S. R. Nathan

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.

Path to the Presidency

An Unexpected Journey

Fiona Tan

'A scholar by inclination, a businessman by necessity, a diplomat by duty' — those were the apt words chosen by a reporter in 1966 to describe Mr Tan Siak Kew and his multi-dimensional public life. He was a fervent supporter of education, President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce for multiple terms, Singapore's first ambassador to Thailand, nominated member of the Legislative Assembly, community leader of the Teochews, and notable philanthropist. Effectively bilingual and conscious of his responsibility to both his community and the new nation which was about to be born, Tan was able to act as the bridge between the Chinese-speaking and English-speaking communities with his tact and non-partisan position. Tan Siak Kew: Going Against The Grain, is a biographical sketch of this under-appreciated pioneer, telling the story of his public life through historical records and discussions with his contemporaries.

Going Against the Grain

Tan Siak Kew

This is the story of Singapore's President S.R. Nathan in his own words. It takes readers on a journey from Nathan's modest beginnings and his life as a runaway in Singpore and Malaya, through his experiences of the Japanese occupation, to the Presidential elections in 1999 and his tenure as Singapore's longest-serving President.

S. R. Nathan

Books

Your next favorite book is out there