Goh Keng Swee - A Portrait

Just finished this book on the late Dr Goh Keng Swee, which led me to post about it.  What i gather is that the man was a true blue technocrat, more interested in problem solving rather than playing politics, which is really what it should all be about.  It seems that this attitude also led the Malaysians to take a liking to him, which is why he was able to negotiate the breakaway of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965.

Just a short recap of Dr Goh's many incredible achievements.
1. Key man in negotiating Singapore's independence from Malaysia
2. Laid the foundations of our economy as First Finance Minister, setting up Jurong Industrial Park and EDB
3. Built up Singapore's armed forces from scratch.  this alone is simply remarkable, given that we had no troops, no money, nothing.
4. At the same time, he founded CIS our defence industry, (now part of ST), as well as the beginnings of DSO
5.  Founded ISEAS, and later on EAI
6.  Created MAS and basically set up the basis of our monetary policy today.  Incredible
7. Revamped education policy (while some policies worked, others such as Religious Studies and P3 streaming didnt fare too well)
8. Built Jurong Bird Park, Sentosa and set up our own Symphony Orchestra
9.  Special economic advisor to China
10. Recalled from retirement to set up the Tote Board


as evident from the list above, it was a very varied portfolio, and mostly because Dr Goh served as then PM LKY's Mr Fix-It.  Whenever something needed fixing/building, Dr Goh would be sent in, and he would get the job done. And he not only got the job done, his far reaching vision meant that he built in a sustainable structure that provided for future success.

my admiration for technocrats is simple.  if you dont spend too much time fighting other people, you have more time to get the job done.  Dr Goh was simply immune to political ideology.  One of his best friends was a hardcore communist and Dr Goh was never turned.  Instead, he was focused on improving the lives of Singaporeans and creating jobs.  This required capital investment and political stability, not riots and protests (which the Communists specialised in).

Another thing i admire is his humility.  It is one thing to be smart, but it is another to be nice.  As i said before, there are plenty of smart people, but smart and humble is a class on its own.  Dr Goh, i believe, with his exacting standards and superior intellect, must not have been easy to work under, but he was open to reason and willingly accepted differing opinions if reasonable.  brilliant!

how many technocrats do we have left today?  i have not seen many ministers in action, so all i can say that DPM Tharman is in a class of his own.  He is also a technocrat and possesses a brilliant mind.  he is also humble, and even apologies to staff after getting angry. with him around, things will be ok for the forseeable future.

back to the book - even though it was penned by his daughter-in-law, the book is a still a third party recollection of his life and i do not feel that it sheds much light on the real Dr Goh.  it is simply a pity he did not leave any memoirs behind, for i believe they would have made an incredibly good read.

another thing i find that successful people have in common is that they have many friends, who are also successful people.  they make friends in school, at work, and these later on become invaluable contacts in their lives.  because i have no friends, i believe i will not be as successful. but then again, making friends is probably a trait of successful people, and not a method to success.

"Anybody who wants to prosper in this world must have an ambition. Ambition comes from a thought and the enthusiasm and determination to carry out that thought.  He who has an ambition will do his best in order to satisfy himself.  Our ambition must be to make ourselves useful to our country, our people and ourselves.  - GSK at age 13

i also have a new-found respect for Ministers in general because it is not easy.  The hours you put in means that family takes second place, and in most cases there are damaging consequences, which the money may not be able to compensate for.  In Dr Goh's case, his work eventually led to his divorce, which in turn led to his retirement from politics.

"... you know, as a Minister, your work is your life.  Even when you are not working at the desk, you are still thinking of your work.  You've got no other life outside your work.  But really, there's no other interests outside your work.  Such other pursuits that you undertake, such as exercise, golfing, is really to make you more fit to work.  Even listening to music is just to clear your mind so that you can address your mind to work problems more effectively.  So we just get encapsulated in this business."

 lastly, a quote by LKY, to show just how valuable he was to the country :)

"Your biggest contribution to me personally was that you stood up to me whenever you held a contrary view.  You challenged my decisions and forced me to re-examine the premises on which they were made.  This benign tension made our relationship healthy and fruitful.  No panegyric can do justice to you.  A whole generation of Singaporeans take their present standard of living for granted because you had laid the foundations of the economy of modern Singapore."