Othman Wok, member of independent Singapore's first Cabinet, dies aged 92
State-assisted funeral today for pioneer minister Othman Wok
By Danson Cheong, The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
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Mr Othman Wok, a pioneer generation minister who helped lay the foundation for a multiracial Singapore, died peacefully at the Singapore General Hospital at 12.21pm yesterday. He was 92.
Mr Othman was one of the 10 Singapore signatories of the 1965 Separation Agreement and a key member of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's Cabinet.
"He supported Mr Lee in the fight for a multiracial and multi-religious Singapore, and became one of Mr Lee's closest comrades," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. "The Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues are sad to learn of the passing of Mr Othman Wok and wish to convey their deepest condolences to his family."
Yesterday, Singapore's political leaders lauded Mr Othman as a champion for multiracialism, and a patron of sport and social services. He was Singapore's first minister for social affairs from 1963 to 1977, and concurrently held the culture portfolio from 1965 to 1968. He was ambassador to Indonesia from 1977 till 1981. He returned to Singapore and retired from politics that year.
In a Facebook post yesterday, President Tony Tan Keng Yam said Mr Othman made many significant contributions to Singapore. "His passion and commitment in helping others, and his impartiality and integrity in serving one and all, are traits that we remember and admire in him," Dr Tan said, adding that he and his wife Mary have lost a dear friend.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong hailed him as a "a courageous champion of a multiracial, multi-religious, and meritocratic Singapore".
"During Singapore's turbulent years in Malaysia, Encik Othman came under great pressure, and even threats on his life, for his convictions. But he stood firm, and that made all the difference to Singapore," he said in a Facebook post.
Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim added that while Mr Othman made great contributions to the Malay-Muslim community, he had also urged Singaporeans to "make the effort to strengthen cross-cultural understanding, practise mutual respect, and come together as one united people".
Mr Othman was "keenly aware that race and religion could become major fault lines and conflicts could arise out of suspicion, misunderstanding and prejudice", Dr Yaacob said in a Facebook post.
State-assisted funeral today for pioneer minister Othman Wok
By Danson Cheong, The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
Mr Othman was one of the 10 Singapore signatories of the 1965 Separation Agreement and a key member of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's Cabinet.
"He supported Mr Lee in the fight for a multiracial and multi-religious Singapore, and became one of Mr Lee's closest comrades," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. "The Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues are sad to learn of the passing of Mr Othman Wok and wish to convey their deepest condolences to his family."
Yesterday, Singapore's political leaders lauded Mr Othman as a champion for multiracialism, and a patron of sport and social services. He was Singapore's first minister for social affairs from 1963 to 1977, and concurrently held the culture portfolio from 1965 to 1968. He was ambassador to Indonesia from 1977 till 1981. He returned to Singapore and retired from politics that year.
In a Facebook post yesterday, President Tony Tan Keng Yam said Mr Othman made many significant contributions to Singapore. "His passion and commitment in helping others, and his impartiality and integrity in serving one and all, are traits that we remember and admire in him," Dr Tan said, adding that he and his wife Mary have lost a dear friend.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong hailed him as a "a courageous champion of a multiracial, multi-religious, and meritocratic Singapore".
"During Singapore's turbulent years in Malaysia, Encik Othman came under great pressure, and even threats on his life, for his convictions. But he stood firm, and that made all the difference to Singapore," he said in a Facebook post.
Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim added that while Mr Othman made great contributions to the Malay-Muslim community, he had also urged Singaporeans to "make the effort to strengthen cross-cultural understanding, practise mutual respect, and come together as one united people".
Mr Othman was "keenly aware that race and religion could become major fault lines and conflicts could arise out of suspicion, misunderstanding and prejudice", Dr Yaacob said in a Facebook post.
A state-assisted funeral will be held for Mr Othman today, after a prayer session for him at the Sultan Mosque. In the highest honour accorded to a deceased Singaporean, a state flag will be draped over the casket, with the crescent and stars lying over the head and close to the heart of Mr Othman.
A ceremonial gun carriage will then carry his body to Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery where he will be buried. A memorial service will be held tomorrow at the Victoria Concert Hall for invited guests.
Family members said that Mr Othman had been in ill health for some time. He was hospitalised for a lung infection on April 6.
Family members said that Mr Othman had been in ill health for some time. He was hospitalised for a lung infection on April 6.
His daughter Lily Othman, 60, said the family remembers him as a "kind, compassionate and loving father... He always told us that no matter what you must always be humble. It doesn't matter if you are the president's daughter or the king's daughter, humility should be your middle name".
Mr Othman leaves behind his wife Lina, four daughters, a step-daughter, seven grandchildren, three stepgrandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Additional reporting by Toh Yong Chuan and Zhaki Abdullah
Mr Othman leaves behind his wife Lina, four daughters, a step-daughter, seven grandchildren, three stepgrandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Additional reporting by Toh Yong Chuan and Zhaki Abdullah
A champion of multi-culturalism
Othman Wok never wavered in his belief that only a nation that respected all its races would work
By Cheong Suk-Wai, Senior Writer, The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
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When pioneer generation minister Othman Wok was a boy, it was his nightly duty to soothe his maternal grandfather's sore muscles by stepping all over the latter's back.
As young Othman worked on him, the old man would regale his grandson with stories of his own father's derring-do, such as when the latter fended off a tiger in a thicket near Serangoon with just a parang.
Mr Othman's great-grandfather, whom he named only as Awang, had been hurt so badly that a village healer had to dress his wounds and pray over him. He recovered.
Mr Othman never faced a wild animal himself, but he saw plenty of blood being spilt in Singapore's worst race riots on July 21, 1964.
He also suffered many an assassination on his character in his 18 years in politics, standing up for a multiracial Singapore, where he was denounced by Malay supremacists as an "infidel" and "traitor to the Malay race".
He never wavered.
He was threatened repeatedly as an election candidate for the multiracial People's Action Party (PAP) instead of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno).
The death threats intensified in the fractious months leading to Singapore leaving Malaysia and becoming an independent nation in August 1965.
One such missive was from an anonymous Malay letter-writer using the nom de plume Anak Singapura in early July 1964: "At this time you are a traitor to the community and religion… If you persist in doing this to the Malays, we dare to sharpen the long parang that you've been asking for."
Othman Wok never wavered in his belief that only a nation that respected all its races would work
By Cheong Suk-Wai, Senior Writer, The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
As young Othman worked on him, the old man would regale his grandson with stories of his own father's derring-do, such as when the latter fended off a tiger in a thicket near Serangoon with just a parang.
Mr Othman's great-grandfather, whom he named only as Awang, had been hurt so badly that a village healer had to dress his wounds and pray over him. He recovered.
Mr Othman never faced a wild animal himself, but he saw plenty of blood being spilt in Singapore's worst race riots on July 21, 1964.
He also suffered many an assassination on his character in his 18 years in politics, standing up for a multiracial Singapore, where he was denounced by Malay supremacists as an "infidel" and "traitor to the Malay race".
He never wavered.
He was threatened repeatedly as an election candidate for the multiracial People's Action Party (PAP) instead of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno).
The death threats intensified in the fractious months leading to Singapore leaving Malaysia and becoming an independent nation in August 1965.
One such missive was from an anonymous Malay letter-writer using the nom de plume Anak Singapura in early July 1964: "At this time you are a traitor to the community and religion… If you persist in doing this to the Malays, we dare to sharpen the long parang that you've been asking for."
That same month, Umno leader Syed Jaafar Albar said in a July 12 speech in Pasir Panjang to thousands of Malays: "If there is unity, no force in this world can trample us down, no force can humiliate us, no force can belittle us... not one Lee Kuan Yew, a thousand Lee Kuan Yews… we finish them off… kill him, kill him. Othman Wok and Lee Kuan Yew." Mr Syed Jaafar's words were, ironically, published in Utusan, the newspaper at which Mr Othman had worked as a journalist for 17 years.
Pasir Panjang was Mr Othman's constituency, which he won in a general election in September 1963.
Pasir Panjang was Mr Othman's constituency, which he won in a general election in September 1963.
He quit journalism shortly after, when Mr Lee appointed him minister for social affairs, making him the only Malay in the Cabinet then. He was, however, not Singapore's first Malay Cabinet minister, as the late Ahmad Ibrahim had been minister for health, and then labour, between 1959 and 1962.
Nine days after Mr Syed Jaafar's invective, at around 4.30pm on July 21, 1964, Singapore's worst racial riots erupted. Mr Othman was then leading a PAP contingent in a procession from the Padang to Lorong 12, Geylang, to celebrate the Prophet Muhammad's birthday.
When Chinese and Malays began hurling bottles at one another and punching policemen, Mr Othman led his group to safety in the old Kallang Airport building - and called his comrades in Cabinet to impose a curfew. A total of 23 people were killed and 454 injured.
A week later, a former Utusan colleague admitted to him that he had known the riots would break out - a good two hours before they happened. In Mr Othman's 2000 biography Never In My Wildest Dreams, he recalled his colleague telling him: "We knew beforehand. We have our sources, you know."
Mr Othman mused later in Men In White, the 2010 book on the history of the PAP: "I believe the riot was planned; it did not start spontaneously. They were very smart to choose a religious procession so that if we had stopped it, we would be called anti-Muslim. The inflammatory communal and racial speeches made by Malaysian Umno leaders worked up Malay sentiments in Singapore."
In the aftermath of the riots, Mr Lee relied heavily on Mr Othman, his old unionist friend whom he found "capable, dedicated and with integrity", to defuse tensions among Singapore's various races.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
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Mr Othman had met Mr Lee in 1952, in the office of his Utusan colleague Samad Ismail, who was then Mr Lee's confidant. "I found him to be a very friendly man, but very stern. He readily listens to what you say, but you must have substance," recalled Mr Othman of Mr Lee, who was then Utusan's legal adviser, in his 2000 biography.
In later years, Mr Lee got the workaholic journalist, who focused so much on landing scoops that he often forgot to cut his hair, to translate his speeches into Malay, edit PAP's news magazine Petir and help at its Malay Affairs Bureau.
At a flood-lit Padang past midnight on June 3, 1959, right after colonial governor William Goode declared Singapore self-governing, it was Mr Othman whom Mr Lee entrusted to make the new government's first official speech, which was in Malay, followed by speakers in Mandarin, Tamil and English.
Mr Othman's signature is among the 10 from PAP ministers on the Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965. In Men In White, he recalled: "PM called me into a room and asked me if I was prepared to sign the Separation declaration."
The query stemmed from two concerns. First, some among Mr Lee's colleagues, including Dr Toh Chin Chye and Mr S. Rajaratnam, were furious about having to separate when they had worked so hard to achieve merger with Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963.
Second, and perhaps most significantly, separation meant that, overnight, the Malay-Muslim community would go from being a majority to a minority on Aug 9, 1965. Singapore's Malays had then also begun to clamour for special privileges on a par with Malaysia's bumiputeras.
Mr Othman mused later in Men In White, the 2010 book on the history of the PAP: "I believe the riot was planned; it did not start spontaneously. They were very smart to choose a religious procession so that if we had stopped it, we would be called anti-Muslim. The inflammatory communal and racial speeches made by Malaysian Umno leaders worked up Malay sentiments in Singapore."
In the aftermath of the riots, Mr Lee relied heavily on Mr Othman, his old unionist friend whom he found "capable, dedicated and with integrity", to defuse tensions among Singapore's various races.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
In later years, Mr Lee got the workaholic journalist, who focused so much on landing scoops that he often forgot to cut his hair, to translate his speeches into Malay, edit PAP's news magazine Petir and help at its Malay Affairs Bureau.
At a flood-lit Padang past midnight on June 3, 1959, right after colonial governor William Goode declared Singapore self-governing, it was Mr Othman whom Mr Lee entrusted to make the new government's first official speech, which was in Malay, followed by speakers in Mandarin, Tamil and English.
Mr Othman's signature is among the 10 from PAP ministers on the Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965. In Men In White, he recalled: "PM called me into a room and asked me if I was prepared to sign the Separation declaration."
The query stemmed from two concerns. First, some among Mr Lee's colleagues, including Dr Toh Chin Chye and Mr S. Rajaratnam, were furious about having to separate when they had worked so hard to achieve merger with Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963.
Second, and perhaps most significantly, separation meant that, overnight, the Malay-Muslim community would go from being a majority to a minority on Aug 9, 1965. Singapore's Malays had then also begun to clamour for special privileges on a par with Malaysia's bumiputeras.
Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman was offering Singapore's Malays land in Johor as well.
Mr Othman told Mr Lee that he would sign the 1965 agreement without hesitation.
To Mr Lee, his old friend's long unshakeable belief in a multi-racial Singapore mattered a great deal.
To Mr Lee, his old friend's long unshakeable belief in a multi-racial Singapore mattered a great deal.
It was thanks to Mr Othman's charismatic leadership and solid support for PAP's incorruptibility and its vision of a better life for all Singaporeans, that no Malay PAP member joined Barisan or Umno.
A tearful Mr Lee recalled that at his 75th birthday dinner in 1998, and paid tribute to Mr Othman: "Because of the courage and leadership you showed, not a single PAP leader wavered. That made a difference to Singapore."
A tearful Mr Lee recalled that at his 75th birthday dinner in 1998, and paid tribute to Mr Othman: "Because of the courage and leadership you showed, not a single PAP leader wavered. That made a difference to Singapore."
Mr Othman was initially keener on remaining a journalist than becoming a politician. Modest to a fault, he shunned the spotlight but, throughout his life, was often thrust into it. When, for instance, he received no acknowledgement for his application to be a PAP member in 1954, the year it was inaugurated, he shrugged it off. It was only in 1958, when Mr Lee got him to chair PAP's Geylang Serai-Changi branch, that he realised his application had been accepted.
Up till then, he was, in his words, "politically apathetic", even when, as the secretary of the Singapore Printing Employees' Union from 1952, he fought for higher wages and better working conditions for workers of all races.
REGARDLESS OF RACE, LANGUAGE OR RELIGION
Through it all, Mr Othman never wavered in his belief that only a nation that respected all its races would work. He abjured extremism of any kind, having watched the Hock Lee bus rioters in May 1955 had their flesh torn by granite chips churned up by high-pressure water jets aimed at them.
In 1958, he recoiled when he visited kampungs in Changi full of children sporting red scarves and singing songs lustily in praise of communism.
Mr Othman, who had four daughters from two marriages, was born into a family of orang laut, who were the original settlers of Singapore. "When Raffles landed in Singapore," he told The New Paper in 2000, "some of my relatives were standing there on the beach. We were here before this place was discovered by the British... That's why when I talk to young people about the history of our country, it really means something to me."
His orang laut blood, he once said half in jest, gave him strong sea legs, but no stomach for air travel, which he had to do a lot of as minister for social affairs from 1963 to 1977, and then as Singapore's ambassador to Indonesia from 1977 till his retirement from politics in 1981.
As the social affairs minister, it fell to him to sell government policies the Malays, especially, found hard to take.
When Malay businessmen asked the Government for financial support, Mr Lee responded that giving them such help would be like only giving them fish. Better, the prime minister said, for them to learn how to fish.
So, on Mr Othman's advice, the Government gave all Malays free primary-to-tertiary education - one of many initiatives to help the community. In 1990, this policy no longer applied to those in university.
When kampungs had to make way for public housing in Singapore, a Kuala Lumpur-based editor of Mr Othman's former employer, Utusan, demanded: "Do you expect Malays to live in flats? Where would they put their goats and chickens?"
Mr Othman replied that they would, with the Government's help, have to adapt to urban society.
A genial, patient man who was slow to anger and quick to mend fences, he was, in his own words, "good with people". That came from experiences that few of his fellow Malays had.
In 1949, the year he married his first wife Daliah "Cik Dah" Mohd Noor, he was often in the jungles of Pahang, covering the guerrilla war between the Malayan Communist Party and the British colonial power, as Utusan Melayu's war correspondent. Fortunately, he never had to stare into the jaws of tigers, unlike what had befallen his great-grandfather.
Once, in the Chinese squatter village of Triang in Pahang, he was embedded in a platoon of an RAF regiment, and watched as some of its soldiers fired indiscriminately, even at women and babies. "Throughout the operation, no communist appeared. It was all a mistake and innocent people paid for it." Enraged, he wanted to report on the killings but was warned by the troops' commander against doing so, he said in his 2000 biography.
Cik Dah bore him three daughters: Saffiah in 1950, Dahlia in 1951 and Lily in 1956. He had another daughter, Diana, in 1981 with his second wife Lina Abdullah, now 70.
Mr Othman is survived by his wife Lina, daughters, a stepdaughter, seven grandchildren, two great-grandsons and three stepgrandchildren.
His knack for getting along with everyone was evident in London, where he was on scholarship to study journalism for a year, weathering the chill in leather gloves that were a gift from Mr Yusof Ishak, his boss at Utusan who was the founder, editor-in-chief and managing director of the newspaper.
In London, he got on famously with a disparate group surrounding him, from his Polish landlady to Kuala Lumpur-born roommate Thor Beng Chong and housemate Lynden Pindling, who would later become prime minister of the Bahamas.
In June 1959, after the PAP won the right to govern Singapore, he was the friend whom Mr Lee asked about the suitability of Mr Yusof as head of state. In 1985, he was the first person his old friend Wee Kim Wee called to ask if he should accept Mr Lee's offer to be Singapore's fourth president.
As chief reporter of Utusan between 1946 and 1963, Mr Othman was the reporter to whom the Dalai Lama and Malayan Communist Party leaders Fang "The Plen" Chuang Pi and Lim Ah Leong readily gave exclusive interviews.
It helped that he was urbane and had the look of a matinee idol. When he first campaigned in 1959 to represent PAP in Kampong Kembangan, an Umno stronghold in Singapore, he and Cik Dah trudged through a sea of scowls. So he was surprised he lost to Umno stalwart Ali Alwi by just 200 votes.
Umno's man in Singapore then, Mr Khir Johari, mused afterwards in an interview cited in Men In White that Umno assemblymen had, unlike Mr Othman, "neglected to visit the kampungs, talk to the people and find out what their needs were".
Mr Othman, whose memory was sharp till the end, recalled in his 2000 biography: "At the post-election meeting at the Hokkien Community Hall, I met Lee Kuan Yew and I said I was sorry I lost. He told me not to worry because he knew that if he had not put me there, we would have lost by more votes."
As the Men In White authors Sonny Yap, Richard Lim and Leong Weng Kam noted: "Othman Wok lived through it all, as a minister in Lee's Cabinet, during the struggle with the communists, the Merger, the race riots and the trauma of Separation."
Mr Othman told them: "Those were the toughest times. Without Lee, we could have collapsed under all those pressures, particularly with the problems under Malaysia."
He was modest about his own contributions; without him, too, Singapore might not be what it is today.
As Associate Professor Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied, who has studied Singapore's Malay intelligentsia, says: "Othman was Singaporean first and Malay second. And he never forgot his roots as a Muslim."
Long after his retirement from public life, young and old would tap Mr Othman's experiences as a Singaporean. He was enlisted to speak about his lessons for the future and, perhaps most importantly, at dialogues on Racial Harmony Day every July 21 - the very same date that Singapore's worst race riots erupted all those years ago.
Long after his retirement from public life, young and old would tap Mr Othman's experiences as a Singaporean. He was enlisted to speak about his lessons for the future and, perhaps most importantly, at dialogues on Racial Harmony Day every July 21 - the very same date that Singapore's worst race riots erupted all those years ago.
Pioneer minister laid foundations for sport and social services
By Danson Cheong, The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
As a Cabinet minister, Mr Othman Wok helped build Singapore's first National Stadium, promoted the Singapore Grand Prix long before Formula One races came to the Republic's shores, and laid the foundations for the social service sector.
He had also put in place measures that continue to uplift the Malay community today.
Yesterday, ministers, Malay-Muslim organisations and the labour movement paid tribute to him for his contributions to Singapore.
Mr Othman, who was the Minister for Social Affairs in independent Singapore's first Cabinet, died yesterday, aged 92.
During his 18-year political career, he held not only the social affairs, but also the culture portfolio.
By Danson Cheong, The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
As a Cabinet minister, Mr Othman Wok helped build Singapore's first National Stadium, promoted the Singapore Grand Prix long before Formula One races came to the Republic's shores, and laid the foundations for the social service sector.
He had also put in place measures that continue to uplift the Malay community today.
Yesterday, ministers, Malay-Muslim organisations and the labour movement paid tribute to him for his contributions to Singapore.
Mr Othman, who was the Minister for Social Affairs in independent Singapore's first Cabinet, died yesterday, aged 92.
During his 18-year political career, he held not only the social affairs, but also the culture portfolio.
It was in this capacity that he oversaw the building of the National Stadium, Singapore's first large-scale sporting arena.
Recounting this, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu said on Facebook: "While Singapore was focused on economic development at the time, Mr Othman was keenly aware that cultural development was just as important."
Besides sports, Mr Othman had also pushed for the development of social services, and he had been "instrumental" in shaping the foundations of the sector, said Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin. He added that Mr Othman tackled the "challenge of stretching the limited welfare fund to help Singaporeans in need" in the country's early days of independence.
Mr Othman championed the training of social workers and volunteers, and also initiated the predecessor of the National Council of Social Service - helping to create a more effective social service ecosystem, said Mr Tan's ministry in a statement.
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) also paid tribute to Mr Othman yesterday for his "unwavering determination and dedication" to the labour movement. A former journalist, he had served as secretary of the Singapore Printing Employees' Union, where he "played a central role in fighting for higher wages and better working conditions", noted NTUC in a letter signed by its secretary-general Chan Chun Sing and president Mary Liew.
Others remembered Mr Othman for his contributions to the Malay-Muslim community.
Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim, who is also the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, said Mr Othman "laid the strong foundations for the administration of Muslim affairs that the community enjoys today".
Mr Othman had introduced the Administration of the Muslim Law Bill, which paved the way for the formation of three key Muslim statutory institutions - the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), Registry of Muslim Marriages and Syariah Court. In a statement, MUIS called this his "greatest legacy".
Ms Rahayu Buang, chief executive of self-help group Yayasan Mendaki, said the successes of the Malay-Muslim community would not have been possible without the work of pioneers such as him.
Those who knew Mr Othman and worked with him also remembered him as a kind and humble man.
High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Chandra Das, who was a People's Action Party MP, said in an e-mailed statement: "He was a warm and friendly person always with a smile, especially for younger MPs like me."
Former MP Abbas Abu Amin, who succeeded Mr Othman as MP for Pasir Panjang in 1980, said at his wake yesterday: "He was very down to earth."
Former MP Abbas Abu Amin, who succeeded Mr Othman as MP for Pasir Panjang in 1980, said at his wake yesterday: "He was very down to earth."
A dedicated politician and devoted family man
By Joanna Seow, Zhaki Abdullah and Toh Yong Chuan, Manpower Correspondent, The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
On Sunday night, pioneer Cabinet minister Othman Wok's daughter Lily was persuading him to turn off the television and go to sleep.
It was 11.30pm and they were at Singapore General Hospital, where Mr Othman had been warded since April 6 for a chest infection and stomach complications.
Madam Lily, 60, said she usually performs the night duty in caring for her father.
"I will read some prayers for him and pat him to sleep before I go off," she said, as she recounted his final hours to reporters yesterday.
She said her father finally went to sleep at 11.45pm, and seemed fine at midnight, although his breathing was laboured.
In the morning, doctors called the family at around 8.40am and said Mr Othman might not survive much longer.
He was placed on a ventilator and breathed his last at 12.21pm.
By Joanna Seow, Zhaki Abdullah and Toh Yong Chuan, Manpower Correspondent, The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
On Sunday night, pioneer Cabinet minister Othman Wok's daughter Lily was persuading him to turn off the television and go to sleep.
It was 11.30pm and they were at Singapore General Hospital, where Mr Othman had been warded since April 6 for a chest infection and stomach complications.
Madam Lily, 60, said she usually performs the night duty in caring for her father.
"I will read some prayers for him and pat him to sleep before I go off," she said, as she recounted his final hours to reporters yesterday.
She said her father finally went to sleep at 11.45pm, and seemed fine at midnight, although his breathing was laboured.
In the morning, doctors called the family at around 8.40am and said Mr Othman might not survive much longer.
He was placed on a ventilator and breathed his last at 12.21pm.
"We tried our best to take care of him to the best of our ability, but I think God knows better and, you know, we are quite happy to let him go. He passed away... peacefully, so we are happy with that," Madam Lily told reporters outside the family home where the wake is being held. The home is in Kew Avenue in Bedok.
Madam Lily, a housewife and Mr Othman's youngest daughter with his late first wife Daliah "Cik Dah" Mohamad Noor, described him as a kind and loving father who was also devoted to his work as MP for Pasir Panjang constituency from 1963 to 1981.
Madam Lily, a housewife and Mr Othman's youngest daughter with his late first wife Daliah "Cik Dah" Mohamad Noor, described him as a kind and loving father who was also devoted to his work as MP for Pasir Panjang constituency from 1963 to 1981.
"We know that we are more or less like his second family compared to his political work. We totally got it and we appreciated that as well," she said with a laugh.
But he always made time for the family, especially when he returned from his overseas trips as Singapore's first minister for social affairs, a post he held from 1963 to 1977.
"Whenever he (came) back from his travels, he (spent) at least one night with us, sharing his overseas stories, souvenirs," she said.
One lesson he often drummed into them was the importance of racial harmony as he lived through the 1964 race riots. He also emphasised humility, she said.
"You could be the president's daughter or the king's daughter, but humility should be your middle name," she recalled him saying.
In his later years, he watched movies regularly with Diana, 36, his only child with his second wife Lina Abdullah.
Ms Diana, who works at the Esplanade, posted on her Facebook page last year: "My dad used to travel a lot for work. We have always been very close so I got so mad at him for frequently setting off and when he's home, he always seemed too busy for me."
But looking through old family photo albums, she found that he had taken many photos of her and her mother.
"I realise that in spite of his mad schedule, he was and always is in fact completely present."
Mr Othman had been in and out of hospital since last November, and his last message to his children was to live peacefully with each other and maintain good relationships with one another, said Madam Lily.
Her husband Munir Shah, 64, a management consultant who described his father-in-law as kind and compassionate, said: "He had a good run... All of us were well prepared for this eventuality."
Yesterday, President Tony Tan Keng Yam, Mufti Fatris Bakaram and the widow of Singapore's first President Yusof Ishak, Puan Noor Aishah, were among many who paid their last respects.
Politicians past and present also went to the wake, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife, deputy prime ministers Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Teo Chee Hean and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim.
The public can pay their respects at Mr Othman's home at 46, Kew Avenue today from 6.30am till 11am. The family would like to grieve in private for the last hour before the cortege leaves for the mosque at noon.
Additional reporting by Cheong Suk-Wai
Additional reporting by Cheong Suk-Wai
Excerpt from PM Lee Hsien Loong's letter to Mr Othman's widow, Lina Abdullah
The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
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"Encik Othman was steadfast and unwavering in believing in a multiracial, multi-religious, meritocratic Singapore.
His dedication and courage was most clearly shown during Singapore's turbulent years in the 1960s, when Singapore was part of Malaysia, and then separated from Malaysia to become an independent republic. In a vicious fight against the communalists, Encik Othman faced great pressure and threats on his life for joining the PAP.
If he had faltered, history might have taken a different course. But he stood resolutely by his convictions, and that made all the difference for Singapore.
His firm belief that one could build a multiracial, multireligious society, based on justice and equality, helped keep the dream alive through those dark days when Singapore was not the master of our destiny.
After Separation, Encik Othman's conviction gave heart to Malay Singaporeans, and made it possible for us to remain a multiracial society.
The Singapore we know today could not have existed without Encik Othman and others of our founding generation.
Mr Lee (Kuan Yew) remembered the staunch support that Encik Othman had shown, and the great debt that he owed Encik Othman for his loyalty and service to Singapore, when he (Mr Lee) spoke on the occasion of his 75th birthday...
Singaporeans will always remember Encik Othman as one of our founding fathers, whose courage and passion helped set Singapore on a path of peace and progress.
His passing is a deep loss to the nation."
The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
His dedication and courage was most clearly shown during Singapore's turbulent years in the 1960s, when Singapore was part of Malaysia, and then separated from Malaysia to become an independent republic. In a vicious fight against the communalists, Encik Othman faced great pressure and threats on his life for joining the PAP.
If he had faltered, history might have taken a different course. But he stood resolutely by his convictions, and that made all the difference for Singapore.
His firm belief that one could build a multiracial, multireligious society, based on justice and equality, helped keep the dream alive through those dark days when Singapore was not the master of our destiny.
After Separation, Encik Othman's conviction gave heart to Malay Singaporeans, and made it possible for us to remain a multiracial society.
The Singapore we know today could not have existed without Encik Othman and others of our founding generation.
Mr Lee (Kuan Yew) remembered the staunch support that Encik Othman had shown, and the great debt that he owed Encik Othman for his loyalty and service to Singapore, when he (Mr Lee) spoke on the occasion of his 75th birthday...
Singaporeans will always remember Encik Othman as one of our founding fathers, whose courage and passion helped set Singapore on a path of peace and progress.
His passing is a deep loss to the nation."
'Singapore would be a very different place without him'
He gave all S'poreans the confidence that multiracialism could work: DPM Tharman
By Rachel Au-Yong and Zhaki Abdullah and Toh Yong Chuan, Manpower Correspondent, The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
Without the late founding father Othman Wok, Singapore would be a vastly different country, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said yesterday.
"His guts, the courage he gave the Malay community and the confidence in multiracialism that he gave all Singaporeans, the confidence that we could make it work - that's what we are in debt to him for," he told reporters at Mr Othman's wake in his Bedok home.
Amid racial tensions, Mr Othman "rose to the occasion, decided that his belief in unity was worth fighting for, and hitched his wagon to Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore became what it is."
"So we're grateful to him for making that difference and making this country," Mr Tharman said.
Mr Othman, who held portfolios in social affairs and culture, died at Singapore General Hospital yesterday at 12.21pm. He was 92.
Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim had also lauded Mr Othman as a multiracial icon who united people of different racial and religious backgrounds during the political upheavals of Singapore's early days.
The pioneer Cabinet minister had seen through "some of the extremist forces that were at play at that time, and realised that a better future lay for Singapore in a society where we respect one another", he said.
He gave all S'poreans the confidence that multiracialism could work: DPM Tharman
By Rachel Au-Yong and Zhaki Abdullah and Toh Yong Chuan, Manpower Correspondent, The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
Without the late founding father Othman Wok, Singapore would be a vastly different country, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said yesterday.
"His guts, the courage he gave the Malay community and the confidence in multiracialism that he gave all Singaporeans, the confidence that we could make it work - that's what we are in debt to him for," he told reporters at Mr Othman's wake in his Bedok home.
Amid racial tensions, Mr Othman "rose to the occasion, decided that his belief in unity was worth fighting for, and hitched his wagon to Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore became what it is."
"So we're grateful to him for making that difference and making this country," Mr Tharman said.
Mr Othman, who held portfolios in social affairs and culture, died at Singapore General Hospital yesterday at 12.21pm. He was 92.
Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim had also lauded Mr Othman as a multiracial icon who united people of different racial and religious backgrounds during the political upheavals of Singapore's early days.
The pioneer Cabinet minister had seen through "some of the extremist forces that were at play at that time, and realised that a better future lay for Singapore in a society where we respect one another", he said.
"He fought for what he believed was right, not only for the Malays in Singapore but (also) the whole of Singapore," said Dr Yaacob, who is also the Minister for Communications and Information.
This was a "courageous act" because Mr Othman was "going against very, very strong forces, which we saw in the extremist Malay nationalists", he added.
Dr Yaacob also said that Mr Othman had laid the foundation for a "modern and progressive Malay-Muslim community".
He helped to develop the Administration of Muslim Law Act, laws passed in 1966 to enhance the administration of Islamic law in the Singapore legal system.
This, in turn, helped to create the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) which, with the Syariah Court, are key institutions today that let Muslims in Singapore "lead a vibrant socio-religious life", said Dr Yaacob.
On a personal note, Dr Yaacob said he remembered Mr Othman best for the way he balanced his dual roles as a community leader and a national leader.
"In both roles, he brought to bear the ethos that has been associated with him and the founding generation: That of respect for multiracialism, respect for meritocracy, and respect for a society in which every community in Singapore has a space to thrive," he said.
Former senior minister of state Zainul Abidin Rasheed told The Straits Times that Mr Othman's position as a top Malay politician against the backdrop of heated race politics was "all the more poignant".
Mr Zainul, who is helping to coordinate funeral arrangements between the Government and the late leader's family, said Mr Othman, like the late president Yusof Ishak, had always been clear about working towards multi-culturalism for Singapore. "Even when Mr Othman was a journalist, he understood the challenges of the community, and he wanted to help it understand what Singapore was trying to achieve," he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who attended the wake later at night, said on Facebook that Mr Othman "stood up for an independent multiracial Singapore and helped lay the foundations for the peaceful and harmonious Singapore of today".
He added: "His unwavering commitment and loyalty to Singapore and the principles we stand for are an inspiration to all of us."
He added: "His unwavering commitment and loyalty to Singapore and the principles we stand for are an inspiration to all of us."
MAN OF INTEGRITY
He was among the first Malay leaders of the PAP. He contributed significantly to the PAP's multiracial platform. We worked closely in the early years of the PAP. I was the party's organising secretary and Othman, who was then a journalist with Utusan Melayu, was our unofficial Malay translator. I would see him whenever we needed Malay translations for Petir and other publications. Othman always obliged.
I will always remember Othman to be a man of integrity and with absolute loyalty to the PAP and Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
He was also a man of high EQ, who always had kind words for his Cabinet colleagues, his grassroots workers and friends, and the man in the street.
MR ONG PANG BOON, one of two remaining members of independent Singapore's first Cabinet. The other is Mr Jek Yeun Thong.
He was among the first Malay leaders of the PAP. He contributed significantly to the PAP's multiracial platform. We worked closely in the early years of the PAP. I was the party's organising secretary and Othman, who was then a journalist with Utusan Melayu, was our unofficial Malay translator. I would see him whenever we needed Malay translations for Petir and other publications. Othman always obliged.
I will always remember Othman to be a man of integrity and with absolute loyalty to the PAP and Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
He was also a man of high EQ, who always had kind words for his Cabinet colleagues, his grassroots workers and friends, and the man in the street.
MR ONG PANG BOON, one of two remaining members of independent Singapore's first Cabinet. The other is Mr Jek Yeun Thong.
Gun carriage carrying casket draped with state flag will pass heartland areas
By Tham Yuen-C, Assistant Political Editor, The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
A state-assisted funeral will be held for the late Mr Othman Wok today, with a gun carriage carrying the casket draped with the state flag through heartland areas.
Members of the public can pay their respects at his home at 46, Kew Avenue from 6.30am to 11am.
At 12.15pm, a private hearse will bear Mr Othman's casket from his home to the Sultan Mosque at North Bridge Road for the funeral prayer. Kandahar Street, Muscat Street and a stretch of Sultan Gate will be closed from 7am to 3pm because of the prayer session.
After the prayer, the state flag will be draped over the casket in the presence of Mr Othman's family.
By Tham Yuen-C, Assistant Political Editor, The Straits Times, 18 Apr 2017
A state-assisted funeral will be held for the late Mr Othman Wok today, with a gun carriage carrying the casket draped with the state flag through heartland areas.
Members of the public can pay their respects at his home at 46, Kew Avenue from 6.30am to 11am.
At 12.15pm, a private hearse will bear Mr Othman's casket from his home to the Sultan Mosque at North Bridge Road for the funeral prayer. Kandahar Street, Muscat Street and a stretch of Sultan Gate will be closed from 7am to 3pm because of the prayer session.
After the prayer, the state flag will be draped over the casket in the presence of Mr Othman's family.
The draping of the state flag is the highest state honour that can be accorded to a deceased.
His casket will then be placed on a gun carriage, which will leave at 2pm for Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery.
The carriage will travel along North Bridge Road, North Boat Quay and River Valley Road, through Alexandra Road, Commonwealth Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue West and Clementi Avenue 6, before entering the Pan-Island Expressway and Jalan Bahar.
The authorities said traffic is expected to be heavy along these roads from 2pm to 3pm.
His casket will then be placed on a gun carriage, which will leave at 2pm for Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery.
The carriage will travel along North Bridge Road, North Boat Quay and River Valley Road, through Alexandra Road, Commonwealth Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue West and Clementi Avenue 6, before entering the Pan-Island Expressway and Jalan Bahar.
The authorities said traffic is expected to be heavy along these roads from 2pm to 3pm.
At the burial site, a coffin bearer party made up of nine officers from the army, navy, air force and police force will receive the casket.
A memorial service for Mr Othman, organised by OnePeople.sg for invited guests, will be held at the Victoria Concert Hall tomorrow at 6.30pm.
A memorial service for Mr Othman, organised by OnePeople.sg for invited guests, will be held at the Victoria Concert Hall tomorrow at 6.30pm.