By Rachel Chang, Assistant Political Editor, The Straits Times, 7 May 2015
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A SMALL state like Singapore could be eaten alive on the world stage, but with nimble manoeuvring and resolute action, it can carve out a seat at the table with world leaders.
Former senior minister S. Jayakumar's new book seeks to bring to life this lesson, honed over 31 years in politics, for a new generation. Launched yesterday, Be At The Table Or Be On The Menu: A Singapore Memoir covers the veteran minister's life from his post-war boyhood and career as a law academic, to his long political career that ended with retirement in 2011.
The memoir draws its title from Professor Jayakumar's philosophy as foreign minister, a post he held from 1994 to 2004 and which, of all his portfolios, most defined his political legacy.
At the book launch yesterday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Prof Jayakumar, 75, said he hopes his memoir will illustrate that Singapore should "never be deterred by the fact that we are a small country - we can still play a role on the world stage".
Both the new book and a previous one in 2011, titled Diplomacy: A Singapore Experience, reveal how Singapore has used a combination of support for international law, coalition-building with other like-minded states, and a resolve not to be pushed around by bigger nations, to maintain a seat at the global table.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the guest of honour, said the book "reminds us of the harsh reality of international affairs, especially for a small country with little clout".
"Things have gone well for us for so long that people sometimes do not realise that we can still easily be turfed off and become an item on the menu, and this has not happened only because of the quiet and unremitting efforts of Jaya and others like him."
Calling him a "mentor and old friend", PM Lee said Prof Jayakumar played a major role in all the key constitutional and legislative changes of the last 30 years. He helmed portfolios like Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Law and Labour and oversaw national security and climate change issues.
When Mr Lee entered politics in 1984, Prof Jayakumar introduced him to the media; when Mr Lee became Prime Minister in 2004, he asked Prof Jayakumar, whom he knew to have "wise counsel, insightful criticism and tactful advice", to be his deputy.
When Mr Lee entered politics in 1984, Prof Jayakumar introduced him to the media; when Mr Lee became Prime Minister in 2004, he asked Prof Jayakumar, whom he knew to have "wise counsel, insightful criticism and tactful advice", to be his deputy.
"His experience and clarity added ballast and judgment to my Cabinet," PM Lee told the audience that included retired and current ministers and diplomats.
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On a lighter note, he added that he learnt something new from the book: that its author is a "talented amateur painter". Last night, PM Lee posted on Facebook a photo of Prof Jayakumar's "striking" oil painting of a tree against a vivid red and yellow background.
The book is dedicated to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, "who made possible the Singapore Story", wrote Prof Jayakumar.
The memoir ends with a moving e-mail exchange between the two men in 2011, after they both retired from Cabinet. The late Mr Lee always urged younger leaders to "keep the Singapore story going", said Prof Jayakumar.
It was this same message he wanted to convey to a new generation by writing down his life's work, he told reporters.
The book, published by Straits Times Press, is available at leading bookstores or online at www.stpressbooks.com.sg from today, for $27.82 (GST included).
The book, published by Straits Times Press, is available at leading bookstores or online at www.stpressbooks.com.sg from today, for $27.82 (GST included).
Prof Jayakumar is donating his royalties to MFA's adopted charity The Rainbow Centre, which helps children with special needs.
The following is a 2011 e-mail exchange between then Senior Minister S. Jayakumar and then Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, after both men stepped down from the Cabinet following the May 2011 General Election.
Mr Lee to Jayakumar: You have been a staunch and persevering comrade
Dear MM,
The closing part of today's Cabinet meeting was an emotional one for me. There was much I wanted to say to thank you not only as a Cabinet colleague but as a Singaporean for all that you have done for our country and people.
But I could not bring myself to say that as I was close to tears.
So I am using the rather impersonal medium of the e-mail to say it. My life, and outlook to life and Singapore completely changed when I joined politics and had the opportunity to work closely with you first as an MOS (minister of state) and then as a minister.
The way with which you approached difficult issues with the national interest uppermost in mind had a profound impact on me. In later years when I headed various ministries I have tried hard to imbue younger Cabinet colleagues who worked with me, as well as senior civil servants, with the same approach that I had learnt from you.
When you stepped down but still attended Cabinet meetings as MM (Minister Mentor), I could see that the younger, newer office holders benefited from your analysis and reflections of current events in the "post-Cab" discussions. It is a pity that the new ministers in the next Cabinet will not have the same advantage.
But, as you have said, Loong has to move on with a new team.
Thank you for what you have done for Singapore and, on a personal note, thank you for your patience with me when I worked as your minister in MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) and Min FA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Jaya
Jaya
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Dear Jaya,
Your e-mail moved me deeply. We have fought many a battle together and depended on each other's trust and judgment for over 30 years. You have been a staunch and persevering comrade and contributed much to the stability and well-being of today's Singapore. You were fit enough to have gone on for another term but chose to make way for fresh blood.
Your e-mail moved me deeply. We have fought many a battle together and depended on each other's trust and judgment for over 30 years. You have been a staunch and persevering comrade and contributed much to the stability and well-being of today's Singapore. You were fit enough to have gone on for another term but chose to make way for fresh blood.
My work is done. Now I must make sure that we will (serve) TPGRC (Tanjong Pagar GRC) with a younger and more vigorous team. We are in a more complex environment than before.
Yours ever,
Kuan Yew
Yours ever,
Kuan Yew
Why did ex-Senior Minister S. Jayakumar pick up inline skating in his 60s? Excerpts from his memoir
By Chew Hui Min, The Straits Times, 7 May 2015
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Former Senior Minister S. Jayakumar's memoir, launched on Wednesday, contains insights from his 31 years in politics and anecdotes from his personal life.
By Chew Hui Min, The Straits Times, 7 May 2015
Professor Jayakumar is donating his royalties from the book, Be At The Table Or Be On The Menu: A Singapore Memoir, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' adopted charity The Rainbow Centre, which helps children with special needs.
The 224-page volume is available at leading bookstores at $27.82 (GST inclusive). It can also be ordered from the Straits Times Press Online Bookstore atwww.stpressbooks.com.sg.
Here are a few interesting excerpts from the memoir:
1. A short stint as a reporter in 1959
"My stint as a journalist was quite exciting. One felt a sense of importance in knowing the latest news before it went into the public domain. I have three distinct memories of those six months as a journalist...
"The third memory concerns a gangland-style murder in Chinatown. Secret societies were rampant in Singapore then. I arrived at the scene with a cameraman. The bloodstained body was still on the five-foot way.
"The police had questioned the victim's wife and family. I tried to extract as much information as I could from the police officer. He shook his head in frustration, saying that the wife and relatives all knew who had done it. Other witnesses could also identify the assailant but no one was prepared to give a statement. They feared reprisals if they had to testify in court.
That episode had a profound impact on me and later shaped my views on the need for the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act which provides for preventive detention."
2. Marriage and family
"My parents were very conservative Indians. They seemed very concerned that in my late twenties I was showing no interest in marriage and spent many late nights out.
"Sometime in 1968, I planned a trip to Penang by car with S Rajendran, a good friend from law school days... When my parents got wind of this, they asked me to stop over in KL to meet a Dr Rajahram and his daughter Lalitha, who was also a doctor... I quietly fobbed off my parents' attempt by telling them that our travel plan to Penang did not include a stop in KL.
"When I mentioned this to Rajendran, his response was, why not? What is the harm in meeting the girl? So that was how I turned up in KL, visited the family of Dr Rajahram, and met Lalitha... The rest is history, and after a few months, we got married in January 1969."
3. Working with three Prime Ministers
On Mr Lee Kuan Yew:
"My first observation is that Mr Lee was a perfect gentleman. He made it a point to have regular lunches with the younger Ministers of State, like Yeo Ning Hong and myself. It was his systematic way of getting to know us better... When the Istana waiter brought the food, he always insisted that we be served first. These may seem small things, but to me it spoke much of the man who was the leader of a country."
On Mr Goh Chok Tong:
"Chok Tong had a very easy and approachable way of dealing with foreign leaders and this enabled him to establish a good rapport with them. Whether it was with President Bill Clinton, Indian Prime Minister PV Narashima Rao, Japan's Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto or Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, I noticed that they hit it off after their first meeting."
"Chok Tong had a very easy and approachable way of dealing with foreign leaders and this enabled him to establish a good rapport with them. Whether it was with President Bill Clinton, Indian Prime Minister PV Narashima Rao, Japan's Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto or Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, I noticed that they hit it off after their first meeting."
On Mr Lee Hsien Loong:
"He was a very intense person, a profound thinker and a leader who was hands-on with any important issue. Whatever the subject matter, he would know as much, or even more about the subject, than the minister. This applied to even legal matters. He was not legally trained, but when we had difficult legal issues, including constitutional issues, he could hold his own.
4. Perils of official travels: Panic on flight to Cuba
"On 9 May 2007, after an official trip to Panama, I took an evening flight on Copa Airline from Panama for an official visit to Cuba. Lalitha was with me and we had an accompanying delegation of officials... Unexpectedly, just 20 minutes into the flight, the aircraft suddenly fell several thousand metres.
"Pandemonium broke out. It was a scene of utter chaos, with passengers panicking when some of the oxygen masks malfunctioned and did not inflate. Some passengers actually began grabbing the masks of others when theirs did not work."
5. Retiring from political life
Learning inline skating after 60:
"My friends thought I was crazy when in my late 60s I took up inline skating. I was having coffee with my daughter at an outdoor cafe in New York City when a couple whizzed by on rollerblades. I told her that it looked very interesting and she encouraged me to take it up. I did.
"As she did not play golf, this was one way of bonding with her. We used to skate in East Coast Park very early in the morning before going to work. Lalitha and my sons joined us on weekends. Lalitha and I were the oldest couple on the block."
Taking up painting:
"In recent years, I decided to take up painting. My brother Govindasamy was very good in drawing. I guess it rubbed off on me. As kids we would draw our own comics and share these with friends.
"In recent years, I decided to take up painting. My brother Govindasamy was very good in drawing. I guess it rubbed off on me. As kids we would draw our own comics and share these with friends.
"Later I painted murals of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and other Disney characters on the bedroom walls for my children when they were young. These were very amateurish efforts."
"You're the tour agent, right?"
"Retirement can have its funny moments. About eight months after retiring, I took my three-year-old granddaughter Ellora for an outing at the Singapore Cable Car... After a ride in a cable car, which she enjoyed tremendously, we came down to the ground floor where there were various kiosks selling souvenirs.
"She was attracted to some pencils with plastic animal figurines on top of the pencil heads. She grabbed a fistful of five or six pencils. I asked the sales lady at the kiosk for the price and was taken aback when she said each pencil cost $8.
"Ellora was engrossed in admiring the pencils and I noticed that the lady was all this time staring intently at me. Then she said, with a Singlish twang, 'You, ahh... I know you...' I told myself, OK here is the part when she says you are the minister.
"But that is not what she said.
"She continued: 'Ahh, I know you... you are the tour agent right? You bring the tourists here right?'"