15 - Shaping the Good Society

Summary

In the cabinet, Raja stood out as an epitome of robust optimism tempered with the grim recognition of the challenges ahead and the resolve to face them squarely. In the first few years, his courage to meet adversaries head-on, his swiftness of mind and clarity in explaining ideas established him as one of the most valued men in the cabinet.

All members of the cabinet, except Ahmad Ibrahim, had higher educational qualifications than Raja, but when it came to intellectual argument, few could equal him. Yong Nyuk Lin, the education minister at the time, called him the “brain”. His colleagues also appreciated his calm and unflappable demeanour. Yong recalled later: “Goh Keng Swee would say ‘buzz off ’, but Raja was smiling, easy-going, no matter how trying the circumstances. If Lee Kuan Yew had harsh words, Raja would just smile and smooth things.”

Certainly, Raja's standing with the prime minister was not in doubt. Lee said in later years that in the first cabinet, those he considered his intellectual equals were Raja and Goh. Having worked closely with Raja on political strategy since 1952, Lee was the first in the cabinet to appreciate his talent with ideas and their public presentation. As Lee said later, “on political feel, on presentation on how to get people on our side, how to keep a multiracial country together, I couldn'tfind a better man. He believed firmly in it”.

Compared with his colleagues, Raja was the more street-savvy and polished, if also the more disorganised, political operator. In public communications, Raja's advantage, which the other cabinet ministers lacked, was his decade-long experience in journalism, in both print and broadcast.

From the first day, the prime minister and the other ministers turned to him for help to publicise their policies and to personally draft their press statements and sometimes, even speeches. His intray was constantly overflowing with such requests.

One typical assignment: In a cabinet meeting on 5 October 1959, Raja was asked to rewrite a draft statement from the minister for home affairs, Ong Pang Boon, “in simple language”.