Mr S Rajaratnam

Background:
S. Rajaratnam was born in Vattukotai, Jaffna, Sri Lanka and was brought back to Malaya and raised in Seremban and Selagor. He was a Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore from 1980 to 1985 and a long-serving Minister and memeber of the Cabinet from 1959 to 1985. Since Singapore achieved self-government in 1959 and later independence in 1965, he is regarded as one of the founding fathers of independent Singapore.
Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, St Paul's Boys School, Victoria Institution and Raffles Institution were the schools Rajaratnam studied in. In 1937, he went to King's college to pursue a law degree. Unfortunately, he was unable to continue his studies as he could not recieve funding from his family due to World War II. Therefore, he started to earn a living through journalism. He met his wife Pirsoka Feher in London.
When he joined the Malayan Tribune, he came back to Singapore in 1948 and joined The Straits Times as a journalist. His boldness to write about the way Singapore is governed by the British incurred the displeasure of the colonial government. The column "I write as I please" written by him drawn so much attention that the government questioned him.

Major Contributions:
Being the foreign minister, Rajaratnam helped Singapore gained entry into the United Nations and later the Non-Aligned Movement in1970. Additionally, he set up the Foreign Service and helped to establish diplomatic links with other countries and secure international recognition of the new nation's Sovereignty. The foreign policy of International self-assertion to establish Singapore's independence during the period when the country faced significant challenges was carried out by him. As one of the founding members of ASEAN, he played an important role in fostering ASEAN consesus and promoting a more cohesive and cooperative region.
In order to restore stability in the Singaporean economy, he implemented tough labour laws when he was the Ministry of Labour between 1968 and 1971. Furthermore, he tried to attract multinational corporations to invest in Singapore.
Rajaratnam played an key role in the successive People's Action Party governements that improved Singapore's economic situation and social development with massive expansion of healthcare programmes, pensions, statehousing and very low unemployment.
He was remembered for writing the Singapore's pledge.

Credits:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._Rajaratnam
http://www.pap.org.sg/articleview.php?id=233&mode=&cid=23

Dr Goh Keng Swee

Background:
Goh Keng Swee was born in Malacca and was the second Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 1973 and 1984. He was given the Christian name Robert which he disliked and refused to repond to. His father, Goh Leng Inn, was a manager of a rubber plantation but his mother, Tan Swee Eng, was from the family that produced Malaysian politicians Tun Tan Cheng Lock and his son, Tun Tan Siew Sin who would be Goh's lifelong opponent someday later.
After studying at Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) in Singapore, Goh went on to graduate from Raffles College (today the National University of Singapore) with a Diploma in Arts, and entered the Civil Service to focus on social welfare issues. Shortly after the start of the Second World War, Goh joined the Singapore Volunteer Corps, a local militia, but after the fall of Singapore he returned to his previous work. In 1946, he joined the Department of Social Welfare, and was active in post-war administration. During the Japanese occupation in 1942, Goh married Alice Woon and they had a son.
Following the Second World War, Goh won a scholarship, which enabled him to pursue a degree at the London School of Economics (LSE). Goh graduated with first class honours in economics and with the help of a University of London scholarship, awarded in 1951, was able to continue with doctoral studies. Goh completed his Ph.D. in Economics in 1954, and returned to the Department of Social Welfare, where he served as the Director of the Social and Economic Research Division.
During his time in London, Goh met fellow students that were seeking independence for Malaya, including Lee Kuan Yew and Toh Chin Chye. A student discussion group, the Malayan Forum was organized with Goh as the founding chairman. Following his return to Singapore, Goh detached himself from active politics, but retained ties to the People’s Action Party (PAP), of which he was a member.

Major Contributions:
Dr Goh had made many contributions to Singapore in defence, education and economic growth especially.
-Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) was built by him. It followed the idea of a combination of conscription and professional military on the model of Israeli Army. He played an important role in setting up the local defence technology section, beginning with the establishment of Chartered Industry of Singapore in 1967 to a model for the mushrooming of other state-owned enterprises and government-linked companies and a basis of Singapore Technologies as a multinational company.
-Streaming System
Dr Goh introduced the streaming system to Singapore's education in 1979, resulting in a major overhaul of primary and secondary schools in Singapore at that time. This streaming system which is still used today has greatly reduced the dropouts in Singapore.
-Economic Development Board (EDB)
Besides these two contributions to Singapore's defence and education respectively, Dr Goh started the Economic Development Board (EDB) in 1961 to embark on Singapore's industrialisation programme. Its main target was to draw foreign multinationals to Singapore and serve as a one-stop agency for all their needs, from land and power to work safety. Under Dr Goh's guidance during EDB's formative years, EDB grew so quickly that different parts had to be hived off. EDB has helped in Singapore's economic growth and create many jobs.
-Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) which was created by Dr Goh in 1971 plays a crucial role in Singapore as its central bank and financial regulator. Dr Goh implemented a unique policy centred on the exchange rate rather than the interest rate as in most other countries. The low inflation and high growth for Singapore is brought about by this policy which is still used today. MAS also earned a reputation for being tough and careful with financial policies and institutions.
-Currency Board
Dr Goh insisted that MAS will not have currency issue power and the currency board should be kept separate. Though a currency board is much more difficult to maintain as every Singapore dollar has to be fully backed by reserves, it prevents the over-enthusiastic issuing of new dollar notes that could cause inflation.
-Export-led Growth
For many newly independent countries in the mid-1960s, they would impose tariffs on imported products, making locally goods more attractive to consumers in order to raise their standards of living. Instead of following the same path, Dr Goh led Singapore down an export-oriented route, relying heavily on foreign trade for growth. With this strategy working well, Singapore is now one of the world's most open economies.
-Jurong Industrial Estate
Dr Goh set aside land for in Jurong for industrial estate. Many entrepreneurs and workers were reluctant to risk investing in heavy industries in a brand-new estate and live there respectively despite the government's efforts to make it hospitable. Dr Goh decided to attend factory openings and TV coverage to create confidence in Singapore and attract more foreign investors. The opportunity for Jurong to develop came when two Indonesians businessmen agreed to set up the National Iron and Steel Mill. When Dr Goh laid its foundations in 1962, all kinds of factories sprout all over Jurong. The Jurong Town Corporation was created to manage Jurong's development in 1968. Since then, Jurong continued to grow.
-Sentosa
Dr Goh's suggestion to develop Sentosa into a tourist attraction took hold and plans were announced to develop the island into a holiday resort for both Singaporeans and tourists in1968. Sentosa is now among Singapore most popular tourist attraction, attracting more than six million visitors each year.
-Jurong Shipyard
Dr Goh decided to set up Jurong Shipyard. Due to Singapore's strategic location, he felt that Japanese shipyards could be interested in establishing a shipyard in the Republic. Therefore, he went to Japan to look for a large shipyard which could be willing to cooperate with Singapore government to set up a joint venture and managed to persuade Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy of Industries Company of Japan. This paved the way for the built of Jurong Shipyard on 25 April 1963.
-Post Office Savings Bank (POSB)
Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) was established by the British as part of the Straits Settlements' postal department. It flourished at first but a slow decline set in 1967 over a period of 11 years. Dr Goh decided to make POSB an important part of Singapore’s economic growth. He saw the potential of POSB in encouraging a savings culture among Singaporeans, and the chance to mobilise these savings for national projects such as building bridges and roads. A committee was created to come up with a plan to revitalise POSB. POSB set up a savings competition for schools and gave prizes to the top three schools with the highest average amount of savings per student. New services and incentives were also launched. The decline finally stopped and POSB now boasts 3.5 million customers.
-China
Dr Goh was asked to serve as a economic adviser on the development of China's coastal regions.

Credits:
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/05/14/former-deputy-pm-goh-keng-swee-passed-away/
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20100514-216195.html
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20100517-216720.html

Reflection

In your opinion, who contribute more to Singapore's progress? Explain your answer.

In my opinion, I feel that Dr Goh Keng Swee has contributed more to Singapore's progress. What I feel is that he had made many contributions to Singapore in her defence, education, foreign affairs, social development and economy especially while I thought that Mr S Rajaratnam had only contributed mainly in strengthening the ties of Singapore and other countries. To me, Dr Goh Keng Swee's contributions had a greater impact to Singapore. For example, the introduction of streaming system has really benefited many people today as it has helped to reduce the number of dropouts drastically. If not for this, Singapore's economy will not grow as many people might not have any qualifications to look for a job. It was because Dr Goh Keng Swee had seen the importance of education which can lead to an economic growth did he decided to implement this idea of streaming. He was also very determined to achieve what he wanted from the evidence that he visited factory openings and tried getting TV coverage to attract foreign investors when few entrepreneurs wanted to invest in Jurong Industrial Estate. He was not at all afraid of any failures but attempted to think of different ways to solve his problems and he managed to obtain what he wanted eventually. The contribution he made to Singapore's defence is indeed significance. He knew that Singapore herself must have an army of her own in order to protect her own country from any attacks. No one can help to defend Singapore, only Singporeans themselves. This was the reason why he wanted all boys at the age of 18 to be enforced in the Singapore Armed Forces. (I do not mean that Mr S Rajaratnam had not made any major contributions.) He had made contributions like helping to strengthen Singapore's ties with other countries and he was on of the founder of ASEAN. I just thought that Dr Goh Keng Swee's contribution had a greater impact on our lives and had influenced our life. Both of them are great Singapore founders as they have indeed contributed a lot to Singapore. If not for them, Singapore might not be like today.