Launch of book on Mr S Rajaratnam's Short Stories

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Senior Parliamentary Secretary Mr Sam Tan
Mr Mah Bow Tan
Ambassador Kesavapany
Prof Arnoud De Meyer
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

I am pleased to join you this evening to launch the book, The Short Stories and Radio Plays of S. Rajaratnam.

Mr Rajaratnam, as one of our founding leaders, played a significant role in various areas, including the cultural scene.  He was Singapore’s first Minister for Culture in 1959 and our longest serving Foreign Minister after Singapore separated from Malaysia.  He held office during a tumultuous period in Singapore’s history.

In our collective memory today, Mr Rajaratnam is perhaps best remembered for his wisdom and unflinching courage in championing Singapore’s national cause in the regional and international arena as its Foreign Minister.  His contributions during Singapore’s struggle for survival and stability in turbulent times are well known.  He was also our “ideas man” in the founding generation of leaders, and was the visionary behind our National Pledge, and perhaps the most fervent believer of the ideals captured in the Pledge.

I had the privilege of working with and sharing experiences and friendship with Mr Rajaratnam for many years.  He was a knowledgeable and insightful man, a consummate thinker who was always thinking about ideas and playing with words to best express his ideas and thoughts.  As a foreign minister, he had boundless energy in nurturing relations with other nations, and through his wit and personal charm, made not only many friends for Singapore, but also tempered our critics with persuasive arguments.

This new book, compiled and edited by Irene Ng, brings to our attention Mr Rajaratnam’s rich literary legacy, which he had left for us. The volume collects 14 short stories and radio plays which he wrote before he joined politics in 1959.  They offer insights into his values and ideals, and contain ideas that remain relevant today.  The book reveals a side of Mr Rajaratnam that few had known before.  It is an important side of him, as it sprang from his love of ideas and powers of imagination – the same imagination that allowed him to envision a Singaporean Singapore in later years.

I wished more people had known all this about Rajaratnam when he was alive. But as a very private and modest man, he rarely talked about such achievements. Irene has done a great service to Singapore in discovering the historical and literary value of the stories and the radio scripts by this talented and unique founding leader, and must be congratulated for compiling them into one definitive volume.

To the younger generation, Mr Rajaratnam might seem a distant figure, even an irrelevant one, something they read about in the history books. I hope that many will read this book and become acquainted with this man, his ideas, and his vision for Singapore. His dream was for a fair and just society, a Singaporean Singapore.

It is a timely reminder, as we celebrate our National Day. 

Thank you.