Honouring the late Mr S R Nathan

Parliamentary tribute to the former President of Singapore, the late Mr S R Nathan

1. Mdm Speaker, Singapore has lost one of its finest sons, and one of its most inspiring and illustrious public servants. I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Mr Nathan.
   

Nation above self

2. Throughout his life, Mr Nathan lived by a simple code based on an unyielding sense of duty to the nation. “Duty – to friends and family, to my fellow men, to country – is paramount to my view of life, and I have tried my best to live up to this ethic.”¹, this is what Mr Nathan said reflecting on his path to the presidency.

3. Nothing demonstrates this better than the 'Laju' incident in 1974. Mr Nathan risked his life to lead a team of Singapore officials to accompany the hijackers to Kuwait. Thanks to his courage, quick thinking and calm temperament, the Singaporean hostages were released and no innocent lives were lost.

4. Many Singaporeans were unaware of Mr Nathan's role in this episode until recently. And with his passing, he has become a hero for a new generation.
   

Public service

5. Mr Nathan was a public servant for almost sixty years². As a young medical social worker, he fought poverty and sickness in the community. He went on to win the trust of workers and unions in Singapore's turbulent years.
   

6. Later, he contributed to the development of Singapore in several key capacities, including 2 postings to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), as Director of the Security and Intelligence Division, and as Ambassador to Malaysia and the US respectively.

7. Time and again, Mr Nathan was entrusted with important responsibilities. He was known as a man who will get the job done. In 1979, when he was appointed Permanent Secretary at the MFA, he was given an ultimatum of two years to raise standards in the Ministry – failing which, the Prime Minister intended to disband MFA and make it a part of the Prime Minister's Department.³ The Prime Minister was not disappointed. Mr Nathan implemented decisive reforms and set high standards that are still upheld in today's MFA.

8. Mr Nathan's accomplishments as a diplomat would later hold him in good stead. I had the opportunity to accompany Mr Nathan and Mrs Nathan on a State Visit to Japan in 2009. I was impressed by how he won everyone over with his sincerity and easy demeanour, while maintaining the dignity of a Head of State. These qualities were undoubtedly honed over his years in the Foreign Service. But they must ultimately have come from within; from a genuine and authentic place in his heart.

9. Mr Nathan was a public-spirited man and a leader in the Indian community. As Chair of the Hindu Endowment Board (HEB) in the 1980s⁴, he was instrumental in developing good governance standards for the HEB and ensuring it served the modern needs of the Hindu community. He was also a founding member of SINDA.

10. Throughout his career, Mr Nathan consistently wielded his best qualities and displayed his strongest commitment to building an outstanding public service that would stand the test of time. We owe him a great debt.
    

Presidency

11. Mdm Speaker, Mr Nathan is perhaps best remembered for his role as Singapore's third elected President, our longest-serving President, serving two terms from 1999 to 2011.

12. As a minority race President, Mr Nathan embodied the best of multi-racial Singapore. He was a friend to all Singaporeans, regardless of race or faith. When he was sworn in as President in 1999, he said, “I will be a President for all Singaporeans, with every community of Singaporeans as my parish”.

13. Indeed, Mr Nathan's warm embrace of Singaporeans across different races and religions and all strata of society is what all of us will remember fondly. He connected effortlessly with others from all backgrounds and was a familiar presence at countless events, big and small. He also had a talent for remembering names and faces, including the names of one's family members. He always made time for others, even as he occupied the highest office in the land.

14. Another of Mr Nathan's enduring legacies is the President's Challenge. Since 2000, it has raised about $160 million to help the less fortunate⁵. And with his patronage of more than 30 organisations, including the Singapore Children's Society, the Boy Scouts and Boys' Brigade, Mr Nathan was a President who had the people's interests at heart.

15. Mr Nathan helped steer Singapore through our ups and downs with a steady hand. During his 12-year Presidency, we experienced the Asian Financial Crisis⁶ in 1997, and recessions in 2001 and 2008. Mr Nathan was focused on the need for Singaporeans to stay united as a people, and forge ahead as one nation. He made this rallying call each of the five times he addressed the opening session of Parliament.⁷

16.  Mr Nathan also made important decisions as a steward of our reserves. He approved the use of past reserves to fund land-related projects, and the Net Investment Returns framework, which allows the government a prudent use of the returns on our investments, for the benefit of Singaporeans.

17. During the 2008 Financial Crisis, Mr Nathan decisively sanctioned the unprecedented use of reserves to partially fund the $20.5 billion Resilience Package. Singapore's economy duly recovered, and by 2011, two years after his decision, the Government returned the sum to the past reserves⁸.

18. Mr Nathan did not make these decisions lightly. He consulted closely with his Council of Presidential Advisers. He would ask questions and express his independent views. His former principal private secretary, Mr Tan Eng Beng, has shared⁹ how Mr Nathan would meticulously examine every item put up by the Government before making his decision. In all things, he discharged his duties with the utmost diligence and did full justice to his role as President.

19. Mdm Speaker, I will now say a few words in Mandarin.

20. 当我们想起前总统纳丹先生，相信心中浮现的，就是他平易近人、和蔼可亲的笑容。

21. 纳丹先生是人民的总统，也是一位优秀的公务员。在外交部时，纳丹先生以大刀阔斧的改革，提升了外交部的服务水准。 1974年，拉裕号驳船受到劫持，当时在国防部任职的纳丹先生带领同僚们挺身而出，代替人质陪同恐怖分子离境。他发挥过人的机敏和胆识，保护了新加坡人的安全。纳丹先生为国家鞠躬尽瘁，为人民无私奉献，是所有公职人员的榜样。
    

22. 纳丹先生宣誓就职时，承诺要照顾每个社会群体，成为所有新加坡人的总统。12年的任期中，纳丹先生完美的履行了这个承诺。出身贫寒的他时刻为人民着想。他在2000年设立的“总统慈善挑战”鼓励民众回馈社会，至今已筹得约1.6亿的善款，帮助了无数国人。当新加坡受到全球金融危机的冲击时，纳丹先生经过深思熟虑，当机立断，批准政府破例动用国家贮备金，及时推出“振兴配套”，让新加坡经济得以快速复苏。

23. 纳丹先生贯彻了新加坡“不分种族、言语、宗教，团结一致”的精神。他踊跃出席各族群的活动，亲切地和各阶层的人民接触与交流。纳丹先生跟华社一直保持着亲密的关系，积极参与和支持各项慈善及社区活动。许多传统活动如春到河畔、华族文化节、月圆河畔庆中秋等，都由纳丹先生主持开幕。纳丹先生为慈善义举多次当众挥毫。他留下的许多珍贵墨宝，体现了他对华族文化的支持。纳丹先生十分注重种族和宗教和谐，在国会发言时号召新加坡人团结一心、共同前进。

24. 在此，我谨代表国会同仁，向纳丹夫人和家属致哀。让我们一同悼念纳丹先生，向这位伟大的建国前辈致敬，向这位新加坡之子道别。

25. Mdm Speaker, I will now conclude in English.

26. As President, Mr Nathan came to represent the pragmatism of the rugged pioneer generation, and the promise of a compassionate and cohesive society. In him, we see a reflection of what we should all aspire to in our lives: the determination to succeed against the odds, the generosity of spirit shown to people from all walks of life and a deep sense of duty to nation. 

27. In the final words of his memoirs, Mr Nathan had this to say: “Ultimately, in all the decisions I was called upon to make, my conscience was my compass”.¹⁰ May all of us be similarly guided by our conscience as we honour his memory, and strive for a Singapore that is worthy of his extraordinary service to this nation.

¹ An Unexpected Journey: Path to the Presidency, S.R. Nathan, Page 616

² Mr Nathan's career in public service began in 1955 when he was a Medical Social Worker, and ended in 2011 as President of Singapore.

³ An Unexpected Journey: Path to the Presidency, S. R. Nathan, Page 325

⁴ Mr Nathan was Chairman of the Hindu Endowments Board from 2 May 1983 to 1 May 1984, and 2 May 1985 to 15 Apr 1988.

⁵ https://www.pc.org.sg/About-the-Presidents-Challenge
  
⁶ Mr S R Nathan was sworn in as President on 1 September 1999. The Singapore economy had shown signs of recovery from the Asian Financial Crisis since early 1999. The economy returned to positive growth in 1Q1999, and the recovery was sustained throughout the year.

⁷ Mr Nathan addressed the opening session of Parliament on 4 Oct 1999, 25 Mar 2002, 12 Jan 2005, 2 Nov 2006 and 18 May 2009.

⁸ An Unexpected Journey: Path to the Presidency, S.R. Nathan, Page 627

⁹ “S R Nathan: A kind man who helped hundreds, says former aide”, Straits Times, 24 Aug 2016

¹⁰ An Unexpected Journey: Path to the Presidency, S.R. Nathan, Page 648