In my opinion, both of them contributted equally to Singapore's progress. They contributted quite differently but very significantly.
Dr Goh Keng Swee created National Service, a mandatory conscription system for able-bodied young males. Subsequently, in 1981, he expressed the view that the central bank need not hold large amounts of cash in reserve to defend the currency, proposing that the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) be established to invest excess reserves. He was also responsible for projects that sought to improve Singaporeans' cultural and leisure life, such as the Jurong Bird Park, the Singapore Zoo and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He was also instrumental in introducing rugby in the Singapore Armed Forces and later in schools. He contacted the Sentosa Development Corporation and convinced them to have an oceanarium. Underwater World Singapore opened in 1991. He set up the Curriculum Development Institute, and introduced key policies such as religious education (subsequently discontinued) and, in 1980, the channelling of students into different programmes of study according to their learning abilities, known as "streaming".
Mr S Rajaratnam helped Singapore gain entry into the United Nations and later the Non-Aligned Movement in 1970. He built up the Foreign Service and helped to establish diplomatic links with other countries and secure international recognition of the new nation's sovereignty. He carried out the foreign policy of international self-assertion to establish Singapore's independence during the period when the country faced significant challenges including the Konfrontasi conflict in the 1960s and the withdrawal of British troops in the early 1970s. He was one of the five "founding fathers" of ASEAN in 1967 and helped to draw international attention to Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1978. He implemented tough labour laws to attempt to restore stability in the Singaporean economy and attracted multinational corporations to invest in Singapore. He was a strong believer in multi-racialism in Singapore, and when drafting the Singapore National Pledge in 1966 just two years after the 1964 Race Riots, he wrote the words "One united people, regardless of race, language or religion."
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Comparing The 2 Founding Fathers of Singapore
Similarities
Both cofounded the People's Action Party together with Lee Kuan Yew and contributed greatly to Singapore’s progress.
Differences
Political Life:
Mr. S Rajaratnam served as Minister for Culture (1959), Minister for Foreign Affairs (1965-1980), Minister for Labour (1968-1971), and Second Deputy Prime Minister (1980-1985) and was later appointed as Senior Minister until his retirement in 1988.
Dr Goh Keng Swee served two terms as Education Minister, his first ending on 31 May 1980, and his second following the 1980 general election from 1 June 1981 till his retirement. From 1 June 1980 he was redesignated First Deputy Prime Minister upon S. Rajaratnam being made Second Deputy Prime Minister, and served as Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) until he stepped down from Parliament on 3 December 1984 at the age of 66 years.
Contributions:
Mr S Rajaratnam helped Singapore gain entry into the United Nations and later the Non-Aligned Movement in 1970. He built up the Foreign Service and helped to establish diplomatic links with other countries and secure international recognition of the new nation's sovereignty. He carried out the foreign policy of international self-assertion to establish Singapore's independence during the period when the country faced significant challenges including the Konfrontasi conflict in the 1960s and the withdrawal of British troops in the early 1970s. He was one of the five "founding fathers" of ASEAN in 1967 and helped to draw international attention to Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1978. He implemented tough labour laws to attempt to restore stability in the Singaporean economy and attracted multinational corporations to invest in Singapore. He was a strong believer in multi-racialism in Singapore, and when drafting the Singapore National Pledge in 1966 just two years after the 1964 Race Riots, he wrote the words "One united people, regardless of race, language or religion."
Dr Goh Keng Swee relinquished his finance portfolio and became Minister for the Interior and Defence until 16 August 1967, assuming responsibilities for strengthening Singapore's military and domestic security capabilities. A key policy was the creation of National Service, a mandatory conscription system for able-bodied young males. Subsequently, in 1981, he expressed the view that the central bank need not hold large amounts of cash in reserve to defend the currency, proposing that the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) be established to invest excess reserves. He was also responsible for projects that sought to improve Singaporeans' cultural and leisure life, such as the Jurong Bird Park, the Singapore Zoo and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He was also instrumental in introducing rugby in the Singapore Armed Forces and later in schools. In recognition of his role in promoting the sport, the Schools "C" Division Cup is named after him. Impressed by an oceanarium in the Bahamas, he contacted the Sentosa Development Corporation and convinced them to have one. Underwater World Singapore opened in 1991. He set up the Curriculum Development Institute, and introduced key policies such as religious education (subsequently discontinued) and, in 1980, the channelling of students into different programmes of study according to their learning abilities, known as "streaming".
Both cofounded the People's Action Party together with Lee Kuan Yew and contributed greatly to Singapore’s progress.
Differences
Political Life:
Mr. S Rajaratnam served as Minister for Culture (1959), Minister for Foreign Affairs (1965-1980), Minister for Labour (1968-1971), and Second Deputy Prime Minister (1980-1985) and was later appointed as Senior Minister until his retirement in 1988.
Dr Goh Keng Swee served two terms as Education Minister, his first ending on 31 May 1980, and his second following the 1980 general election from 1 June 1981 till his retirement. From 1 June 1980 he was redesignated First Deputy Prime Minister upon S. Rajaratnam being made Second Deputy Prime Minister, and served as Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) until he stepped down from Parliament on 3 December 1984 at the age of 66 years.
Contributions:
Mr S Rajaratnam helped Singapore gain entry into the United Nations and later the Non-Aligned Movement in 1970. He built up the Foreign Service and helped to establish diplomatic links with other countries and secure international recognition of the new nation's sovereignty. He carried out the foreign policy of international self-assertion to establish Singapore's independence during the period when the country faced significant challenges including the Konfrontasi conflict in the 1960s and the withdrawal of British troops in the early 1970s. He was one of the five "founding fathers" of ASEAN in 1967 and helped to draw international attention to Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1978. He implemented tough labour laws to attempt to restore stability in the Singaporean economy and attracted multinational corporations to invest in Singapore. He was a strong believer in multi-racialism in Singapore, and when drafting the Singapore National Pledge in 1966 just two years after the 1964 Race Riots, he wrote the words "One united people, regardless of race, language or religion."
Dr Goh Keng Swee relinquished his finance portfolio and became Minister for the Interior and Defence until 16 August 1967, assuming responsibilities for strengthening Singapore's military and domestic security capabilities. A key policy was the creation of National Service, a mandatory conscription system for able-bodied young males. Subsequently, in 1981, he expressed the view that the central bank need not hold large amounts of cash in reserve to defend the currency, proposing that the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) be established to invest excess reserves. He was also responsible for projects that sought to improve Singaporeans' cultural and leisure life, such as the Jurong Bird Park, the Singapore Zoo and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He was also instrumental in introducing rugby in the Singapore Armed Forces and later in schools. In recognition of his role in promoting the sport, the Schools "C" Division Cup is named after him. Impressed by an oceanarium in the Bahamas, he contacted the Sentosa Development Corporation and convinced them to have one. Underwater World Singapore opened in 1991. He set up the Curriculum Development Institute, and introduced key policies such as religious education (subsequently discontinued) and, in 1980, the channelling of students into different programmes of study according to their learning abilities, known as "streaming".
Dr Goh Keng Swee
Goh Keng Swee (Dr) (b. 6 October 1918, Malacca, Malaysia – d. 14 May 2010, Singapore) has often been called the "economic architect" of Singapore, contributing greatly in shaping the development of Singapore into a prosperous nation as Minister for Finance and Minister of Defence. He held several other key appointments, including Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Education, and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and various government-led companies.
Early life
Born into a middle-income Peranakan family in Malacca, he came to Singapore when he was two years old. His early education was at Anglo-Chinese School (1927–1936) and later at Raffles College (1936–1939).
Armed with a diploma in arts, he entered the colonial civil service in 1939, but his career was interrupted by the Japanese Occupation. He rejoined the civil service in 1946 and his outstanding performance earned him a scholarship to study statistics at the London School of Economics (LSE) in 1947. During his stay in London, he started the Malayan Forum, an anti-colonial political group, with some fellow students including Lee Kuan Yew and Toh Chin Chye. Goh became its first chairman.
In 1951, he graduated from LSE with a first class honours in economics and won the William Farr Prize. He resumed work in the civil service back in Singapore, but later returned to LSE for further studies in 1954 and obtained his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1956.
Career
After the Japanese Occupation, Goh joined the Social Welfare Department, where he attained the position of director in 1958. During his time in the colonial civil service, he formed the Council for Joint Action together with K. M. Byrne to seek equal pay for Asian civil servants.
In 1959, he resigned from the civil service and contested the general elections as a People's Action Party (PAP) candidate. He won the Kreta Ayer seat and represented the constituency in the legislative assembly and later the parliament of Singapore until his retirement from politics in 1984. He led various ministries during critical periods in Singapore's history, introducing bold measures to tackle issues in the economy and in the areas of defence and education.
Major Accomplishments
Appointed Minister for Finance in 1959, he introduced an industrialisation programme with the aim of creating jobs for Singaporeans. Jurong, a swampy wasteland at the time, was transformed into Singapore's first industrial estate. To jumpstart the area’s development, he offered incentives and drew in foreign investments. He also initiated the setting up of the Economic Development Board (EDB), which was established in August 1961 with the purpose of furthering the economic development of Singapore by attracting foreign investments.
When Singapore attained independence on 9 August 1965, he became the first defence minister and saw an urgent need for a strong defence force. To quickly build up the Singapore Armed Forces, he implemented compulsory national service for all male Singaporeans above 18 years old.
During his term as Minister of Education, the importance of curriculum development in the education system prompted him to set up the Curriculum Development Institute. To arrest the high dropout rates, he introduced streaming in 1980 to allow students to learn at their own pace within their own capabilities. He also introduced religious education but this was later dropped from the school curriculum.
When he was appointed chairman of MAS and the Board of Commissioner of Currency in 1980, he took measures to promote Singapore as an international financial centre. To this end, in 1984, amendments were made to three major financial regulations, namely the Banking Act, the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act and the Finance Companies Act. During the 1985 recession, he acted swiftly to stop the downward slide of the Singapore dollar.
In the early years of China’s economic reform programme, the Chinese central government sought his expertise and appointed him as its economic adviser on coastal development and tourism in 1985. He was the first foreigner to be appointed to such a role.
In 1985, the Singapore government awarded him the prestigious Order of Temasek (First Class) for his contributions in the nation’s development. To honour him, the financial community set up the Goh Keng Swee Scholarship Fund in 1992, while the National University of Singapore established the Goh Keng Swee Professorship and Master's Scholarship in Economics in 1996. To preserve his legacy, Goh’s wife Phua Swee Liang set up the Goh Keng Swee Foundation in 2008 to help the disadvantaged.
Timeline
May 1959 – Sep 1963 : Vice-chairman of PAP.
30 May 1959 – 3 Dec 1984 : Legislative assemblyman and later member of parliament for Kreta Ayer.
5 Jun 1959 – 8 Aug 1965 : Minister for Finance.
9 Aug 1965 – 23 Sep 1965 : Minister of Defence and Security.
24 Sep 1965 – 16 Aug 1967 : Minister of the Interior and Defence.
17 Aug 1967 – 10 Aug 1970 : Minister for Finance.
11 Aug 1970 – 11 Feb 1979 : Minister of Defence.
1 Mar 1973 – 31 May 1980 : Deputy Prime Minister.
12 Feb 1979 – 31 May 1980 : Minister of Education.
1 Jun 1980 – Dec 1984 : First Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of MAS.
1 Jun 1981 – Dec 1984 : Minister of Education.
1981 – 1994 : Deputy chairman, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.
1983 – 1992 : Chairman, Board of Governors, Institute of East Asian Philosophies (later renamed Institute of East Asian Political Economy or IEAPE).
Dec 1984 : Retired from politics.
1985 – 1992 : Deputy chairman, MAS.
1988 – 1994 : Chairman, Singapore Totalisator Board.
1991 : Director, Gateway Technologies Services Pte Ltd.
1992 – 1995 : Executive chairman and chairman of Board of Governors, IEAPE. Chairman, East Asian Consultancy (S) Pte Ltd.
1994 : Chairman, N. M. Rothschild & Sons (S) Ltd.
1995 : Vice-chairman, Hong Leong Asia Ltd.
1996 – 1997 : Deputy chairman, IEAPE.
Awards
1966 : Honorary Fellow of LSE.
1972 : Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Services.
1972 : Order of Sikatuna, Philippines.
1985 : Order of Temasek (First Class), Singapore.
1991 : First Distinguished Fellow, EDB Society, Singapore.
1992 : Honorary member of the Singapore International Monetary Exchange.
1993 : Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Hong Kong.
Family
Father: Goh Leng Inn.
Mother: Tan Swee Eng.
Wife: Alice Woon (married in 1942 but separated in 1986); Phua Swee Liang (married in 1991).
Children: One son, Kian Chee.
Grandchildren: Two grandsons, Ken-Yi and Shaoyi.
Great grandchildren: Three great grandsons, Ethan, Sean Christian and Julien.
Retirement and Death
Goh was diagnosed with bladder cancer in September 1983 and he retired from politics in December 1984. He kept a low profile but remained active with various organisations where he served on the board or as an adviser. After he married Phua in 1991, the couple travelled widely to places such as Australia and Hawaii. However, a series of strokes in the late 1990s and early 2000s took a heavy toll on him. He was bedridden in his final years and passed away on 14 May 2010.
Early life
Born into a middle-income Peranakan family in Malacca, he came to Singapore when he was two years old. His early education was at Anglo-Chinese School (1927–1936) and later at Raffles College (1936–1939).
Armed with a diploma in arts, he entered the colonial civil service in 1939, but his career was interrupted by the Japanese Occupation. He rejoined the civil service in 1946 and his outstanding performance earned him a scholarship to study statistics at the London School of Economics (LSE) in 1947. During his stay in London, he started the Malayan Forum, an anti-colonial political group, with some fellow students including Lee Kuan Yew and Toh Chin Chye. Goh became its first chairman.
In 1951, he graduated from LSE with a first class honours in economics and won the William Farr Prize. He resumed work in the civil service back in Singapore, but later returned to LSE for further studies in 1954 and obtained his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1956.
Career
After the Japanese Occupation, Goh joined the Social Welfare Department, where he attained the position of director in 1958. During his time in the colonial civil service, he formed the Council for Joint Action together with K. M. Byrne to seek equal pay for Asian civil servants.
In 1959, he resigned from the civil service and contested the general elections as a People's Action Party (PAP) candidate. He won the Kreta Ayer seat and represented the constituency in the legislative assembly and later the parliament of Singapore until his retirement from politics in 1984. He led various ministries during critical periods in Singapore's history, introducing bold measures to tackle issues in the economy and in the areas of defence and education.
Major Accomplishments
Appointed Minister for Finance in 1959, he introduced an industrialisation programme with the aim of creating jobs for Singaporeans. Jurong, a swampy wasteland at the time, was transformed into Singapore's first industrial estate. To jumpstart the area’s development, he offered incentives and drew in foreign investments. He also initiated the setting up of the Economic Development Board (EDB), which was established in August 1961 with the purpose of furthering the economic development of Singapore by attracting foreign investments.
When Singapore attained independence on 9 August 1965, he became the first defence minister and saw an urgent need for a strong defence force. To quickly build up the Singapore Armed Forces, he implemented compulsory national service for all male Singaporeans above 18 years old.
During his term as Minister of Education, the importance of curriculum development in the education system prompted him to set up the Curriculum Development Institute. To arrest the high dropout rates, he introduced streaming in 1980 to allow students to learn at their own pace within their own capabilities. He also introduced religious education but this was later dropped from the school curriculum.
When he was appointed chairman of MAS and the Board of Commissioner of Currency in 1980, he took measures to promote Singapore as an international financial centre. To this end, in 1984, amendments were made to three major financial regulations, namely the Banking Act, the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act and the Finance Companies Act. During the 1985 recession, he acted swiftly to stop the downward slide of the Singapore dollar.
In the early years of China’s economic reform programme, the Chinese central government sought his expertise and appointed him as its economic adviser on coastal development and tourism in 1985. He was the first foreigner to be appointed to such a role.
In 1985, the Singapore government awarded him the prestigious Order of Temasek (First Class) for his contributions in the nation’s development. To honour him, the financial community set up the Goh Keng Swee Scholarship Fund in 1992, while the National University of Singapore established the Goh Keng Swee Professorship and Master's Scholarship in Economics in 1996. To preserve his legacy, Goh’s wife Phua Swee Liang set up the Goh Keng Swee Foundation in 2008 to help the disadvantaged.
Timeline
May 1959 – Sep 1963 : Vice-chairman of PAP.
30 May 1959 – 3 Dec 1984 : Legislative assemblyman and later member of parliament for Kreta Ayer.
5 Jun 1959 – 8 Aug 1965 : Minister for Finance.
9 Aug 1965 – 23 Sep 1965 : Minister of Defence and Security.
24 Sep 1965 – 16 Aug 1967 : Minister of the Interior and Defence.
17 Aug 1967 – 10 Aug 1970 : Minister for Finance.
11 Aug 1970 – 11 Feb 1979 : Minister of Defence.
1 Mar 1973 – 31 May 1980 : Deputy Prime Minister.
12 Feb 1979 – 31 May 1980 : Minister of Education.
1 Jun 1980 – Dec 1984 : First Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of MAS.
1 Jun 1981 – Dec 1984 : Minister of Education.
1981 – 1994 : Deputy chairman, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.
1983 – 1992 : Chairman, Board of Governors, Institute of East Asian Philosophies (later renamed Institute of East Asian Political Economy or IEAPE).
Dec 1984 : Retired from politics.
1985 – 1992 : Deputy chairman, MAS.
1988 – 1994 : Chairman, Singapore Totalisator Board.
1991 : Director, Gateway Technologies Services Pte Ltd.
1992 – 1995 : Executive chairman and chairman of Board of Governors, IEAPE. Chairman, East Asian Consultancy (S) Pte Ltd.
1994 : Chairman, N. M. Rothschild & Sons (S) Ltd.
1995 : Vice-chairman, Hong Leong Asia Ltd.
1996 – 1997 : Deputy chairman, IEAPE.
Awards
1966 : Honorary Fellow of LSE.
1972 : Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Services.
1972 : Order of Sikatuna, Philippines.
1985 : Order of Temasek (First Class), Singapore.
1991 : First Distinguished Fellow, EDB Society, Singapore.
1992 : Honorary member of the Singapore International Monetary Exchange.
1993 : Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Hong Kong.
Family
Father: Goh Leng Inn.
Mother: Tan Swee Eng.
Wife: Alice Woon (married in 1942 but separated in 1986); Phua Swee Liang (married in 1991).
Children: One son, Kian Chee.
Grandchildren: Two grandsons, Ken-Yi and Shaoyi.
Great grandchildren: Three great grandsons, Ethan, Sean Christian and Julien.
Retirement and Death
Goh was diagnosed with bladder cancer in September 1983 and he retired from politics in December 1984. He kept a low profile but remained active with various organisations where he served on the board or as an adviser. After he married Phua in 1991, the couple travelled widely to places such as Australia and Hawaii. However, a series of strokes in the late 1990s and early 2000s took a heavy toll on him. He was bedridden in his final years and passed away on 14 May 2010.
Mr S. Rajaratnam
Mr. Sinnathamby Rajaratnam (a.k.a. S. Rajaratnam) (b. 25 February 1915, Jaffna, Sri Lanka - d. 22 February 2006, Singapore ) a former journalist, co-founder of People's Action Party (PAP), the first Foreign Affairs Minister after Singapore gained independence in 1965, Member of Parliament for Kampong Glam constituency since 1959, the former Minister for Labour and Culture. He was the Second Deputy Prime Minister in 1980 till he stepped down in 1985 and became a Senior Minister. He was one of the pioneer leaders who helped in shaping the development of Singapore.
Early life
Born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, he was only three months old when he was brought back to Seremban, Malaysia where his father worked as a supervisor at a rubber plantation. He began his early education at St Paul's Institution in Seremban. It was at this stage, he became an avid reader with the greatest influence from his uncles who bought him many books. He went on to study at Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur and finally Raffles Institution, Singapore. In 1937, he went to King's College, London to study law. He was too involved in politics as a member of the Marxist Left Book Club and failed to complete his studies.
He worked as a journalist to support himself when financial aid from his father was terminated during the war. He married a Hungarian in 1941 and stayed in London for several years. After the war, they returned to Malaya in 1947. Rajaratnam worked as a journalist in the Malaya Tribune from 1948 to 1950. and left to join the Singapore Standard as an Associate Editor in 1950. From 1954 to 1959, he was the Editorial staff of The Straits Times in Singapore.
As a journalist, he wrote articles related to the political issues in Singapore and Malaya. His open anti-British and anti-Communist stance attracted the attention of Lee Kuan Yew, Toh Chin Chye and Goh Keng Swee, who together with Rajaratnam formed the People's Action Party in 1954.
Political Career
In 1959, he resigned from The Straits Times to contest in the first Legislative Assembly General Election. He was elected as Legislative Assemblyman in the Kampong Glam constituency and was also appointed as the Minister of Culture and served till 1963. With the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, he became a member of the Federal Malaysian Parliament.
When Singapore gained independence, he was the first Minister for Foreign Affairs. He held this office until 1980 with additional duty as the Minister for Labour in 1968. As a long-serving Foreign Affairs Minister, he contributed immensely to establishing good relations with nations of the world, which was a paramount importance to a young, struggling nation, especially after the separation from Malaysia. He represented Singapore in the Bangkok Declaration in 1967 convened to establish the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN). In December 1997, together with the other founding members, Rajaratnam was honoured with an award by ASEAN for this significant contribution.
In 1966, Rajaratnam together with the former minister Ong Pang Boon, composed the National Pledge with emphasis on a united and multi-racial society.
In 1980, he was appointed as the Second Deputy Prime Minister. He relinquished the post in 1985 to make way for younger candidates but remained as a Senior Minister in the Prime Minister's office till his retirement from politics in 1988. After his retirement, he served as the Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies from 1988.
In recognition of his visionary leadership in helping to shape Singapore's development, the S. Rajaratnam Scholarship was set up in 1990 and renamed S. Rajaratnam Professorship in Strategic Studies in 1999. Rajaratnam died peacefully of heart failure on 22 February 2006 at his home in Chancery Lane.
Other offices held:
Secretary, Malayan Indian Congress
Member, Presidential Council for Minority Rights
Founding-member, the Singapore Union of Journalists
Timeline
1948 - 1950 : Journalist, Malaya Tribune.
1950-1954 : Associate Editor, Singapore Standard.
1954 - 1959 : Editorial staff , The Straits Times.
1955 : Sat on the Malayanisation Commission.
1956 : Sat on the Minimum Standards of Livelihood Committee.
1959 : Elected to the Singapore Legislative Assembly in the Kampong Glam Constituency.
5 Jun 1959 - 23 Sep 1965 : Minister for Culture.
1963 : Appointed Member of the Central Executive Committee and Director of the Political Bureau of the PAP.
16 Sep 1963 : Member, Federal Malaysian Parliament.
9 Aug 1965 - 31 May 1980 : Minister for Foreign Affairs.
1968 - 4 Jul 1971: Minister for Labour.
1980 - 1985 : Second Deputy Prime Minister (Foreign Affairs)
1985 - 1988 : Senior Minister, Prime Minister's Office.
1988 : Distinguished Senior Fellow, Institute of Southeast Asia Studies (ISEAS).
Awards
1990 : The Order of Temasek (First Class).
24 Feb 1990 : The People's Action Party's Distinguished Service Medal.
1997 : The ASEAN Heads of Government Citation Award.
Early life
Born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, he was only three months old when he was brought back to Seremban, Malaysia where his father worked as a supervisor at a rubber plantation. He began his early education at St Paul's Institution in Seremban. It was at this stage, he became an avid reader with the greatest influence from his uncles who bought him many books. He went on to study at Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur and finally Raffles Institution, Singapore. In 1937, he went to King's College, London to study law. He was too involved in politics as a member of the Marxist Left Book Club and failed to complete his studies.
He worked as a journalist to support himself when financial aid from his father was terminated during the war. He married a Hungarian in 1941 and stayed in London for several years. After the war, they returned to Malaya in 1947. Rajaratnam worked as a journalist in the Malaya Tribune from 1948 to 1950. and left to join the Singapore Standard as an Associate Editor in 1950. From 1954 to 1959, he was the Editorial staff of The Straits Times in Singapore.
As a journalist, he wrote articles related to the political issues in Singapore and Malaya. His open anti-British and anti-Communist stance attracted the attention of Lee Kuan Yew, Toh Chin Chye and Goh Keng Swee, who together with Rajaratnam formed the People's Action Party in 1954.
Political Career
In 1959, he resigned from The Straits Times to contest in the first Legislative Assembly General Election. He was elected as Legislative Assemblyman in the Kampong Glam constituency and was also appointed as the Minister of Culture and served till 1963. With the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, he became a member of the Federal Malaysian Parliament.
When Singapore gained independence, he was the first Minister for Foreign Affairs. He held this office until 1980 with additional duty as the Minister for Labour in 1968. As a long-serving Foreign Affairs Minister, he contributed immensely to establishing good relations with nations of the world, which was a paramount importance to a young, struggling nation, especially after the separation from Malaysia. He represented Singapore in the Bangkok Declaration in 1967 convened to establish the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN). In December 1997, together with the other founding members, Rajaratnam was honoured with an award by ASEAN for this significant contribution.
In 1966, Rajaratnam together with the former minister Ong Pang Boon, composed the National Pledge with emphasis on a united and multi-racial society.
In 1980, he was appointed as the Second Deputy Prime Minister. He relinquished the post in 1985 to make way for younger candidates but remained as a Senior Minister in the Prime Minister's office till his retirement from politics in 1988. After his retirement, he served as the Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies from 1988.
In recognition of his visionary leadership in helping to shape Singapore's development, the S. Rajaratnam Scholarship was set up in 1990 and renamed S. Rajaratnam Professorship in Strategic Studies in 1999. Rajaratnam died peacefully of heart failure on 22 February 2006 at his home in Chancery Lane.
Other offices held:
Secretary, Malayan Indian Congress
Member, Presidential Council for Minority Rights
Founding-member, the Singapore Union of Journalists
Timeline
1948 - 1950 : Journalist, Malaya Tribune.
1950-1954 : Associate Editor, Singapore Standard.
1954 - 1959 : Editorial staff , The Straits Times.
1955 : Sat on the Malayanisation Commission.
1956 : Sat on the Minimum Standards of Livelihood Committee.
1959 : Elected to the Singapore Legislative Assembly in the Kampong Glam Constituency.
5 Jun 1959 - 23 Sep 1965 : Minister for Culture.
1963 : Appointed Member of the Central Executive Committee and Director of the Political Bureau of the PAP.
16 Sep 1963 : Member, Federal Malaysian Parliament.
9 Aug 1965 - 31 May 1980 : Minister for Foreign Affairs.
1968 - 4 Jul 1971: Minister for Labour.
1980 - 1985 : Second Deputy Prime Minister (Foreign Affairs)
1985 - 1988 : Senior Minister, Prime Minister's Office.
1988 : Distinguished Senior Fellow, Institute of Southeast Asia Studies (ISEAS).
Awards
1990 : The Order of Temasek (First Class).
24 Feb 1990 : The People's Action Party's Distinguished Service Medal.
1997 : The ASEAN Heads of Government Citation Award.
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