by Tng Ying Hui
ABOUT THE INSTITUTE OF POLICY STUDIES
The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) was established in 1988 as an independent think-tank to study and generate public policy ideas in Singapore. IPS became an autonomous research centre of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore in 2008. Today, IPS continues to analyse public policy, build bridges between thought leaders, and communicate its findings to a wide audience. The Institute examines issues of critical national interest across a variety of fields, and studies the attitudes and aspirations of Singaporeans through surveys of public perception. It adopts a multi-disciplinary approach in its analyses and takes the long-term view in its strategic deliberation and research. For more information about IPS, visit www.lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/ips/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ying Hui has a master’s degree from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, which she attended on a Sié Fellowship. She enjoyed hiking and skiing in the Rocky Mountains, and has been missing these activities ever since she returned home. Before graduate school, she worked at CNBC, where she produced the guest rundown for The Call and Straight Talk. Her by-lines have appeared in the Asian Correspondent and Al Jazeera. She is currently working as a research assistant with the Arts, Culture and Media research cluster at the Institute of Policy Studies.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writer of this book is only a vehicle through which many wisps and fragments of memories were expressed. The following individuals are the stars.
Among the 50 individuals featured, these 29 graciously spent more than an hour telling me their life stories: Ian Batey, Santha Bhaskar, Goh Lay Kuan, Tan Swie Hian, J. M. Sali, Pasquale Pistorio, Ratan Tata, Kartar Singh Thakral, Tan Sri Frank Tsao, Alain Vandenborre, Prof Robert Brown, Milenko Prvacki, Prof Wang Gungwu, Prof John Miksic, Ann Wee, Christine Laimer, Bruno Wildermuth, Dr Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, Dr Sydney Brenner, Professor Edward Holmes, Dr Edison Liu, Sir George Radda, Sir David Lane, Prof Jackie Y. Ying, Aleksandar Duric, Feng Tianwei, Tao Li, Jing Junhong and Ronald Susilo.
The following family members of the individuals featured provided me with supporting materials, and confirmed facts and life events. They are: Bikram Singh Thakral, Deirdre Barnett, Elena Pistorio, Prof John Elliott, Dr Mary Ann Tsao, Margaret Watson, Michael Lien, Mohan Bhaskar, Nurit and Nili Elazari, Pitor Olszewski and his family, and Hsueh Ying.
The following were associates, friends or experts who gave me a good glimpse into the personalities and lives of the people I wrote about. Thank you to Wong Lee-Lin, David Chin, David Tan, Doris Low, Rufus Varghese, Dr Lau Teik Soon, Prof Neo Peng Foo, Arthur Ranken, Winston Choo and Ramachandran Menon, Tan Peng Ann, Tan Choon Shian, Yeap Wei Ting and Kazuko Amamoto.
To A*STAR, Centre for Maritime Studies, EDB, Hitachi, IBN, Keppel, Lien Foundation, NAC, NOL, Sembcorp Marine, Sport Singapore, STTA and Tsao Foundation—thank you for patiently contributing facts, contacts and suggestions for the book. The Polish Embassy in Singapore’s Press and Information Officer, Kryczka Katarzyna, gathered as much information as she could about Krystyn Olszewski.
But the text tells only half the story—the photos taken by Alan Lim from School of Photography, assisted by Agnieszka Raggazini, are evocative and full of character. I remain grateful to my colleagues at the Institute of Policy Studies, NUS, who suggested names for our initial longlist, gave me relevant books for research, and challenged our reasons to include and exclude some individuals.
IPS Director Janadas Devan, Associate Director (Public Affairs) Lynn Lee, and Asad Latif who works with IPS on selected book projects, shaped the final list of individuals featured. Janadas provided tips and nuggets of information about a few of these individuals; Asad helped bring the stories to life, was my aunt agony throughout and a friend indeed. Lynn gave time, patience and calmness to hold this project together, and line-edited rigorously and meticulously. She is a rock star and I do not know where this book would be without her.
To Epigram Books, Edmund Wee, Lee Li Ying, Andy Koh and the rest of the team, thank you for putting this book together.
This book is dedicated to TJ: You are my rock. And to my parents, whom I love.
PHOTO CREDITS
Alan Lim, alanlimstudio.com: pp. 21, 38, 46-47, 50,
82-83, 112-113, 146-147, 150, 161, 166-167, 206-207, 220, 226-227, 233, 239, 245, 254-255, 262-263,
266-267, 272, 275; Chris Ratcliffe for Bloomberg/
Getty Images: p. 97; East Asian Institute, NUS: p. 172;
Food from the Heart: p. 190; Interviewees and family: pp. 19, 64-65, 88, 103, 106, 181, 186, 197; LASALLE College of the Arts: p. 141; Sembcorp Marine Repairs & Upgrades Pte. Ltd.: p. 121; Singapore Press Holdings Ltd: pp. 14-15, 24-25, 37, 41, 58-59, 70, 76, 127, 134-135, 157, 200-201, 215, 248, 280-281; Singapore Symphony Orchestra: pp. 30-31; United Engineers Limited: p. 93.