Dr goh keng swee: Architect of our economic, defence and education policies

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

DR GOH KENG SWEE: ARCHITECT OF OUR ECONOMIC, DEFENCE AND EDUCATION POLICIES

Post date:
22 Mar 2015 - 9:39pm








Source: MICA
A portrait of Dr Goh, taken during a press conference in 1967

The passing of Dr Goh Keng Swee (1918- 2010), who laid the foundation stones of Singapore’s economy and defence forces, has left the nation without one of its most well respected citizens.

NAS expresses its deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the family of the late Dr Goh Keng Swee, and pays tribute to Dr Goh for his central role in establishing the Oral History Unit within NAS in 1979. In the words of Mr Kwa Chong Guan, Chairman of the NAS Board:

We salute and remember Dr Goh for his foresight in establishing an Oral History Centre within the National Archives of Singapore. With his support and guidance the establishment has grown to become the premier Oral History Centre in the region. We are delighted to have had the honour of interviewing Dr Goh in 1980 and look forward to releasing the interview for public consultation, in honour of Dr Goh, and to help a new generation of Singaporeans understand Dr Goh better.”

Apart from his oral history interview, Dr Goh’s memory has been preserved in a rich collection of oral history interviews, speeches, photographs and video recordings possessed by the National Archives of Singapore (NAS). NAS holds over 4,000 photographs of Dr Goh, 700 video clips and some 350 transcripts of public speeches of Dr Goh. These materials are available to the general public for viewing.

Dr Goh was among the most important members of Singapore’s founding generation of leaders. He played a critical role as Minister of Finance in the crucial early years 1959-65 and 1967-70 laying the groundwork for Singapore’s subsequent economic development. Though on hindsight Singapore’s economy could appear to follow a clear progressive path, at the time the task to build an economy was fraught with grave uncertainty, as Dr Goh said in this 1969 speech:

“When my [PAP] government first assumed office on June 3rd 1959…..businessmen and industrialists, far from hailing this event as a happy augury for the future, felt for the most part that the end of the world was around the corner. The stock market collapsed and there was a flight of capital out of Singapore. Several people fled the country. [But] In a short space of ten years, we brought about a transformation of the business climate.” 1 Among Dr Goh’s many achievements in helping to bring about this transformation was his role in establishing the Economic Development Board (EDB) in 1961, the Jurong Industrial Estate in 1962 (which he promoted in spite of severe public criticism, though it turned out to be the right move) and the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) in 1968. These institutions have made, and continue to make, vital contributions to Singapore’s economic success.

Source: MICA
Dr Goh (far left) during a visit to the proposed site for Jurong Industrial Estate, 1960. The unpromising ground (below), and distance of Jurong from Singapore’s town and port led the project’s detractors to term it “Goh’s Folly”. However the Jurong Industrial Estate turned out to be a great success. By 1976, 650 factories were in operation in Jurong, which became central to independent Singapore’s industrialisation efforts.
Source: MICA
Source: MICA
Dr Goh launching operations at the National Steel and Iron Mill, the first factory established at the Jurong Industrial Estate, 1962







Dr Goh was also responsible for developing the economic strategy that is crucial to explaining Singapore’s economic takeoff. Between 1959 and 1965, he advocated an import-substitution strategy and positioned Singapore as a manufacturing centre supplying the common Malaysian market. Following Singapore’s independence in 1965, Dr Goh realized the futility of keeping to this plan and began promoting an export-oriented developmental strategy. By adopting this export-oriented strategy, he went against influential economic theories circulating in the 1960s and 1970s which asserted that state protectionism and heavy government expenditure was necessary to spur growth in emerging economies.
Dr Goh formulated policies which had Singapore adopt an open economy that encouraged free trade, competition and foreign direct investment by multi-national corporations, while encouraging economic thrift and prudence by the Singapore government and people. 2 Dr Goh was also convinced that successful economic development depended on the determination, initiative, enterprise and self-reliance of a people and that good government should encourage these qualities. He outlined these convictions in a speech to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in 1969:

“We in Singapore believe in hard work. We believe that enterprise should be rewarded and not penalized. We believe that we must adjust ourselves to changing situations. We believe in seizing economic opportunities and not let them go past us. Finally, we believe in self-reliance…..These are human qualities that have helped to transform an island-swamp into a thriving metropolis.

-> This is BS.

They are the traditional virtues of Singaporeans and so long as we retain these virtues, we can face the future with confidence.” 3
*Read the full article at http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline...-goh-keng-swee


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