2 - Seeking to Serve

Summary

I am therefore basically a businessman, and, fortunately, I gained financial success very early in life. So, from thirty-eight years old onwards, a lot of my time went into serving Singapore, and I could do that without ever taking payment for my work for the government.

This was my national service.

I think my commitment to work for the country came when Lee Kuan Yew cried on the air, when Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia in 1965. After the Japanese Occupation, we had all felt that we had to become independent. Either you chose to migrate or you stayed to fight. My old man and I actually discussed that, and we decided to stay.

Lee Kuan Yew took us into the federation in 1963, and at that time, I remember I didn't agree with him. But I soon saw that he was learning, and changing his policies accordingly. After that, I was all for him. I remember Dr Toh Chin Chye asking me to enter politics. He could not guarantee that I would become a Minister, but a position of Minister of State was a foregone conclusion. I said no to him. I saw myself as a businessman. My father taught me things as a businessman, and we had always been doing business. Certain things you may do in business which you cannot do in politics. In business, you make use of the grey areas. One gets involved in what used to be called “yellow culture”, for example. I mean, I was doing business with the Americans in Vietnam. I knew who did what to whom, and when.

Politics is something else altogether. So, I did not want to discredit the party. That was my official excuse to Dr Toh. But in truth, I did not want to. It was as simple as that.

Years later, after my work with NTUC Welcome, Lim Kim San also wanted me to join politics. I turned him down too, and for the same reason. To be sure, I became a cadre for the PAP in 1971. I was on too many important boards to not be one, I suppose. Although I stopped being a cadre later, I remained a member of the PAP. So I knew the top leaders very well.