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South China Morning Post
06-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
How Singapore's early leaders supported Lee Kuan Yew's vision by challenging him
In this excerpt from Ink and Influence: An OB Markers Sequel, Cheong Yip Seng , former editor-in-chief of The Straits Times, offers rare behind-the-scenes insights into the personalities who shaped post-independence Singapore . Through stories involving figures such as S.R. Nathan, a senior civil servant who later became president, and S. Rajaratnam, the country's first foreign minister, Cheong reveals a founding leadership team unafraid to challenge even Lee Kuan Yew – while remaining bound by a shared national mission. A story S.R. Nathan once told me was revealing. He was S. Rajaratnam's (Raja's) Permanent Secretary when Raja took charge of the foreign ministry after Singapore separated from Malaysia . One afternoon, Raja was being interviewed by a visiting foreign correspondent, whose reporting was critical of Singapore. S.R. received a call from Lee Kuan Yew's (LKY's) secretary: Can Raja drop by his office? Raja glanced at S.R.'s message, and carried on talking to his visitor. More than an hour went by. S.R. grew nervous. He didn't think the Prime Minister should be kept waiting. More time passed. LKY's personal assistant was frantic and messaged S.R. again. S.R. sent a reminder, but Raja continued with the interview. Late that afternoon, after the reporter had left, Raja phoned LKY. I was talking to a foreign correspondent, he told LKY. Did you want to see me? Never mind, was the reply. S.R.'s point in narrating the story was to show how tightly-knit the team was. They were a group of equals drawn together by a common cause. It also showed how seriously senior leaders took the press, even those hostile to them.
South China Morning Post
05-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Why Singapore's identity demanded distance from China – and its own story of nationhood
In his new memoir Ink and Influence: An OB Markers Sequel, Cheong Yip Seng reflects on the intersection of geopolitics, media, and identity through the lens of his long career as editor-in-chief of The Straits Times. In this excerpt, Cheong recounts a revealing moment during an official visit to China in 1976 with then-prime minister Lee Kuan Yew . Among the officials present was S.R. Nathan, later Singapore 's sixth president, who witnessed Lee subtly rebuff a Chinese attempt to influence the city state's foreign alignment. Advertisement S.R. Nathan was in the delegation. Later, he told me this story: During Lee Kuan Yew's (LKY) talks with the Chinese, his hosts gave him a book, India's China War. It was written by Neville Maxwell, a journalist and Oxford academic. The book was a pro-China version of the border war between India and China. LKY knew the Chinese purpose: It was trying to draw Singapore into its orbit. According to S.R., LKY put the book aside, and responded, saying words to this effect: This is your version. There is another version of the war. That left a deep impression on S.R. 'I was so proud of what the PM did.' Singapore would not be drawn to take sides. It was also a demonstration of LKY's commitment to multiracialism. Veteran diplomat S.R. Nathan in Singapore in 1999, shortly before he became the country's sixth president. Photo: AFP Three-quarters of Singaporeans are ethnic Chinese. Hence, Singapore is seen in some quarters in Indonesia and Malaysia as a subversive Third China.
