Wolf Review(Tony Tan Keng Yam: My Political Journey by Leslie Koh)
This book has proven to be a popular book, I got the last book on the shelf. Popular bookstore is offering a 20% discount. I can’t be more happy with my “low ball” purchase.
The biography starts with Dr. Tan academic achievements. He topped the Singapore Cambridge School Certificate Examination in 1956 and again in 1958. That achievement got him a Singapore State Scholarship. He pursued a PHD at the University of Adelaide in record timing of 2 years instead of the usual 4.
His private sector postings came in form of OCBC and Singapore Bus Service prior to his political career that starts in 1979. One unexpected call came, he was coaxed into politics by Hon Sui Sen, then the finance minister under the instruction of our ex-pm Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. Initially, he was reluctant to join politics given he knew nothing about election and the formulation of public policies, but he was in no position to reject Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s overture given his tremendous respect for Mr. Lee. He unwillingly accepted the invitation due to his admiration for Mr. Lee who had single handedly led the country out of Malaysia at a very difficult time. Going into politics is like fish out of water to him. He always had the mindset of following his illustrious and legendary Uncle, Tan Chin Tuan to lead OCBC as the company general manager.
After winning the Sembawang election, he was given a job as a Minister of State for Education as an understudy to Dr. Goh Keng Swee. His first job was to implement reforms to our education system. Dr. Goh suggested streaming in Primary and Secondary school. The streaming policy is to help weaker students catch up with their studies and also to reduce the dropout rates in school. Dr. Tan was instrumental in some controversial policies but those were the right policies for its time. For example, the merger of NUS and Nantah and the reduction of CPF during the 80s were policies not to be taken lightly. Both issues had to be dealt with upmost care and sensitivity. Any misstep on communication can have an adverse impact politically. If implementation of the NUS-Nantah merger was a political black hole, implementing policy like CPF cut in 1986 was political suicide.
In 1985, Singapore was suffering it worst recession since independence. Our government had to implement policy to revive the economy. Workers at that time was saving up to 50 percent of their pay in CPF. That high CPF saving and contribution rate by employers cause the economy to be in deep recession as businesses can’t survive the recession without cutting wage cost. CPF was one of the main cost of running a business. Dr. Tan’s job was made harder by Mr. Lee, proclaiming CPF is sacrosanct. It should never be touch as it has implications on workers’ retirement. Given Mr. Lee’s belief on CPF, a cut in CPF to revive the economy faced major opposition from our ex-pm. To Dr. Tan’s surprise and credit to Mr. Lee, he was never close off to the idea of a CPF cut to help the economy and the workers. That radical policy u-turn helps Singapore recover from that severe recession and propel the Singapore’s economy into the roaring 90s.
Readers will also be able to know the circumstances he left politics for a corporate suit at OCBC and the subsequent rejoining of politics after a few short years with the bank. There is a chapter on his working relationship under Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and his presidency which offer valuable insight. There are a few chapters on Dr. Tan sharing his highlights as our elected President and his many memorable overseas state visits. The chapter on new challenges Singapore faced are worthy reminder for the city state. This book is a joy to read. The book goes on Lone Wolf Investor book recommendation with it rich explanations on some previous unpopular government policies which we now seen it as a necessary evil for the greater good for our country.
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