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Acknowledgements
Andrew Tan Kok Kiong started research for these memoirs in 1995. He was an
officer in the Singapore administrative service, seconded to Singapore Press
Holdings (SPH) to help me. The prime minister, Goh Chok Tong, allowed me
access to all records and documents in the government ministries and in the
archives. The registry officer in the prime minister’s office, Florence Ler Chay
Keng, and her assistants, Wendy Teo Kwee Geok and Vaijayanthimala, were
tireless and thorough in tracing files and documents. With the help of Pang Gek
Choo, who worked for the
Straits Times
, and Alan Chong, a young political
science graduate, Andrew searched through government records, minutes of
important meetings, correspondence and other relevant documents. Most useful
were the notes I dictated immediately after meetings and conversations.
Andrew Tan was able and resourceful. He coordinated the work of the
researchers, organised the material, and made my task easier. Pang Gek Choo
was quick and efficient in tracing reports of events and speeches in the Straits
Times library and archives. In 1997, when the work expanded, Walter Fernandez
and Yvonne Lim from SPH and Dr Goh Ai Ting from the National University of
Singapore (NUS) joined my researchers.
Panneer Selvan from the ministry of foreign affairs helped retrieve records of
my dealings with foreign leaders. Lily Tan, director of the National Archives,
produced many useful documents and oral history transcripts of those who had
allowed me to read them. The staff at the NUS library, the National Library and
the Straits Times editorial library were always helpful.
John Dickie, former diplomatic correspondent of the
Daily Mail
, gave much
valuable advice, especially on what would interest a British reader. My good
friend Gerald Hensley, New Zealand’s former high commissioner in Singapore
and later secretary for defence, gave good suggestions.
Straits Times
writers, Cheong Yip Seng (editor-in-chief), Han Fook Kwang,
Warren Fernandez, Zuraidah Ibrahim, Irene Ng and Chua Mui Hoong proposed
many changes, making the book easier to read, especially for those without
background knowledge of the events I described.
Lim Jim Koon, editor of
Lianhe Zaobao
, read through the whole draft before
its translation into Chinese. Seng Han Thong, formerly of
Lianhe Zaobao
, now
in the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), went through many versions of
the drafts before finally settling the Chinese translation.
Guntor Sadali, editor of
Berita Harian
, minister for community
development, Abdullah Tarmugi, senior parliamentary secretary, Zainul Abidin
Rasheed, and parliamentary secretaries Mohamad Maidin and Yaacob Ibrahim
gave their views on all the chapters relating to Malays. I wanted to avoid
unintentionally hurting Malay sensitivities and have tried hard not to do so.
Old friends and colleagues, Goh Keng Swee, Lim Kim San, Ong Pang Boon,
Othman Wok, Lee Khoon Choy, Rahim Ishak, Maurice Baker, Sim Kee Boon,
S.R. Nathan (now our President) and Ngiam Tong Dow, read various parts of my
drafts and corrected or confirmed my recollection of events.
My drafts were also read by Kishore Mahbubani (permanent representative
to the United Nations), Chan Heng Chee (ambassador to Washington), Bilahari
Kausikan (deputy secretary, ministry of foreign affairs), Tommy Koh
(ambassador at large) and Lee Tsao Yuan (director of the Institute of Policy
Studies). Their valuable advice as diplomats, writers and academics helped me
give the book a better focus.
Shova Loh, line editor in Times Media, meticulously cleaned up the final
draft.
My three personal assistants, Wong Lin Hoe, Loh Hock Teck and Koh Kiang
Chay, worked tirelessly, often late into the evenings, to take in every amendment
and check for accuracy. They went well beyond the call of duty. To all of them
and others too numerous to name, I express my grateful thanks. The errors and
shortcomings that remain are mine.
As with the first volume, my wife Choo went through every page many times
until she was satisfied that what I had written was clear and easy to read.
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