room. I still remember he was in his pyjamas. While we feasted on beer and potato chips, he said he enjoyed the NZ milk.
“We had an interesting chat about Singapore and the challenges it faced. We found him very humble.
“When we were ready to leave, he asked each of us individually whether we needed him to take any message back to our parents. We were very touched.”

- CapitaLand chief investment officer Wen Khai Meng on his memories of Dr Goh Keng Swee as MP for Kreta Ayer.

From the Corporate Observer

By Loh Chee Kong
cheekong@corporateobserver.com.sg

SINGAPORE (May 14, 2010) - The man behind Singapore’s stellar economic growth- masterminding its economic and industrial policies, among his endless list of contributions, as the republic came into its own following independence - died today at the age of 91 after a long battle with illness.

Born in Malacca, Dr Goh Keng Swee - dubbed as the “economics wizard” and an alumni of the London School of Economics - was Singapore’s former Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) who also helmed the finance, defence and education ministries in his 25-year political career.

One of the founding fathers of Singapore and widely seen as its economic architect, Dr Goh retired from politics in 1984 and had shied away from the public eye. From the country’s early days, Dr Goh saw the economic imperative of the Singapore society - a central tenet of governance until today.

Dr Goh’s trenchant thinking on Singapore’s economy continues to influence present-day policymakers.

He once noted: “For us in Singapore, the road to greater wealth is through thrift, enterprise and hard work. The road to stability lies in prudence and foresight in prosperity, and patience and fortitude in adversity. In the swinging age of the new economies, all this sounds old fashioned and Victorian. No doubt it is, but I think it is unrealistic to expect that doctrines worked out for developed economies, when foreign trade forms a relatively small part of the GNP, would apply in their entirety to the exceptional situation that is ours.”

He was responsible for setting up many of Singapore’s key government agencies, including the Economic Development Board and the Defence Science Organisation, and oversaw the creation of the Singapore Armed Forces and the Jurong Industrial Estate. His legacy also includes policies such as compulsory conscription for male Singaporeans above 18 years old; the Gifted Education Programme; and streaming and religious education in schools.

The 1979 “Goh Report” greatly influenced the development of Singapore’s education system - Dr Goh’s idea of streaming, in particular, was conceptualized to provide different curriculum and rate of teaching to children of different abilities but the implementation on the ground, especially in the later years, had strayed from the vision.

When Dr Goh was appointed chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Board of Commissioner of Currency in 1980, he took measures to promote Singapore as an international financial centre - making amendments to three major financial regulations: the Banking Act, the MAS Act and the Finance Companies Act. During the 1985 recession, he acted to stop the downward slide of the Singapore dollar.

Another former DPM, Dr Tony Tan, paid tribute to Dr Goh in an issued statement. Dr Tan is the executive director of Government Investment Corporation of Singapore (GIC) - which was set up with Dr Goh’s “pivotal” inputs and based on his “resolute belief in the need to protect and grow the hard-earned wealth of Singaporeans continues to influence the GIC community”, said Dr Tan.

Dr Tan added: “Today, the idea of the Sovereign Wealth Fund seems natural, but Dr Goh’s focus on reserve management was rare among countries in his time. Dr Goh’s farsightedness and fortitude laid the foundation for the development of GIC as stewards of Singapore’s foreign reserves.”

Apart from having a keen mind for numbers, Dr Goh also appreciated the value of music and leisure - he set up the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the Jurong Bird Park. Inspired by a free-flight aviary he visited in Rio de Janeiro during a World Bank Meeting, Dr Goh wanted to build the bird park in Jurong - he saw the place as more than an industrial zone - as an outlet for Singapore families to escape from the urban life.

Dr Goh’s prudence in maximising Singapore’s limited resources was reflected in his personal life in which his legendary parsimony is well-documented.

His wife had previously recounted to this writer how Dr Goh would bring soap flakes and wash his own clothes on official visits overseas. Once, when Dr Goh was hospitalised, he even chided his wife for being “wasteful” when she took a piece of tissue paper from the box. Dr Goh, his wife said, would carefully tear a piece of tissue into half - keeping the other half in his pocket for later use.

A BELIEVER

A rabid saver himself, Dr Goh was behind the setting up of POSB Bank - which had waived the minimum sum required by other banks - to help lower income Singaporeans build up their savings.

For all his penchant for hard-nosed economics, Dr Goh could never reconcile the idea of paying high salaries for public officers, including ministers. When it was announced that the British forces would withdraw from the Suez Canal in the late 1960s, Dr Goh knew it would impact the thousands of workers working in the British military bases in Singapore. He called the Accountant General into his room and told him, “We have to cut civil service pay, go and work it out, starting with me.”

When he was offered the post of deputy chairman of MAS following his retirement from politics, Dr Goh was offered the same pay that he was drawing as DPM. He asked to be paid half the amount.

A firm believer in meritocracy, one of Dr Goh’s greatest fears for Singapore is that it could become an “old boys’ club”.

He once said: “In advanced societies, it is not so much open nepotism which is to be feared but the insidious ‘old boy’ type whereby no legalities are committed but in which the pinnacles of power, influence and wealth are the reserve of those born into the right families.”

Dr Goh added: “A system may arise in which the dominant minority… arrogate to itself not only the openings to the seats of power, but also the avenues by which individuals can fit themselves out for such positions of power. The dominant minority is thus able to point out those outside of the charmed circle just do not have the necessary qualifications to be admitted to the elite group.”

Following his retirement, Dr Goh would find it hard to read the newspapers or watch the news on television - knowing that he no longer had an influence on the nation’s affairs.

While some may see it a pity that Dr Goh had voluntarily cut short his political career and retreated from the public eye prematurely - so much so that many younger Singaporeans have not heard of him - his wife reiterated that Dr Goh never sought “money, power or glory or even to be honoured”.

In a book she published in 2008 in tribute of her husband, after she had set up the Goh Keng Swee Foundation, Mrs Goh wrote that Dr Goh “made all the contributions… for the nation and for Singaporeans”.

She added: “The fact that today’s political leaders can go round the world to sell the Singapore success story is in itself satisfaction for him. Dr Goh himself mentioned that God has given him a reward for what he has done for Singapore. His pastor, Reverend Macolm Tan has said that his reward is in heaven.”

Rest in peace, Dr Goh, and thank you.

*

现代新加坡首要建筑师 吴庆瑞博士逝世
新加坡建国英雄，被誉为经济发展总建筑师的前副总理吴庆瑞昨天在家中辞世，享年91。
新疆互联网服务全面恢复
被定死罪重庆司法局原局长文强：证言被篡改
功施社稷 德被生民——悼前副总理吴庆瑞博士
社论

2010年5月15日

前副总理吴庆瑞博士于2010年5月14日逝世，享年 91岁，噩耗传来，国人同声哀悼。毫无疑义，吴博士是我国伟大的开国元勋之一，他对新加坡的贡献是多方面的，几乎涵盖了政治、经济、财政、国防、教育、文化等所有重要层面，可以说他对现代新加坡发展的影响和所立下的功绩，在第一代部长中，无人能出其右。

　　吴博士是人民行动党的元老之一，而且从一开始就是李光耀最得力的左右手，是第一代部长中重量级的人物。他参与了人民行动党建党、执政、新马合并、分家以至新加坡独立建国的每一个重要历史阶段和全过程，在每一个阶段中，也都扮演了举足轻重的角色，并留下深刻的印记。

　　1959年，行动党开始执政，吴博士是主要的经济政策制定者。1965年新加坡突然独立，他和李光耀一起筹划了新加坡未来的生存与发展大计。李资政后来回忆新加坡突然要面对独立生存的那一刻时这么说：“但是，我得继续管理新的新加坡的事务。当天，我大部分的时间是跟我的亲密同僚吴庆瑞在一起。内部安全和国防问题得先解决。我决定把内政和新的国防部并在一起，让吴庆瑞接管……”。临危受命，吴博士勇敢地挑起重任，他没有令新加坡人失望。

　　新加坡的国防力量几乎是从零开始的。实行国民服役和建军，作为首任国防部长，吴庆瑞起到了关键性的作用。新加坡经济政策的成功，吴博士也厥功至伟。在他那个时代，一个本地的优秀生能在殖民宗主国获取经济博士学位是极为罕见的，放弃在殖民政府里担任高官的机会，投身前途完全不确定的反殖斗争，尤其令人刮目相看。作为一位经济学博士，吴博士真正做到了以其所学经世济民，称得上是新加坡现代经济发展之父。

　　除此之外，新加坡如今妇孺皆知、远近闻名的各个名胜如圣淘沙、动物园、飞禽公园的创建，以至新加坡交响乐团的成立，也都留下了吴博士草创的烙印。因此，吴博士也堪称是一位制度建立的多面手。

　　1984年，经过数十年的献身服务之后，吴博士自动请辞，以便让位给年轻部长，为新加坡政治领导层的新陈代谢和顺利接班，树立了良好的典范。功成身退，毫不恋栈权位，充分展现一位政治家的伟大胸怀和高风亮节。回顾新加坡建国史，吴博士的参与和贡献，用丰功伟绩四字概括实不为过。

　　李资政在他的回忆录中说：“老部长纷纷卸任，最让我深感遗憾的是吴庆瑞。1984年年中，他告诉我他决定在任期结束时退下，不再参加下届大选。他有个人的原因，觉得自己做够了，是走的时候了。”不过，即使离开内阁，吴博士仍继续在新加坡金融管理局担任好几年的副主席，做出宝贵的贡献。他也一手成立了新加坡政府投资公司，管理国家的积蓄和储备。

　　退出政坛后，吴庆瑞博士也有过一段长时间，受聘担任中国的特区经济发展顾问。对人口仅有500万的新加坡来说，继续在13亿人口的大国发挥作用，是一种无上的荣耀。正所谓“不与万物共尽，而卓然其不朽者，后世之名”。吴博士的丰功伟绩，名声远播，实乃邦家之光，也将永留青史。

　在其回忆录中，李资政也以“无畏的战士”、有着最精明的“一流的头脑”等赞誉之词来形容这位前政治同僚和亲密战友。“我很幸运，因为我有一组能力很强的部长，而且大家有共同的理想。他们都很能干，决心要实现共同的目标。核心成员在一起工作了二十多年，吴庆瑞，拉惹勒南，韩瑞生和林金山都非常杰出。他们都比我年长，而且有话直说，不怕冒犯我，尤其是当我犯错时，他们更是直言不讳。他们帮我保持客观和平衡，使我避免了因长时间担任领导角色而变得妄自尊大……”

　　因为有像吴博士这样的远见卓识、无私奉献、功成不居的开国元勋，新加坡乃能安渡建国初期的一道道难关，并奠定厚实的发展基础，吴博士对国家的贡献令人感激、缅怀，他的一生可谓功绩彪炳，也为国人树立了崇高的典范。

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

DR GOH KENG SWEE, my favourite hero from the Old Guard, has just died. He was humble, wry, witty, devastatingly intelligent, frugal, with great vision, low-key and never vying for the spotlight — and he put all these talents to good use in public service. Without him, I may not be sitting here comfortably blogging away. It’s with the blood, sweat, toil and tears — and brains — of people like him that modern Singapore was shaped.

He’s a hero of mine, right up there with Rawls and the rest.

I’m mourning. The nation should be mourning.

Thank you for all you’ve done for Singapore, Dr Goh. We will miss you deeply.

*

Learn more about him here. In the age of Google, you can dig around easily.

我国开国元勋吴庆瑞博士今天逝世　享年91岁

(2010-05-14)

（联合早报网讯）我国开国元勋之一吴庆瑞博士今天逝世，享年91岁。

　　吴庆瑞博士享有“新加坡经济发展之父”、“新加坡经济塑造者”等美誉，在内阁中曾担任多项要职，包括在1959年出任财政部长、 1965年至1967年间任内政兼国防部长、1968年至1984年间任副总理，为我国的独立和繁荣做出了卓越的贡献。

　　 吴庆瑞祖籍福建。1918年10月6日生于马来西亚的马六甲。1959年，他与李光耀、杜进才等发起创建人民行动党。

　　 吴庆瑞博士深得新加坡总理李光耀的信任，辅弼李光耀在经济方面取得了杰出的成就，使新加坡在短短的二十多年时间内，变成亚洲一条小龙，东南亚的一颗明珠。

　　1959年，当新加坡遇到严重的经济困难，吴庆瑞受命于国家的危难之际，出任财政部长，负责全面指导新加坡经济。他策划和推进了新加坡工业化，扩大新加坡出口贸易，大力发展旅游业和金融业，并指导制定了新加坡一系列货币政策，使新加坡的经济发展不断获得新的动力，成为世界金融中心之一。

　　吴庆瑞在新加坡所进行的教育改革，也取得了巨大成绩，对新加坡的现代化过程起到了重大作用。1979年，吴庆瑞兼任教育部长后，提出了适合新加坡国情的教育改革方案，将基础教育由淘汰型转向强制型，让不同能力的学生均有受教育的机会。该改革方案最大特点也包括在中小学实行分流制。

　　1984年，吴庆瑞卸下内阁职务，同年退出政坛。

　　吴庆瑞从政坛退休后，欣然接受了中国政府的聘请，担任中国沿海经济开发的顾问。利用他渊博的学识和丰富的经验，为中国现代化建设不断提供咨询服务，为增进中国和新加坡之间的友谊作出了贡献。

*

May 14, 2010
REMEMBERING DR GOH KENG SWEE
‘A humble and simple man’

PRESIDENT S.R. Nathan, paying tribute to the late Dr Goh Keng Swee, said the former Deputy Prime Minister and a Founding Father of Singapore, will be remembered by all who knew him, ‘as a humble and simple man, who in his quiet way inspired one to achieve great things.’

‘He was indeed a gem of a man in all respects,’ said President Nathan.

‘I hope that future generations will think and ponder about his ideas, and appreciate what Dr Goh has contributed to Singapore’s development and growth and what some have called the ‘magic of our success’.’

Here is the President’s full tribute to Dr Goh, who died early on Friday morning and will be given a state funeral next week:

‘Many will be the tributes that will be paid to this marvellous man, who devoted so much of his life for the advancement, progress and security of Singapore and our people. To that I would like to add my own tribute - as one who learnt so much at his feet.

He was the foremost among the architects of the transformation of Singapore. He was behind many of our achievements as a Nation - be it in our economic progress and transformation in education, in defence and security or the enhancement of Singapore so that its people can have a better life.

Nothing was too small or insignificant to be worthy of his attention. Whether it was the Girls’ Pipe Band, the SAF, the Music and Drama Company, the Zoo, the Jurong Bird Park, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra - he had a hand in all these.

He was always steered by ideas, but his course was always determined by whether the idea would work. His consuming passion was how to help propel this Nation and people to greater heights.

As a Straits-born, multi-racialism to him was not just a habit. He genuinely believed in it. He practised it in all his dealings with people. He was Calvinist in his thrift, scrupulous in his honesty and determined in his perseverance in whatever task he undertook. He had his principles as well as his prejudices. He had his moods and momentary indignations.

But, above all, he was always prepared to listen. He had extraordinary energy and a sense of selflessness. He had a quick mind and the ability to make deep incisions of a problem, before suggesting a solution.

He pursued with child-like enthusiasm whatever matter attracted his fancy, so long as it was something worthy of his pursuit. But always driven by whether its pursuit will be in the best interest of Singapore and the welfare of our people. Whatever aroused his interest he pursued with serious determination.

Working with him in several areas was a unique experience. It gave me much satisfaction and a sense of fulfilment. He was by no means an easy person to work for. He had a formidable intellect and a photographic memory. Nothing escaped his scrutiny. He would be presented with a monumental volume for consideration over a weekend.

Despite his many public engagements, he would always come to meetings, having got to the nub of the matter, and identified the weaknesses in the recommendations or the errors in the analysis.

He was particular of the language used in communication and abhorred jargon. He always insisted that one writes simple English so that even a fool will understand.

He was a man to work with in a crisis. If he was confident that one was up to the task of overcoming the crisis, be it an aircraft hijack or a serious bilateral problem with another nation - he hardly interfered in their handling.

He was never shy to say that he did not know something or understood what they stood for. When he introduced ‘Religious Studies’ in our Schools, he had a noble purpose. He felt strongly that it was through religious fables that one could pass on ‘moral lessons’ to our children and in a way they can always relate to. He believed that ’story tellers’ should write such books, if children are to appreciate them.

Proselytising a faith was not his purpose. He studied the textbooks of each faith and religious philosophy with equal interest and discussed them dispassionately, without allowing his own religious beliefs to interfere in their evaluation. He never failed to point out always that behind all the successes we have achieved there was always the hand of providence.

He will be remembered by all who knew him, as a humble and simple man, who in his quiet way inspired one to achieve great things. He was indeed a gem of a man in all respects.

I hope that future generations will think and ponder about his ideas, and appreciate what Dr Goh has contributed to Singapore’s development and growth and what some have called the ‘magic of our success’.’

*

Passing of a Colossus
By Chua Mui Hoong, Senior Writer
DR GOH Keng Swee, one of the Founding Fathers of Singapore, died early on Friday morning of pneumonia at home. He was 91.

His widow Dr Phua Swee Liang told reporters at their home in the East Coast area on Friday morning that Dr Goh died at about 5 am. He had been ill for many years and she was the main caregiver, helping to control his diabetes. She told reporters she felt emotionally numb at his death.

He leaves behind his wife, a son and daughter-in-law, two grandsons and three great grandchildren.

Dr Goh was a tax collector and then social welfare officer in Singapore in colonial times. A staunch anti-colonialist, he was part of a small band of men that met regularly at Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s home in Oxley Road to discuss the setting up of a political party to fight the British colonial powers.

In 1959, he entered politics on the People’s Action Party ticket. In 25 years of political service, he served as the Minister for Finance, Defence, and Education. He later became Deputy Prime Minister.

Dr Goh is best known for his contributions to the economic development of Singapore, although his imprint on modern Singapore stretches far beyond economics.

He was instrumental in going against conventional wisdom in propelling Singapore towards an export-oriented growth strategy dependent on foreign direct investment, at a time when other developing countries favoured import substitution. Institutions like the Economic Development Board, the Development Bank of Singapore, Jurong industrial corporation, Monetary Authority of Singapore and GIC (Government of Singapore Investment Corporation) were started by him.

In Education, he oversaw the introduction of streaming to provide customised education tracks by academic ability, a policy that later became controversial.

He also advocated the teaching of religious knowledge and was instrumental in creating the Humanities scholarship award to balance Singapore’s emphasis on building up technical and scientific talent.

He built up Singapore’s armed forces in the early days and continued to advocate the use of technology to improve their capability.

A man with varied interests, he was also involved in the creation of the People’s Association and the Jurong Bird Park.

He influenced an entire generation of civil servants. He is credited with having instilled foundational values of thrift among them, as well as inspired them with his own entrepreneurial, never-say-die attitude.

Plans are being firmed up for a state funeral for Dr Goh.

*

GIC pays tribute to Dr Goh

THE Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) on Friday paid tribute to the late Dr Goh Keng Swee and salutes his ‘farsightedness and fortitude’ which laid the foundation of the GIC’s development as ’stewards of Singapore’s foreign reserves.’

Dr Tony Tan, Deputy Chairman and Executive Director of GIC, said in a statement: ‘All of us at GIC are saddened by the passing of Dr Goh Keng Swee.

‘Dr Goh was pivotal to the founding of GIC as GIC’s first Deputy Chairman from 1981 to 1994. Dr Goh’s resolute belief in the need to protect and grow the hard-earned wealth of Singaporeans continues to influence the GIC community.

‘Today, the idea of the Sovereign Wealth Fund seems natural, but Dr Goh’s focus on reserve management was rare among countries in his time.

‘Dr Goh’s farsightedness and fortitude laid the foundation for the development of GIC as stewards of Singapore’s foreign reserves.’

The former Deputy Prime Minister and Singapore’s economic architect died of pneumonia at home early on Friday morning and after a long illness. He was 91.

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May 14, 2010
REMEMBERING GOH KENG SWEE
‘A far-sighted visionary’

THE late Dr Goh Keng Swee was both a far-sighted visionary and a pragmatic manager, as well as ‘a man of ideas’ who excelled at bringing them to fruition, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his tribute to the former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, who died early on Friday morning after a long illness.

‘Whatever the challenges, Dr Goh would stay calm, bring to bear his capacious mind, work out the best course of action, and then act decisively to solve the problem,’ said PM Lee in his condolence letter to Dr Goh’s widow, Dr Phua Swee Liang, who has been the main caregiver during his long years of illness.

Mr Lee said in his 25 years in office, Dr Goh, who died at age 91, served in the most important ministries, ‘making bold, imaginative changes to the policies and structures that now define Singapore.’

He also set out the key principles guiding many of the government policies, ‘always in pellucid and magisterial prose,’ and also created and nurtured many institutions.

Here is PM Lee’s condolence letter to Mrs Goh:

Dear Mrs Goh,

On behalf of the Government and people of Singapore, may I convey my deepest condolences to you and your family on the passing of Dr Goh Keng Swee.

Dr Goh was a founding father of Singapore. He belonged to the core group of leaders who struggled against the British colonial government, fought the communists in Singapore, and stood up against the communalists while Singapore was in Malaysia.

After Singapore became independent in 1965, he tackled our nation’s most critical problems, and laid the foundations for our prosperity and security. Without him, the Singapore story would have been very different.

Dr Goh was both a far-sighted visionary and a pragmatic manager. He was a man of ideas, but also excelled at bringing these ideas to fruition. Whatever the challenges, Dr Goh would stay calm, bring to bear his capacious mind, work out the best course of action, and then act decisively to solve the problem.

In his 25 years in office, Dr Goh served in the most important ministries, making bold, imaginative changes to the policies and structures that now define Singapore.

As Finance Minister, he initiated the industrialisation programme and set Singapore on the path of sustained development and prosperity. As Defence Minister, he introduced national service and built up the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) from scratch. As Education Minister, he totally restructured the education system, from primary schools to the universities.

In addition to the SAF, Dr Goh created and nurtured many institutions, including the Economic Development Board (EDB), Jurong Town Corporation (now called JTC Corporation), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Govern-ment of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), which have endured and become distinctive features of Singa-pore’s structure of government.

He also set out the key principles guiding many of our policies, always in pellucid and magisterial prose. The fundamental tenets of thrift and hard work, free enterprise and prudent public finance, and harmonious industrial relations continue to form the bedrock of Singapore’s competitive strengths and success.

For Dr Goh, success meant more than leaving poverty behind. He believed that for a nation to grow in confidence and resilience, it needed spirit and soul. Hence he conceived and launched projects like the Jurong Bird Park, the Singapore Zoological Garden, the Chinese and Japanese Gardens, and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, for Singaporeans to relax, unwind, and develop an appreciation for the finer things in life.

In every organisation he headed, Dr Goh nurtured a culture of continuous adaptation and improvement to stay abreast of the changing world. He set high standards, and groomed and trained young officers to meet his exacting requirements.

Dr Goh strongly supported leadership renewal, a continuing imperative for Singapore. He actively pushed for the transition from the founding generation to a new, younger team of leaders who would lead Singapore to greater heights of achievement.

In 1984, he himself requested to step down from Cabinet, though he remained active in many other roles, both in Singa-pore and abroad. What he created has endured, and become the foundation for succeeding generations to build and improve upon.

However Singapore has progressed and transformed itself since Dr Goh retired, it still bears the imprint of the master builder of modern Singapore.

With my deepest sympathies,

Lee Hsien Loong

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REMEMBERING GOH KENG SWEE
‘A national hero’

SINGAPORE workers and unionists identified with the late Dr Goh Keng Swee as ‘a man with an affable touch’ and a ‘compassionate comrade’ who had fought to improve the lives of fellow workers and Singaporeans, said labour leaders on Friday.

Hailing Dr Goh, a founding father of Singapore and former Deputy Prime Minister as a ‘national hero,’ three past and present National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) leaders said the union movement is indebted to him for helping to chart its future goals and directions.

In their tribute to Dr Goh, who died at age 91 early on Friday morning after a long illness, former NTUC secretary-general Lim Boon Heng, the current NTUC chief Lim Swee Say and NTUC president John De Payva, said the he was instrumental in laying down the key principles for the labour movement’s cooperatives, the success of which is due ‘to close adherence to the wise council of Dr Goh.’

‘He was both compassionate and concerned over the plight of low-income workers and the poor. His diligence, dedication and sincerity have touched and warmed the hearts of many Singaporeans and workers alike,’ they added.

‘His demise is truly a loss to our workers, Singaporeans and Singapore. He will always be fondly remembered by all of us as an icon for the workers who had 40 years ago shown the labour movement the path to modernisation that has led us to where we are today.’

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May 14, 2010
REMEMBERING GOH KENG SWEE
‘Hands-off’ Iseas founder

THE late Dr Goh Keng Swee founded the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Iseas) - yet his name is not on the official documents related to his brainchild.

This is one of his many achievements which may have escaped public notice, said Mr K. Kesavapany, Iseas director, in his tribute to the former Deputy Prime Minister and a prime architect of modern Singapore, who died early on Friday morning after a long illness. He was 91.

‘This forgotten story is worth retelling because it not only commemorates Dr Goh’s vision but also provides a fascinating account of how vision needs political support which has to be tempered by a hands-off, non-interfering approach for that vision to grow,’ he said.

‘As much as Dr Goh was appreciated for his hands-off approach, he was also there when needed… he was always ready to be informed about any problem we were having and one could come away knowing that he would take whatever steps were necessary to deal with any problems that were there,’ he added.

‘And he always delivered, even if it was just to lend his presence at fund-raising dinners so that invited businessmen would be more generous with their wallets, recalled one of the directors.’

Four decades on, the legacy of an academic research centre left to do its own thing is most evident in the books that it has published, both in their numbers and in the range of subjects that they cover, said Mr Kesavapany. Almost every major issue in the region has been tackled by an Iseas staff member or its vast network of visiting scholars.

‘Free to set its own agenda, the institute has struck a balance between its forays into policy-relevant areas and its hospitality to a menu of contending discourses, far removed from the pressing concerns of the Singapore state,’ he added.

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S’poreans owe late Dr Goh Keng Swee a debt of gratitude: Dr Balakrishnan
By Imelad Saad | Posted: 14 May 2010 1911 hrs

SINGAPORE : Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said every child in school, every soldier serving in the armed forces, and every worker with a job in Singapore owes the late Dr Goh Keng Swee a huge debt of gratitude.

In a statement to the media, Dr Balakrishnan said he never had the privilege of working under Dr Goh. But Dr Balakrishnan, who was formerly a medical director at the Singapore National Eye Centre, said he met the former Deputy PM many years ago, when Dr Goh was a patient at the eye centre.

Despite his medical problems, Dr Balakrishnan said Dr Goh struck him as a quiet, dignified man who was determined to do things his way.

He said he remembered Dr Goh’s wife being fiercely protective and knew that she took excellent care of him.

Separately, the former minister of Social Affairs, Othman Wok, described the late Dr Goh as the architect of the Singapore economy.

Through his hard work, Dr Goh was able to turn around the country’s economy during its early years of self-governance.

Mr Othman also remembers him as the man who was instrumental in the development of the Jurong Industrial estate.

He said: “He was able to get investors - local as well as foreign investors - to invest in Jurong and to open up factories. One of the first ones, known internationally was Rollei, produces cameras. Later on, more factories open in Jurong.”

Mr Othman said the late Dr Goh was also responsible for the development of the Singapore zoo, Jurong Bird Park, Sentosa and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. - CNA /ls

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EDB says late Dr Goh was “chief architect of Singapore’s economy”
By Imelda Saad | Posted: 14 May 2010 2035 hrs

SINGAPORE : The chairman of Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), Leo Yip, has described the late former Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee as the “chief architect of Singapore’s economy”.

Mr Yip said it was from Dr Goh’s push for industrialisation to develop Singapore’s economy that the EDB was formed.

He said Dr Goh showed EDB the way to build up confidence among investors considering investments in Singapore.

Dr Goh established the infrastructure necessary for growth, such as Jurong Industrial Estate, and built a strong foundation upon which Singapore’s economy was developed into what it is today.

“Dr Goh has left a very valuable legacy to the EDB - learning from others, adapting new knowledge, daring to dream and being bold in building up Singapore’s economy. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Dr Goh’s family,” said Mr Yip.

- CNA/al

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TV snippet here

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（联合早报网讯）我国开国元勋之一，吴庆瑞博士今天（14日）清晨5时，因肺部受感染，在东海岸丹宝径的住家逝世，享年91岁。他病逝后遗下妻子、儿子、媳妇、两位孙子和3位曾孙。

　　吴庆瑞博士享有“新加坡经济发展之父”、‘新加坡经济奇迹设计师’、“新加坡经济塑造者”等美誉，曾在我国内阁中担任多项要职，包括在 1959年出任财政部长、1965年至1967年间任内政兼国防部长、1968年至1984年间任副总理，为我国的独立和繁荣做出了卓越的贡献。

　　吴庆瑞博士的妻子潘瑞良女士（71岁）今早在住家受访时，伤感地说：“丈夫自今年3月28日因为肺部受感染，前后进出医院4次。两天前，他的情况好转，医生允许他出院，但在今天凌晨5时去世。”

　　吴庆瑞博士去世时，他的妻子陪伴在他身边，10多名家人过后也陆续赶回家中见他最后一面。

　　吴庆瑞博士遗体将从5月20日至22日起供公众瞻仰，并将在23日举行国葬。

吴庆瑞博士为我国经济、国防和教育发展奠定基础

　　 吴庆瑞博士祖籍福建，1918年10月6日生于马来西亚的马六甲。他早年在新加坡英殖民政府开设的莱佛士学院受教育时，就热衷于经济学，二次世界大战结束后在英国取得博士学位。

　　 抱着协助新加坡人民摆脱贫困的理想，吴庆瑞博士在1959年决定从政。他辞掉民事服务的工作，同内阁资政李光耀、前副总理拉惹勒南和杜进才等发起创建人民行动党，并参加1959年的全国大选。

　　 当时，他竞选的是一个小选区，在牛车水的中心，当时名为“牛车水区”。他虽然是首次出征，却以压倒性的票数当选牛车水区国会议员。

　　 吴庆瑞博士深得当时任新加坡总理的李光耀信任，辅弼李光耀在经济方面取得了杰出的成就，使新加坡在短短的二十多年时间内，变成亚洲一条小龙，东南亚的一颗明珠。

　　1959年，当新加坡遇到严重的经济困难，吴庆瑞博士受命于国家的危难之际，出任财政部长，负责全面规划新加坡经济。他策划和推进了新加坡工业化，扩大新加坡出口贸易，大力发展旅游业和金融业，并指导制定了新加坡一系列货币政策，使新加坡的经济发展不断获得新的动力，成为世界金融中心之一。

　　吴庆瑞博士在新加坡所领导的教育改革，也取得了巨大成绩，对新加坡的现代化过程起到了重大作用。1979年，吴庆瑞博士兼任教育部长后，提出了适合新加坡国情的教育改革方案，将基础教育由淘汰型转向强制型，让不同能力的学生均有受教育的机会。该改革方案最大特点也包括在中小学实行分流制。

　　吴庆瑞博士出任国防部长，为建立新加坡的军队，保卫新生共和国的独立和主权，建设现代化的国家防卫系统。我国实行的强制性国民服役制度也归功于吴庆瑞博士。

　　1984年，吴庆瑞博士卸下内阁职务，同年退出政坛。退出政坛后，吴庆瑞博士也曾担任新加坡金融管理局主席、货币局主席与政府投资公司副主席等职，近年来则深居简出，生活低调。

吴庆瑞博士曾担任中国的经济顾问

　　1978年，当邓小平访问新加坡，邓小平震惊于新加坡的经济发展。裕廊工业区的发展引起了邓小平的浓厚兴趣，他希望工业园区的创始人、主管新加坡经济的副总理吴庆瑞访华，给中国经济发展方向提出建议。

　　应邓小平的邀请，1979年吴庆瑞第一次到中国访问。邓小平会见时表示，希望他退职后接受聘请，担任中国国务院的经济顾问。

　　吴庆瑞博士辞去副总理之职后，也欣然接受了中国政府的聘请，担任中国沿海开发区经济顾问兼旅游业顾问（1985年至1990年）。

　　吴庆瑞担任中国政府顾问近6年，邓小平每年都会见他，详细听取他的汇报和建议，负责经济工作的谷牧副总理同他交往更加频繁。聘请外国人担任中央政府顾问，也是新中国历史上的一个创新举措，表明了邓小平对新加坡的成功经验的珍视。

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吴庆瑞：邓小平请来的经济顾问

（新加坡）联合早报 (2001-11-02)

张青（作者是中国首任驻新加坡大使）

　　吴庆瑞是新加坡执政的人民行动党创始人之一，曾任新加坡副总理，为新加坡的经济奇迹立下汗马功劳。

　　1978年11月11日至14日，邓小平副总理对新加坡进行了友好访问。这是中新两国未建交前，中国领导人首次访问新加坡。李光耀总理和吴庆瑞副总理等到机场迎接。

　　随后，双方进行了两次会谈，李光耀详细介绍了新加坡经济发展过程、对外开放政策以及吸引外资等各项措施。会谈后，吴庆瑞副总理专程陪同邓小平去考察裕廊工业区。邓小平表示希望吴庆瑞到中国访问，为中国经济发展提出建议。

　　应邓小平的邀请，1979年吴庆瑞第一次到中国访问。邓小平会见时表示，希望他退职后接受聘请，担任中国国务院的经济顾问。吴庆瑞表示同意。 1985年中国国务院正式聘请他担任中国沿海开发区经济顾问兼旅游业顾问。

　　当年5月他开始到中国进行考察访问，又受到邓小平的亲切会见，吴庆瑞说：“我感到责任重大，任务繁重，担任顾问需要花时间，要了解中国的国情和政策，要考察研究沿海地区的情况、体制和政策，才能提出正确的建议。”随后，他专程到上海、广州、深圳和珠海考察访问，同当地负责人进行了多次会谈。

　　此后，吴庆瑞每年都到中国进行两次考察，每次工作一两个月。除东部沿海地区外，他重点考察了深圳、珠海、汕头和厦门四个经济特区。他的考察十分认真、具体，对当地的状况、政策、法规等问题进行了深入调研。每次考察之后，他都要提出报告和具体建议。

　　邓小平等中央领导每年都会见吴庆瑞，详细听取他的汇报和建议，负责经济工作的谷牧副总理同他交谈更加频繁。中国领导人对吴庆瑞考察的成果和提出的建议给予很高评价，称赞他真是经济专家，富有经济发展经验和管理知识，对中国的改革开放发挥了重要作用。根据吴庆瑞的建议，国务院进一步调整东部沿海地区的经济政策。

　　为了感谢吴庆瑞对中国的帮助，国务院决定每年给他6万美元的聘金。但吴庆瑞说：“我来是为了帮助中国沿海地区发展经济，不是为了赚钱，我决不接受聘金！”他每次到中国考察，工作都很劳累，有关方面就给他一点生活零用费，他仍然不收。当中方陪同人员把人民币塞进他口袋时，他就把钱送给当地有困难的小学。

　　1990年10月，中国与新加坡正式建议，我被任命为驻新加坡首任大使，吴庆瑞同我经常相会，亲切交谈。他多次提出具体建议，让我转告国务院领导。可惜的是，吴庆瑞在担任中国经济顾问6年后，因年事已高，身体欠佳，诚恳提出谢辞要求，国务院同意了他的要求。

　　吴庆瑞尽管不再担任顾问，但仍时时关心中国的事情。每当有中国重要代表团访问新加坡时，他都要会见交谈。特别是1992年邓小平在南方谈话中说：“新加坡的社会秩序算是好的，他们管得严，我们应当借鉴他们的经验。”吴庆瑞读到邓小平的讲话十分高兴。

　　中共中央专门派出精神文明代表团到新加坡考察访问，吴庆瑞特意请来一批相关专家与中国代表团进行了一整天的会谈。他向中方详细介绍了新加坡的经济体制和法制建设，回答了中方的提问，使中国代表团的考察取得了良好的成果。

　　本文原载中国《人民日报》

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吴庆瑞博士撰文透露 要不是老邓果断　东南亚局面全非

（新加坡）联合早报 (1997-02-21)

　我国前副总理吴庆瑞为文指出，要不是中国领袖邓小平决定在1979年对越南发动边境战争，牵制了50万越南军队达10年，东南亚或许便不能享有今天的安定和繁荣。

　　他透露，邓小平1978年11月12日至14日来新加坡访问时，东南亚局势正处于危险时刻。

　　吴庆瑞的专文，今天刊登在《商业时报》上。

　　他宣称，邓小平促进中国现代化的贡献，人们说得多了，对于他个人在亚洲地缘政治方面的果断安排，便少人提起。

　　他分析说，1973年3月越南迫使美军撤出越南南部，南越政权两年后便告崩溃，以范文同总理为首的北越政府随即统一了南北越。当时的越南军力非常强大，拥有苏联的许多先进武器和中国之前供应的大批常规武器和粮食。

　　越南自己便宣称是继苏联和美国之后的世界第三大军事强国。看来，越南把寮国和柬埔寨并入版图已是势在必行。后来，发生了波博政权屠杀知识阶层和驱赶越南移民的事件后，越南军队就更有了挥军进入柬埔寨的借口。这便是1978年底，邓小平访问新加坡等东南亚国家的时代背景。

　　政府很担心

　　他写到：“新加坡政府对当时的局势很担心。越南相信就要进入柬埔寨。那么，越南接着很可能就会在泰国边境驻有重兵。”

　　他说，新加坡政府更关注泰国的态度，如果泰国让步，下一个对象就会是马来西亚，然后是新加坡。

　　“我们向邓小平反映了我们的顾虑，并且问他中国会怎么做。”

　　1979年1月7日，越南果然进军柬埔寨。同年2月17日，中国事先照会了美国，便在越南北部用兵。

　　吴庆瑞指出，中国当时的有限度军事行动，也冒着苏联进攻中国的危险，因为越南和苏联刚签署了军事盟约。

　　中国虽然3月5日便退兵，这场像“猫捉老鼠”般拖延了10年的中越边境战争，却迫使越南分散军力，也妨碍后者发展经济。

　　文章总结说，邓小平对越南发动的10年战争，并不像西方通讯员描述的是失败而退，相反的却是以胜利告终。

　　“中国在东南亚使用军力产生的新军事均衡局面，已使得这里的国家能在和平的环境底下发展。”

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“主子一句话 差点丢饭碗” 纳丹总统新书《我为何在这里?》揭秘

（新加坡）联合早报 周殊钦(2010-04-28)

“纳丹这个人办事不力，快把他给开除了！”

　　这句话大概就是前副总理吴庆瑞博士半个世纪前对当年还是一名海员福利官的纳丹总统说出的重话。他当时因不满纳丹处理一起海员纠纷的手法，怒而下令将这名当时觉得自己很无辜的公务员解雇。

　　要不是纳丹总统在新书“Why Am I Here?”（《我为何在这里？》）中披露这段秘辛，人们或许很难想象今日无论因效率高超，还是条规分明而享誉国际的新加坡海港，50多年前曾因航运业相关法律框架散乱无章，致使政治领导人与公务员之间出现紧张关系。

政权交替人心惶惶

　　纳丹差一点遭开除的那一年是1959年，适逢人民行动党在大选中击败劳工阵线而实现新加坡首次政权交替的时刻。同历史一再证明的一样，当年随政权交替而来的是一片人心惶惶，因政局不稳定而乱糟糟的情况冲击的不只是民间，也打击了维持国家治理机器运转的公务员的士气。

　　在这本书中，纳丹总统还揭露当时有一群自称与新政府有“关系”的“行动党走卒”，时常借自己“朝中有人”而为所欲为，严重影响了公务员的职务，致使整个公共服务陷入消沉的情绪中。而他也不禁根据当年的乱象，作出“这或许是个披着民族主义外衣的左派政府”的结论。

　　因跋扈走卒的无理刁难，加上上司不明就里的为难，使得纳丹的懊恼无以复加，更一度萌生“何必继续在公共服务部门苟延残喘”的离意。

　　不过，他在书中所举的一个最戏剧性的例子，就是他后来才知道自己当时其实曾因“政治主子”的一句话，而几乎丢了饭碗。

　　纳丹总统日前受访时说，他当时之所以会感到很无辜，甚至暗地里有些气愤填膺，是因为当时的上司吴庆瑞并未搞清楚在那个时代大背景下的司法现实。那起惹争议的海员纠纷，别说他只是个小小的海员福利官，即使由当年还没有外交实权的自治政府出马，也同样无法为那名海员做些什么。

　　原来，按上世纪50年代航运业沿袭了几个世纪的残缺不全的法律与行规，一旦涉及在外国注册船只任职的海员的福利问题，一般都由相关国家的使领馆根据本国的工会条例来处理。这也是纳丹当年处理那名在瑞典注册的轮船上工作，却因纪律问题而被解雇的海员的福利问题一筹莫展的原因。那名海员向他陈情不果后，直接找他的上司吴庆瑞。

　　“在那个时候，吴庆瑞可能被人误导，没意识到我们只是自治政府，根本无权同外国领事交涉。而我也不可能到瑞典总领事办公室去拍桌子。”

　　他在书中写道：“我后来才知道部长已要求把我解雇。幸好我在海事部门更有见地的上司劝阻成功，并向他解释没有人，包括他本人，能在这类个案上推翻总领事的决定。”

描述早年海员生活

　　一直以外交事业较受人瞩目的纳丹总统，是在1999年竞选民选总统职位时，才让人们发现他个人原来同本地工会的演变，还有一段不浅的渊源。在这部描述我国早年航运业海员生活的新作中，纳丹总统忆述了他在1956年受第一任首席部长马绍尔委任，由一名医疗社工懵懵懂懂地改任海员福利官的经过，以及其后任职六年的点滴。

　　在最初同工会接触的经验中，他不仅是从零开始，在没有任何指导手册可遵循的情况下，摸索着逐步改善海员的福利，并建立起规范化的海员工会制度。他在书中跃然纸上地描绘了当年海员生活的写照，包括各族海员的性格特征，如当海南籍海员向他求助时，总爱长篇大论；以及海员之间因自助意识强烈，而彼此建立起密切的情感，如一些海员即使互不相识，也会将本身的部分工资捐给在航海时去世的同行的遗孀。

　　他日前为配合《我为何在这里？》的出版，而在总统府受访时谈到了这本书出版的来龙去脉，以及它的中心主题——我为何在这里？

　　不像现今的作者大多用电脑写作，纳丹总统是以约一年的时间用笔完成这本书的手稿，并在2006年交给新加坡国立大学海事研究中心主任陈忠义教授，并在他的极力劝说下，答应将手稿集结成书。

　　然而，纳丹总统直至昨天在国大大学堂举行的新书发布会上还在犹豫是不是应该将这本他听从友人的建议，将沉积在记忆里的往事写下来的原稿拿去出版，并怀疑到底会不会有人想去读。

　　不过，如国大校长陈祝全教授和拨出6万5000元赞助这本书出版的吉宝企业的总裁朱昭明所言，少了作为我国首名海员福利官的亲身叙述，本地海事历史的发展里程碑将少了一抹精彩。

　　纳丹总统透露，当年当他因工作不顺心而懊恼得几乎想放弃工作时，一名传教士霍克士要他自问“我为何在这里？”。结果，他在做了一番心灵探索之后，明白能凭一己的努力去帮助那些无助的海员，为他们排解工作纠纷，并能在道德这一关对得起自己，因而决定忍一时之气，坚持做下去。

　　读了这本书之后，陈祝全教授认为纳丹总统当年所展现的悲天悯人的情怀，尤其值得人们深思。而朱昭明则对他在毫无前例可循的情况下，坚持不懈地从各方面去尝试解决问题的精神，感到十分佩服。

　　国大海事研究中心共出了3000本，除了本地各所大学的主要图书馆，民众也可到国家图书馆借阅。本书也从今天起在国大合作社（NUS Co-Op）出售，售价为29元9角。

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吴庆瑞： 行动党最重要成就 是创造并维持新加坡繁荣

（新加坡）联合早报 (1995-11-23)

　东亚政治经济研究所执行主席吴庆瑞博士说，人民行动党最重要的成就是使新加坡经济成功转型，为人民提供就业，它不但给新加坡带来了现阶段的繁荣，也知道如何维持这种繁荣。

　　他认为行动党当年战胜亲共分子，赢得独立，固然在政治上占得优势，但它这么多年来在治理国家的过程中，也显示它一直都在国家的最高政治阶层中注入有才华的人才。

　　吴博士是执政的人民行动党元老。他提醒人民，正因为行动党须要把人才吸纳入政治体系，人民应该了解给部长加薪是必要的，而反对党无所作为，就是因为它们无法吸引到人才，因此，人民胡乱投票给反对党将给国家带来危机。

　　他昨天在马可波罗酒店举行的新书《东亚国富论》发行仪式上对约100名学术界、公共与私人部门的嘉宾发表讲话时说：“假定人民行动党继续执政，新加坡的前途将是光明的。”

　　《东亚国富论》主要收集他从1978年至1994年间发表的演讲与论文。

　　吴博士现年76岁。他从政期间，曾在1959年至1984年间历任财政部长、国防部长、教育部长与第一副总理。他退出政坛后，曾受中国国务院邀请担任沿海城市经济顾问与旅游业顾问。

　　他在讲话时说，大家都忙着埋头苦干，也许忽略了一个重要的事实，那就是我们在过去35年所取得的成就，像英国那样的国家却花了150年才达到。我国现在不但生活素质可媲美英国，还创造了无数机构去推动经济发展，大专和理工教育方面也大有进展。

　　他说，尽管政府早年在工业化进程中并未计划依赖电子业，但跨国公司由于税务优待都愿意到新加坡投资，以跨国公司为主导的电子工业后来也渐渐成为驱动我国经济成长的火车头。

　　吴博士说，以电子工业为主的制造业，再加上成为另一个经济成长火车头的金融业，使得我国学有专长的高级人才与大批资历合格的普通人都有了就业机会，新加坡人的生活因此得以改善。开放门户给跨国公司正是电子工业起飞时

　　他在讲话后回答政策研究院副院长李曹圆博士的提问时说，非常幸运的是新加坡当年开放门户给跨国公司时，正好是电子工业起飞的时候。

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20年前吴庆瑞就曾建议 让人民动用公积金渡难关

（新加坡）联合早报 (2001-11-02)

　李显龙副总理说，新加坡的经济情况还未恶化到令人担忧的地步。因此现在就考虑让人民动用部分公积金渡过经济困境，还是言之过早。

　　他指出，早在20年前，前副总理吴庆瑞博士就有让人民动用部分公积金渡过经济难关的构想。

　　不过，李副总理认为，在目前的情况下，并没有必要让人们动用公积金。他解释说，虽然现在的裁员人数增加了，失业率也增加了一些，但是目前的4％失业率并不是很高，不是到了令人担忧的地步。

　　他指出，政府目前还在聘请公务员，而本地的造船业也有不少职位空缺。造船业里的空缺不但包括低技能的工作，还有一些如工程师、绘图员等职位，但是很多新加坡人却不愿意从事这些工作。

　　李副总理说，如果工人愿意灵活一点，愿意接受比较低的工资，现在还是有工作可以做的。在这种情况下没有必要让人们动用公积金。

　　他说，我们须看宏观的经济情况而定。“如果全世界经济萎靡不振，美国、欧洲、日本等国的经济衰退很明显地没有好转、无法复苏，我国失业率又高达9%至10%，这将是比较长期的问题。那么，我们当然须要做一些决定。如果经济情况需要的话，我们会另作具体的计划，看如何动用公积金。”

AT TANAH Merah over the weekend. Probably over financial woes. I’d like to attend a policy meeting over mental health issues and how we are supporting those who are depressed, from employers and insurers to social workers and society.

Political leaders would do well to consider this:

Singapore’s People’s Action Party is confronted with a widening class divide and a creeping political elitism that could drive it from power, if they are allowed to fester.

Inter-related, these problems are shaping up into the ruling party’s biggest challenge in the next election in 2011 – and probably beyond.

They are neither new nor unique in the world, having prevailed in advanced nations like the United States, Britain and even Japan – except in Singapore, the small size and meagre safety net are exacerbating matters.

The General Household Survey revealed that the top 20% of Singapore’s households last year earned 31 times that of the bottom 20%. And the gap is widening.

James Linares
WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?
9 hours ago · Report
Marlene Garcia
I thought it meant the statement carries more weight. More profound!!!!!!!!
9 hours ago · Report
Jori L. Anderson-Moore
okay then.. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
9 hours ago · Report
Patrick M. DeWitt
Seconded. Three is the absolute limit, to be used only in extreme circumstances. Announcing the Apocalypse, good. President’s Day sale, not so much.
9 hours ago · Report
Alvin Epstein
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
9 hours ago · Report
Stacie Paulsen Chandler
perhaps it’s just excitement, an enthusiasm for life!
9 hours ago · Report
Sandy Coutts Sutherland
Point taken.
9 hours ago · Report
Cindy Roller
I believe it is called the Prozac factor!!!!!
9 hours ago · Report
Marc Bourgeois
I thought I’d be the only original one usin multiple exclamation marks in my response. I guess I am not one in a million; but I’m in good company.
8 hours ago · Report
MIchelle Celarier
i only use explanation points on facebook!!
8 hours ago · Report
Lynn Scamahorn
ALL CAPS IS WORSE. LIKE SCREAMING IN YOUR FACE!
8 hours ago · Report
lvin Pang
!!i! !!i i!i! i!i
7 hours ago · Report
Yvonne Koh
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥♥♥ ♥ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ♥ ♥
In Morse Code.
7 hours ago ·
Ashley Dodd
helloooo—working at a tv station or newpaper is a sign of a diseased mind, we’ve all got it.
7 hours ago · Report
Lyn Jerde
So are quotation marks used for “emphasis.”
7 hours ago · Report
Stephanie Ingersoll
I used to do the pets page and every rescue organization ended every sentence with at least one exclamation point. My editor banned them all.
6 hours ago · Report
Maggie Benson
Bull Sh*t, on that “”"”Newsroom”"”
Practice what u preach while you are doing what ever nothing is you do & get paid for it!
3 hours ago · Report

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(on FB)

A: has the plague.
B: Oh no, please don’t die. I thought I was going to drown in bullshit but I’ve survived.
A: oh B, so funny, I was just laughing hysterically over your work/education info. Somehow, I think we have waded through our share since our visiting magpie days… This time it is just a physical affliction of flu symptoms. Plague of the mind does hover relentlessly, though. WHY are you so far away?

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A: Help me before I drown in bullshit!
B: 映日荷花别样红

STILL, but I just don’t think it’s appropriate for the blogosphere’s leading intellectuals to mock the mentally infirm.

Am glad they’re raising the pay of social workers, though. Wake up and smell the flowers, braying dudes. The social workers are the clean-up operation after all you yocks are done with your rapacious grabbing.

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A: A true friend doesn’t care if your house is untidy, your car makes funny noises, if you only have $5.00 in the bank this week, or that your family is not perfect…they love you for who you are. A true friend can go long periods of time without speaking and never question their friendship. REPOST if you are lucky enough to have at least one true friend!
B: Sounds like a description of a puppy.