Goh Keng Swee

Dr. Goh Keng Swee's extensive career as a public servant was dynamic as well as distinguished, in many ways decisively instrumental in the making of the Republic of Singapore. This distinctive collection of essays attempts an assessment of the long-term influence and significance of Dr. Goh's major contributions. Envisaged as a companion volume to Goh Keng Swee: A Public Career Remembered, this volume brings together an exceptional team of Singaporean scholars whose interdisciplinary expertise and cross-generational perspectives offer a balanced analysis and nuanced appraisal of Dr. Goh's lifetime of public service. The book's contributors argue that Dr. Goh's past endeavours bequeathed an enduring legacy, meriting fresh examination and careful evaluation in order to appreciate the heroic scale of such achievement. Particularly instructive are the examples of Dr. Goh's thinking patriotism, fiscal prudence, strategic pragmatism, and creative imagination at work — technocracy at its finest — which could be of immediate, practical benefit to a wider ‘nation of technocrats’. Further illumination comes from the insights of those contributors who had worked with the former Deputy Prime Minister and knew him personally. For a half-century that witnessed key turning points and phases of development in Singapore's transformation from colonial port city to independent global city, Dr. Goh played a leading role in the crafting and conduct of public policy, as with the creation of public institutions, which made the difference between survival and success. The organization of this volume reflects both a thematic approach and a chronological arrangement of material, the focus and the order of chapters corresponding to the historical sequence of public offices that Dr. Goh held: social welfare; political and constitutional evolution; development economics and finance; the armed forces and defence industry; the education system, from schools through higher education to the research institutes; Chinese studies, from Confucianism to ‘China watching’; and cultural development, with special emphasis on the creation of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Goh Keng Swee: A Legacy of Public Service will be read by present and future generations of public servants, by Singaporeans in general, and by all students and laypersons with an interest in the modern history of Singapore — social, economic, political, military, and cultural — to which a characteristically simple and frugal Dr. Goh contributed both decisively and unreservedly. Contents:Introduction — Goh Keng Swee: Heroic Public Servant and History-Maker of Modern Singapore (Emrys Chew)Goh Keng Swee in a Social Welfare History of Singapore (Ho Chi Tim)Goh Keng Swee in Politics and Parliament (Kevin Y L Tan)Goh Keng Swee, the Development Economist (Lee Soo Ann)Goh Keng Swee and Finance (Linda Low)Goh Keng Swee and the Emergence of a Modern SAF: The Rearing of a Poisonous Shrimp (Bernard Fook Weng Loo)Goh Keng Swee and Singapore's Defence Industrial Policy (Adrian Wee Jin Kuah)Goh Keng Swee and the Singapore Education System (Alistair Chew)Goh Keng Swee's Contributions to Higher Education, Military Studies, and the Research Institutes (Ernest Chew)Goh Keng Swee and Chinese Studies in Singapore: From Confucianism to ‘China Watching’ (John Wong)Goh Keng Swee's Cultural Contributions and the Making of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (Bernard T G Tan)Concluding Reflections: Goh Keng Swee as a 'Great Man' (Kwa Chong Guan) Readership: Researchers, academics, undergraduates and graduates, in addition to professionals and the general public interested in politics, history, and Singapore's founding fathers. Keywords:Goh Keng Swee;Singapore;Singapore Story;History;Founding Father;Old Guard;People's Action Party (PAP);Nation;Nation-Building;Civil Service;Public Service;Policy;Policy-Making;Politics;Political Economy;Government;Governance;Globalization;Economic Development;Strategy;Singapore Armed Forces;Defence;National Service;Industry;Jurong Industrial Estate;Education;Meritocracy;Streaming;Confucianism;Research Institute;Jurong Bird Park;Singapore Zoo;Singapore Symphony OrchestraKey Features:Dr. Goh's colonial civil service record, with salary details, made public for the first timeAnalytical commentaries on Dr. Goh with regard to a ‘social welfare Singapore’, the establishment of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, military studies and ‘China watching’, among othersOffers the only comprehensive ‘panoptic’ survey that attempts coverage of the entirety of Dr. Goh's epic career, spanning five eventful decades of public service, from his employment in a colonial civil service through the fight for national independence to nation-building and beyondProvides a significant reframing of the ‘Singapore Story’ — including a redefinition of its protagonists — by addressing the academic discourse on founding fathers and national heroes: who is worthy of such honour, and why do they deserve to be remembered or celebrated?Presents a study of connections between the evolution of Dr. Goh's ‘official mind’ and the outworking of decision-making processes impacting upon specific areas of Singaporean society, in which the broad range of career experiences and examples elucidated in this volume could serve a didactic purpose, furnishing practical lessons for the edification of present and future generations of public servants

A crucial founding father of independent Singapore, Dr Goh Keng Swee has his distinguished and unparalleled stint in public service hitherto reduced to dates and designations. The book is the first to collect and present a broad range of historical material commemorating Dr Goh's public career. This book is not a biography of Dr Goh's life. Instead, it commemorates his public career and attempts to portray a more personal and candid perspective of the principal architect of independent Singapore. This is done by pulling together a variety of historical sources, ranging from Dr Goh's public statements and speeches, and existing and fresh oral interviews with his former colleagues to archival documents and imagery. This book is an important contribution not only to Singapore's history in general, providing valuable historical context to the challenges of ensuring the sustainability and survival of a young nation at the highest levels of policy-making, but also a tribute to Dr Goh — how he is remembered, respected and revered by some of his closest peers and colleagues.

Born in Malacca in 1918, Dr Goh Keng Swee reached maturity at a time when European colonialism was breathing its last. By the time this keen-eyed Malayan Became self-governing Singapore's first Minister of Finance in 1959, he had made a name for himself s the colony's foremost social scientist, having carried out groundbreaking surveys on urban poverty and housing. He immediately initiated pioneering projects that laid the ground for the island's economic success. When Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, Dr Goh took charge of building an army from scratch.

Dr. Goh Keng Swee's public career spanned two eventful decades. He was a founding member of Singapore's ruling political party, and played a significant role in creating and shaping the destiny of Singapore today. This is an anecdotal account of Dr Goh's life-story told by the author, his daughter-in-law. Tan Siok Sun traces Dr Goh's footsteps from his humble beginnings in Melaka, to his days at Raffles College and the London School of Economics, to his service in the Singapore Government, and to his retirement.

Touted as one of the main engineers of Singapore''s economic growth, Dr Goh''s collection of writings and speeches seek to shed light on the various challenges that China faced in the early 90s. His arguments and analyses were presented clearly and concisely while being firmly established upon economic principles. Covering a broad range of topics from the growth of industries and enterprises to financial reforms and the difficulties of doing business in China, this collection provides a comprehensive view of problems the Chinese government faced while providing possible solutions. Despite being written two decades ago, the issues raised in these papers and speeches are uncannily relevant to the issues that the current Chinese government faces today.

Dr Goh Keng Swee was Singapore's first Minister for Finance from 1959 to 1965 who initiated Singapore's first industrial estate now known as Jurong Town. He was also the first and longest serving Defence Minister after Singapore became independent in 1965, responsible for building up the Singapore Armed Forces from scratch. Later he became Minister for Education in 1981 and revamped the education system to what it is today. Dr Goh was also concurrently Deputy Prime Minister from 1973 to 1984 during which time he set up the Monetary Authority of Singapore. While Dr Goh's public career and achievements are well documented in press reports and archival records as well as in photographs and speeches, what is missing is an insight and exposition of Dr Goh as an individual in his various roles. "Goh Keng Swee: A Public Career Remembered" seeks to provide this missing dimension of Dr Goh as a person to work for. Thirty-eight persons who had the opportunity of closely observing or working with Dr Goh have contributed their reflections and recollections of Dr Goh as a person, colleague and ?boss?, to this book. They have given candid and personal pen portraits of an unusual leader and minister, revealing a glimpse of the working habits of Dr Goh not known to most people. Drawn from oral histories and recent interviews, these reminiscences have been chronologically arranged, from those who recalled what it was like to work alongside Dr Goh on the Malayan Forum in London in the early 1950s, through his various ministerial positions, to travelling with Dr Goh after he ?retired? from politics in 1984. What emerges from these anecdotes of Dr Goh is that he could be an extremely demanding ?boss?, who could also be very supportive of his subordinates. They show him to be a person with a very inquisitive and creative mind capable of making great leaps of lateral thinking, able to connect disparate ideas and data to propose new and innovative solutions to intractable policy problems. He was truly a Singaporean for all seasons. Foreword Foreword (116 KB)Contents: Foreword by "President S R Nathan"AcknowledgementsRemembering Dr Goh Keng Swee (1918?2010) "(by Kwa Chong Guan)"Dr Goh Keng Swee: Public Service Timeline"Section 1: Goh Keng Swee as a Politician: "Hon Sui SenOthman WokPathmanaban SelvaduraiOthman Haron EusofeMaurice BakerHedwig Elizabeth AnuarBernard Chen"Section 2: Goh Keng Swee as a Civil Servant: The Social Welfare Department Years: "George Edwin BogaarsChia Cheong FookAnn Elizabeth Wee"Section 3: Goh Keng Swee as the Economic Architect of Singapore: "Othman WokLim Kim SanAlbert WinsemiusS Chandra DasHwang Peng YuanJames Koh Cher SiangPhilip YeoRichard HuNgiam Tong DowJoseph Yuvaraj PillayTeh Kok PengS DhanabalanOthman Haron Eusofe"Section 4: Goh Keng Swee as Defence Minister: "Othman WokCheong Quee WahLim Siong GuanPhilip YeoWinston Choo Wee LeongKirpa Ram VijRamachandran MenonGoh Lye ChoonJohn MorriceLai Chun LoongLee Onn PongNgiam Tong DowChan Chik WengChia Cheong FookEddie Teo"Section 5: Goh Keng Swee as Education Minister: "Eugene WijeysinghaRobert BalhetchetAng Wai HoongLim Siong Guan"Section 6: Goh Keng Swee's Contributions to Cultu

Where are all the birds? Why am I in this world? Where are my spectacles? Discover the life of Dr Goh Keng Swee in this fun and unique narrative of successive questions. How did this quiet, shy and curious boy become the man who would spearhead mammoth national projects and impact the lives of all Singaporeans?

Goh's thinking patriotism, fiscal prudence, strategic pragmatism, and creative imagination at work - technocracy at its finest - which could be of immediate, practical benefit to a wider 'nation of technocrats'. Further illumination comes from the insights of those contributors who had worked with the former Deputy Prime Minister and knew him personally. For a half-century that witnessed key turning points and phases of development in Singapore's transformation from colonial port city to independent global city, Dr. Goh played a leading role in the crafting and conduct of public policy, as with the creation of public institutions, which made the difference between survival and success. The organization of this volume reflects both a thematic approach and a chronological arrangement of material, the focus and the order of chapters corresponding to the historical sequence of public offices that Dr.