NUS Council Chairman Mr Wong Ngit Liong presenting the award to SM Goh

The Graduate Who Became Prime Minister

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong graduated from the then University of Singapore in 1964 with a first class honours in Economics, topping his class. SM Goh wanted to be an academic. But he was bonded to serve the Civil Service for his undergraduate scholarship. The young Goh Chok Tong responsibly took up employment with the Civil Service and decided not to pursue an academic career. After several years, he was seconded to Neptune Orient Lines, Singapore's national shipping line when it was making a loss. Within a few years, Mr Goh Chok Tong had turned it around.

In December 1976, Mr Goh stood for election and became Member of Parliament for the Marine Parade Constituency. He became Singapore's first Minister for Trade and Industry in 1979, and concurrently, Minister for Health in 1981. In 1982, he was appointed Minister for Defence and in 1985, First Deputy Prime Minister. On 28 November 1990, Mr Goh succeeded Mr Lee Kuan Yew as Singapore's Prime Minister.

Our Class of '64 graduate Goh Chok Tong, in his varied careers in the government and private sectors, has contributed significantly to Singapore's development as a first world economy and nation. I wonder what Singapore would be like if Mr Goh had gone into academia or remained in private sector employment. Fortunately for Singapore, he chose public service.

Service to Country and Society

As Prime Minister, Mr Goh introduced initiatives to take Singapore forward. Bearing in mind the needs of the man in the street, he launched policies and initiatives such as Edusave, Medifund, Utilities-Save, and the New Singapore Shares.

Mr Goh also led the nation in times of crises, from the Asian Financial meltdown in 1997 through the threats of terrorist attacks after 9/11 in 2001 to the SARS outbreak in 2003. These difficult circumstances were not seen as all gloom and doom. Mr Goh saw in them opportunities for strengthening Singapore's competitiveness and for bringing us closer together as a nation. He called for a review of existing policies, discarding what was obsolete and no longer relevant, developing new strengths and solutions while ensuring that the fundamentals remained strong and sound.

Amid a sea change brought about by the forces of globalization, Mr Goh charted fresh and bold strategies to remake Singapore into a knowledge-based economy. Building on an electronics and manufacturing base, the Singapore economy diversified into other strategic areas and clusters including Information Technology, Biotechnology, and the Life Sciences, just to name a few.

With the challenges facing Singapore, it was clear to Mr Goh that education was vital for Singapore to remain competitive. He called for compulsory education, smaller class sizes and higher standards of education in Singapore. During his term as Prime Minister, three new junior colleges and a fifth polytechnic were set up.

Under Mr Goh's leadership, the higher education sector was liberalized and transformed. Singapore universities would become magnets for global talent and centers for innovation. NUS was encouraged to go beyond being a trainer of manpower to a creator of knowledge. In 2002, Mr Goh proposed to then Vice-President Hu Jintao of China that a Sino-Singapore Student Exchange Program be started. The goal was to foster cultural understanding and collaboration between Singapore and Chinese undergraduates. The inaugural 14-day exchange took place in November 2003 in Singapore. Forty-three students from four of China's top universities stayed in the homes of NUS undergraduates and learned more about Singapore's educational system, culture, and way of life.

b. A Consultative Style of Governance

We appreciate Mr Goh not only for his policies, but also for the countless lives he has touched and changed. His warm and engaging personality shone through in his consultative style of government. Where there were difficult policies to be made, such as increasing the Goods and Services Tax, he made it a point to explain the reasons, and defuse tensions on the ground with dialogue sessions. His sincere, direct and personal style won the respect and affection of fellow Singaporeans. They felt a personal connection with their Prime Minister because he made them feel comfortable and listened to.

Mr Goh's quiet charisma has won him respect and many friends among the international community. This is a distinct advantage for a small country like Singapore, when it comes to negotiating free trade agreements. An example is the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA). The USSFTA, I am told, came about over an 18-hole golf game with then President Bill Clinton. Mr Goh has also made many significant contributions to Singapore's foreign policy by expanding its political and economic space with ASEAN, US, China, India, Europe and, more recently, the Middle East.

c. A Leader and Mentor

A strong advocate of multi-racialism and meritocracy, Mr Goh has valued people as the soul of organizations and countries, and for him, people development took priority. The Chinese concept of a leader, 领 导, means ‘to lead and mentor'. In his 14 years as Singapore's Prime Minister and now as Senior Minister, Mr Goh has been concerned not only that Singapore achieved prosperity and economic growth but also whether Singapore would continue to do well.

As he put it at the recent Wharton Global Alumni Forum, "a leader … measures success by how well he grows others and not by how much he grows himself". By the time Mr Goh handed over the premiership, he had guided and groomed an able team of young leaders to take Singapore through the next lap for a bright future.

Mr Goh was not only a prime minister of the people, but also a prime minister for the people. Serving Singapore was the greatest honor of his life, he once said. For us, the honor was Singapore's.

NUS is proud to have an alumnus of Mr Goh's stature, and is privileged to confer an inaugural NUS Eminent Alumni Award on Mr Goh Chok Tong.