Wolf Review(Musings 3 by George Yeo, co-created by Woon Tai Ho)
George Yeo’s Musings 3 was his third and final book exploring his personal life and his views on geopolitical trend of the world. The book took me just over a month to finish as I am keen to know his experience working under our late PM, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. He had an intimate working relationship with LKY since graduating as a presidential scholar. The late Mr. Lee had in many occasions asked George Yeo to join politics early so he could groom him under his wing as he saw George as a capable person destined for an important role in the government. It was not until at the very end of his service with the SAF when he decided to take a leap of faith into politics. The relationship between the two was one of mutual respect with times of occasional choppy water. I could sense the respect and fear George Yeo had for the late statesman. One such testing time happened during the design of the Esplanade Theatre, where George Yeo was the key man in charge of the project. He got a “love letter” from Lee Kuan Yew stating the public disapproval of the design due to its uncanny resemblance to a durian. The design was conceived with intention of letting as many natural light into the building. In the end, everything turned out well with LKY’s famous words during the opening of the Esplanade, “More government events should be held here” which George Yeo took it as a ringing endorsement by the late honourable Mr. Lee for the good execution of the project.
The press conference given by LKY during the 2011 election didn’t go well with the Aljunied GRC voters was one of reasons for George Yeo’s failed reelection bid. LKY had asked the voters to repent for the next five years if George Yeo and his team were not voted into the parliament. Voters saw it as a raw threat and didn’t receive Mr. Lee’s commentary well. Although George Yeo never blamed LKY for the election lost. Years later, right after LKY’s death, it was disclosed, LKY had written a letter of apology to the losing PAP team in Aljunied GRC for his press conference faux pas. The election lost turnout to be a blessing for him, his popularity went up after he left politics. He attributed it to his free spirited character which allowed him to speak his mind without the usual government protocol. He had become a well known expert and speaker on the subject of China and geopolitical trends, well sorted after by many overseas governments, private companies and NGOs.
George Yeo’s political career started from the lowest rank by being the campaign manager for our ex PM Goh Chok Tong, slowly learning his ropes as a politician. His portfolio stretched across different government organs from The Ministry of Information and the Arts(MITA), The Ministry of Health and The Ministry of Foreign Affair as Foreign Minister. He described his time at MITA as the most challenging. Cultural and Religious portfolio come under the care of MITA. Every subject dealing with religion had to be dealt with extreme care and sensitivity. He can’t be seen favouring one community over the other. Dealing with religious boardcasts on radio was a potential live wire. His good people skill allowed everyone to get a bit of what they asked for but not quite the full spectrum. He finds his work at MFA challenging but enjoyable due to the need to exercise intellectual wisdom to communicate with overseas counterparts. One of the thing he least enjoyed was his role as a constituency MP, as there were emotional problems which were difficult to solve on behalf of his residents. He was sympathetic to his residents caught in such difficult circumstances.
He was once rumoured to be in contention for the Prime Ministership after our current Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong was discovered with Lymphoma cancer. Luckily, PM Lee made a speedy recovery. He was again called on to be a standby candidate for the next Presidential Election in 2012. In all honesty, he was never interested in becoming the next President, given he had been enjoying life outside of politics, but he agreed to it if the government couldn’t find a suitable candidate. In a twist of event, Tony Tan volunteered to be the candidate. That bought George Yeo a sigh of relief.
George Yeo, in his books, mentioned a wide range of topics. His passion for Taijigong, his thoughts on religion vs science paradox and his views on Singapore’s future were excellent reads. I attended his book launch late Aug, you can read my observations on the book launch by clicking the link below.
The book ended with a chapter on Finding Meaning in life, summarised beautifully by the prayer of St. Francis:
Lord make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is discord, unity.
Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is error, truth.
Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light.
O Divine Master grant that I may
Not so much seek:
To be consoled as to console. To be understood, as to understand.
To be loved as to love. For it’s in giving that we receive.
It’s in pardoning that we are pardoned. And it’s in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Musings series 3 continues its run of good topics for readers to discover, the book goes onto Lone Wolf highly recommended list for those who are interested in knowing leadership, politics and religion. Through George Yeo’s lens, I had widen my horizon on how I see the world.
Wolf Review(5 things you need to know about George Yeo’s book launch on 31 Aug 2023 held at Victoria Concert Hall)
Wolf Review(Musings 1 by George Yeo, co-created by Woon Tai Ho
)
https://lonewolfinvestor.blogspot.com/2022/10/wolf-moneybook-recommendation.html
Wolf Review(Musings 2 by George Yeo, co-created by Woon Tai Ho)
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