Goh Keng Swee: A Portrait
Tan Siok Sun
Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2010
ISBN: 9789814260398

Dr Goh Keng Swee's public career spanned two eventful decades. He was a founding and key member of Singapore's ruling political party, and played a significant role in creating and shaping the destiny of Singapore today. His areas of responsibility were wide-ranging, including finance, defence, and education. Yet for all his accomplishments, he was a private man and few were fully aware of all the influences that shaped his thoughts and actions.

During his periods of service as Minister for Finance, Defence and Education during the 1960s and 1970s, Dr Goh oversaw Singapore's achievement of Independence, the creation of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), the start of National Service, and the establishment of the Jurong Industrial Estate.

Based on extensive research, including interviews with family members, friends and colleagues, this is an anecdotal account of Dr Goh's life-story told by the author, his daughter-in-law. The author traces Dr Goh's footsteps from his humble beginnings in Melaka, to his days at Raffles College and the London School of Economics, to his service in the Singapore Government, and finally, to his eventual retirement.

The book traces the evolution of Dr Goh's thought, as he moved on in life: a top student in school, a civil servant under colonial rule, a young Nationalist, and finally one of the key architects of post-independent Singapore. Dr Goh's story is one of daring, of moral courage, and of friendships forged over many years. Above all, his achievements in helping to create the modern landscape of institutions, environments and values that constitute Singapore today represent a vital legacy for the nation's present and future generations.