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FORMER Deputy Prime Minister and Singapore's economic architect
Goh Keng Swee died early on Friday morning after a long illness. He
was 91.
Dr Goh Keng Swee will be remembered, above all, for his role as
one of the prime architects of Singapore's economic success. Many
of the key milestones in Singapore's journey from Third World
backwater to globalised, First-World city can be found in the story
of his life, vividly portrayed in the new book Goh Keng Swee: A
Portrait by his daughter-in-law Tan Siok Sun.
The son of a rich Malacca family - his father, Goh Leng Inn, was
a manager of a rubber plantation, his mother was from the family
that produced famous Malaysian politicians Tun Tan Cheng Lock and
his son Tun Tan Siew Sin - Dr Goh joined the Department of Social
Welfare in 1946, and was active in post-war administration.
He resigned from the civil service in 1959 to enter politics and
was elected as the People's Action Party representative for Kreta
Ayer, his constituency until he retired in 1984.
He had one word to describe the state of the economy when he
became finance minister in 1959: 'Wretched'.
Upon Singapore's independence in 1965, Dr Goh also became
Minister for the Interior and Defence until 1967, assuming
responsibilities for strengthening Singapore's military and
domestic security capabilities. A key policy was the creation of
National Service, a mandatory conscription system for able-bodied
young males.
In 1979, Dr Goh moved on to the Education Ministry, where his
Goh Report greatly influenced the development of Singapore's
education system, introducing key policies such as streaming and
religious education.
Dr Goh retired as Deputy Prime Minister in December 1984, due to
personal reasons.
