S R Nathan with Timothy Auger
Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2011
ISBN: 9789814260732
Once a teenage runaway, living rough in a colonial port city, S R Nathan rose to become two-term president of prosperous, independent Singapore. In this exceptional book, he shares the story of his personal journey, set against the backdrop of modern Singapore history.
He tells his own story, simply and vividly: Accused of theft at the age of 16, he ran away from home. Living by his wits through war and occupation, he found new self-belief in unexpected sources, and experienced the political awakening that shaped so many of his generation.
Rejected for years by the family of the girl he was to marry, Nathan worked hard to better himself, serving as a junior clerk in the Johore civil service and joining the pioneer batch of Singaporeans to study social work at the University of Malaya in 1952.
The story of the struggle between the left and right wings of the student and labour movements comes alive in Nathan's retelling of his experiences as an activist, social worker and unionist. In 1965, with Singapore's unexpected separation from Malaysia, S R Nathan joined the fledgling Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and came to hold a number of senior civil service positions, including a term as director of intelligence.
Throughout the book, he describes vividly and frankly the momentous events he witnessed, casting new light on many decisive moments in the Singapore story. Here we read about his experience of ethnic violence during the war; of his working relationships with Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Keng Swee, S. Rajaratnam and Devan Nair; negotiating with terrorists during the Laju hijacking; sensitivities with Malaysia; and the dilemmas facing the Singapore media.
In 1999, Nathan was elected president of Singapore. In the book's last chapter he takes the reader behind the scenes in the Istana, and describes his duties and responsibilities as elected president, and how he worked to develop the office and institution.
S R Nathan's compelling story depicts more vividly than ever before the people and circumstances that have made Singapore what it is today.
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