DR GOH'S PLACE IN THE SINGAPORE STORY
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Loh Chee Kong, cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg, TODAY, 7 July 07
IF JUST one man is allowed to claim the honour of building Singapore into
what it is today, who will it be?
Will it be former People's Action Party (PAP) chairman Toh Chin Chye,
without whom the party would not even have been founded?
Or the late Mr S Rajaratnam, who was crucial to making sure a small,
newly- independent country had a place in an uncertain and mean world?
Or the economic wizard, otherwise known as Dr Goh Keng Swee?
Or last but not least, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, an international icon
whose name has become synonymous with Singapore's transformation from
Third to First World?
While Dr Goh is widely accepted as the economic and, to a lesser extent,
the social architect of post-independence Singapore by politicians and
historians, Mr Lee would likely be the layman's overwhelming choice.
A quick poll of 10 people, including civil servants and expatriates,
confirmed as much. Asked to choose among the four members of the Old
Guard, nine out of 10 credited Mr Lee as the founding father who had
built the Republic.
The single dissenter, a hedge fund analyst, chose Dr Goh - known for his
aversion to publicity - because "he was the one who initiated the
economy".
While Mr Lee's larger-than-life image and his unmatched length of service
have ensured that his legacy will be ingrained in the minds of most
Singaporeans, it would be unfortunate if Dr Goh is not given due credit
for his achievements - especially when most of the country's vital
institutions and ideological foundations can be traced to his efforts.
The transformation of a swamp into a thriving industrial estate in Jurong;
the creation of a fighting-fit army from scratch; the overhaul of the
education system - such seminal developments in Singapore's history has Dr
Goh's fingerprints all over them.
Dr Goh, 88, has been away from the public eye for the past two decades,
since he stepped down from the Cabinet as Deputy Prime Minister in 1984.
He had devoted 25 years of his life to public service, with a great part
of it focused on developing economic strategies. And develop them he did,
sometimes by implementing controversial policies that were way ahead of
his time. At a time when workers' unions were a militant lot, he
formulated the Government's approach to achieving orderly industrial
relations, planting the seeds of tripartism among government, employers
and employees that has helped preserve industrial peace in Singapore.
Dr Goh was also the brains behind the establishment of some key agencies
which have contributed to the Singapore success story - and which continue
to do so today.
They include the Economic Development Board, which has spearheaded the
drive to attract high value-added investments to Singapore; the Monetary
Authority of Singapore, the central bank which promotes fiscal prudence
and preserves the value of the Singapore dollar; and the Government of
Singapore Investment Corporation, which manages Singapore's reserves. Each
one of them is central to Singapore's success.
Beyond the economic realm, Dr Goh's influence extended into Singaporeans'
leisurely pursuits. He was responsible for the birth of the Singapore
Symphony Orchestra, the Jurong Bird Park and the zoo.
Dr Goh also left his mark on education. As Education Minister, he
overhauled the education system as Singapore embarked on its next phase of
industrialisation in the 1980s. His introduction of streaming in primary
schools institutionalised the PAP's concept of meritocracy - although,
with the benefit of hindsight, the streaming policy, along with the
graduate mothers' scheme, was among Dr Goh's big missteps.
But the fact that his rationale behind such policies still looms large in
the Government's decision-making today is testament to the indelible
influence his thinking has had. In fact, his penchant for pragmatism has
come to define the PAP's all-encompassing ethos.
In many ways, without Dr Goh, "we would have had a different Singapore",
in the words of Minister Mentor Lee.
For one, Singapore might still have been part of Malaysia.
In a stunning - yet little known - revelation that challenges official
history, Dr Goh, in a 1995 interview with historian Dr Melanie Chew, said
that separation from Malaysia was not foisted on Singapore.
In fact, Dr Goh and Malaysia's then-Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Abdul Razak
Hussein, had orchestrated Singapore's secession from Malaysia - from the
mechanics, down to the way it would be presented to the masses.
While key Malaysian leaders, no doubt, wanted Singapore out, some
Singapore leaders, especially Dr Toh and Mr Rajaratnam, were keen that it
remain part of Malaysia. But apparently, Dr Goh actively worked towards
secession - even as he was engaging in discussions on Singapore's desire
for financial autonomy with Mr Razak.
Reading from a file codenamed "Albatross", Dr Goh recounted his July 1965
meeting with Mr Razak and the then-Malaysian Minister for Internal
Security Ismail Abdul Rahman. "I said: 'You want to get Singapore out, and
it must be done very quickly. And very quietly, and presented as a fait
accompli'."
Mr Lee said he "learnt (Dr Goh) never pressed Razak for a looser
rearrangement as I had asked him to" when he was penning his autobiography
in 1994.
But he reasoned that Dr Goh did not do so because he was already aware of
Malaysia's intent to drive Singapore out.
With such an able right-hand man to take care of the nuts and bolts of
ensuring a country's economic survival, Mr Lee, then the Prime Minister,
was free to focus on an equally crucial area: Politics.
If Dr Goh was the economic wizard, Mr Lee was the master of the political
game. With his political acumen and charisma, Mr Lee not only managed to
capture the imagination of a whole generation of Singaporeans but also
distinguished himself as a leader among leaders during a turbulent period.
And members of the Old Guard, while constantly challenging Mr Lee's
thinking, harboured little ambition to be No 1 and accepted Mr Lee as
their de facto leader - making it easier for him to fight the enemies
without, while not having to worry about his enemies within.
Mr Lee's courage and shrewdness were amply demonstrated in the fledgling
years of his political career, whether it was flirting with the communists
to gain the support of the unions to put the PAP in power in the late
1950s or merging with Malaysia to crush the left-wing Barisan Sosialis and
secure independence from the British in one fell swoop; or pushing for his
vision of a "Malaysian Malaysia" that infuriated the Umno-led government
and made the merger untenable in the mid-1960s.
In 1988, former Singapore President, the late Mr Devan Nair - one of the
so-called "Lee's lieutenants" who later broke away from the team - had
this to say of Mr Lee's role in shaping the country's history: "Lee Kuan
Yew, let me acknowledge with pride, was the superb captain of a superb
team. But like all the best captains at the end of the game, they come to
believe that they have scored all the goals themselves."
Mr Lee himself had publicly acknowledged the Old Guard's efforts. He said:
"While (the Prime Minister) himself need not be a great player, he has to
know enough of the principal instruments, from the violin to the cello to
the French horn and the flute, or he would not know what he can expect
from each of them."
In this regard, Dr Goh was the violin, the cello, the French horn and the
flute - the multi-talented, standout performer in Mr Lee's all-star
ensemble.
If Dr Goh - who has been dubbed the "father of Singapore's economic
development" - was the skilful craftsman who created the ship, then Mr Lee
would be the astute businessman who enthralled the prospective buyers with
its merits.
All this leads me back to the question raised in the first paragraph of
this article: Who is that man?
I can't resist giving my vote to Dr Goh.
~~~~~
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