Hardcover
-
SHIP THIS ITEMNot Eligible for Free ShippingPICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
Here Singapore's President S.R. Nathan tells his own story, taking the reader back with him to his childhood, to modest beginnings and life as a runaway in Singapore and Malaya, and then the experience of renewed hope during the Japanese occupation. After a belated and limited university education, as well as a short spell as a social worker dealing with seafarers, he witnessed from inside the Labour Reserch Unit the birth of Singapore's modern trade union movement. Shortly after Singapore achieved full independence, he joined the staff of the newly established Ministry of Foreign Affairs, retiring - as he thought - as Permanent Secretary. However, he did not retire. After being asked to run the Straits Times newspaper for a time, he served as High Commissioner in Malaysia and Ambassador in the United States. Few people have packed so much into a life. And then, at an age when most people are well beyond the end of their working lives, he was elected President of Singapore, in which role he has won the hearts of many people in Singapore and abroad.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9789814260732 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Didier Millet Pte, Editions |
| Publication date: | 03/26/2012 |
| Pages: | 592 |
| Product dimensions: | 7.20(w) x 9.40(h) x 2.50(d) |
Table of Contents
Preface 11
Acknowledgements 15
Chapter 1 Childhood And The War Years
1 My childhood years 19
2 Living as a runaway 38
3 The coming of war 46
4 Life with the Japanese 55
5 A new job 66
6 Inside the Japanese administration of Johore 71
7 The guerrilla resistance 84
8 The Indian dimension 103
9 The end of the war 109
Chapter II After The War
1 Return of the British 117
2 Into the civil service - the Johore PWD 124
3 Union activism - helping the JCSA 133
4 How I met my wife-to-be 142
5 New possibilities: life at university 146
6 A dramatic university finale 157
7 A distinction attained 163
Chapter III The Beginning Of My Career In Singapore
1 Life as a hospital social worker 169
2 A summons from David Marshall 175
3 Seamen's welfare: defining my role 178
4 Breaking the rules, seeking solutions 191
5 Problems abroad: the international dimension 197
6 The PAP in power - and unexpected consequences 204
7 Political developments - and a new opportunity 210
8 Improving the lives of seafarers 214
9 Joining the union; AUPE 220
Chapter IV The Labour Research Unit
1 A time of turbulence and change 223
2 The battle for allegiances 226
3 The origins of the Labour Research Unit 234
4 Joining the LRU 235
5 The PIEU and Jurong's pioneer industries 247
6 A variety of tasks 258
7 May Day 259
8 The first Delegates' Conference 261
9 The Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organisation Conference 265
10 Building up a corps of industrial relations officers 276
11 The Afro-Asian Labour Conference, Singapore 282
Chapter V The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs
1 Entering the ministry: my first stint at MFA 287
2 Global perspective: the world tour of 1970 299
3 The Commonwealth comes to Singapore 318
4 New assignments 321
5 Return to MFA 325
6 A thorny road: relations with Malaysia after Separation 328
7 The founding of ASEAN 342
8 The United Nations 353
9 Indonesia 361
10 Vietnam 369
11 Cambodia 379
12 The Laju hijack 397
13 China 421
14 Thailand 427
15 The Philippines 433
16 Burma 436
17 Japan 439
18 After office hours: supporting the Hindu community 443
Chapter VI Entering The Newspaper World
1 Joining the Straits Times 449
2 A question of balance 458
3 Corporate restructuring 479
4 The New Paper 486
5 Time to leave 490
Chapter VII High Commissioner To Malaysia
1 The move to Malaysia 495
2 The political landscape 497
3 Presenting my credentials 503
4 A variety of issues 505
5 A royal visit to Singapore 510
6 Visiting the states of Malaysia 512
7 A continual preoccupation 519
8 Election fever 522
9 The Chinese and Indian communities 527
10 The Malaysian judiciary 532
11 An official visit 536
12 Military facilities for the US 538
13 An opportunity for reflection 543
Chapter VIII Ambassador To The United States
1 The move to Washington 553
2 The administration of George H.W. Bush 559
3 The Clinton era 567
4 The Michael Fay episode and its aftermath 589
5 Last impressions 599
Chapter IX A Strategic View - The Founding Of Idss 603
Chapter X The Presidency
1 An unexpected proposal 615
2 The elected president 617
3 Inside the Istana 628
4 A diplomatic role 630
5 President on parade 637
6 A presidency for the people 639
7 Maintaining links with the Indian community 644
8 In conclusion 646
Another View by Mrs Umi Nathan 649
Appendix: Post-war reunions 650
Index 652
Photo credits 672