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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.

 

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. They are the traditional virtues of Singaporeans and so long as we retain these virtues, we can face the future with confidence.” 3

Dr Goh’s convictions were proved correct and his thought remains a cornerstone of Singapore’s economic policy.

Our Own Information

   Dr Goh Keng Swee was one of the most important first generation political leaders of Singapore. He served as Minister for Finance in 1959 and held this position for nine years. His role as A Minister for Finance was important to Singapore's economic development. Singapore's financial position needed to be srengthened when it had just gained independence.

   He Began to develop the economy of Singaporeand encourage savings in goverment spending. In this way. the Singapore goverment managed to accumulate reserves by September 1959.

    Dr Goh Keng Swee was responsible for the development of the Jurong Industrial Estate. In September 1962, he laid the foundation stone of the National Iron and Steel Mills, the first heavy industry factory to be in  Jurong. Dr Goh Keng Swee wanted factories to built so that industries could move in and begin productions almost immediately. He believed that Singapore would be able to atrract in dustries from overseas to set up buisnesses here. This would provide jobs for the people.

Formal Information About Dr Goh Keng Swee

  Goh Keng Swee (Dr) (b. 6 October 1918, Malacca, Malaysia – d. 14 May 2010, Singapore) has often been called the "economic architect" of Singapore, contributing greatly in shaping the development of Singapore into a prosperous nation as Minister for Finance and Minister of Defence. He held several other key appointments, including Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Education, and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and various government-led companies.
Early lifeBorn into a middle-income Peranakan family in Malacca, he came to Singapore when he was two years old. His early education was at Anglo-Chinese School (1927–1936) and later at Raffles College (1936–1939).
Armed with a diploma in arts, he entered the colonial civil service in 1939, but his career was interrupted by the Japanese Occupation. He rejoined the civil service in 1946 and his outstanding performance earned him a scholarship to study statistics at the London School of Economics (LSE) in 1947. During his stay in London, he started the Malayan Forum, an anti-colonial political group, with some fellow students including Lee Kuan Yew and Toh Chin Chye. Goh became its first chairman.
In 1951, he graduated from LSE with a first class honours in economics and won the William Farr Prize. He resumed work in the civil service back in Singapore, but later returned to LSE for further studies in 1954 and obtained his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1956.
CareerAfter the Japanese Occupation, Goh joined the Social Welfare Department, where he attained the position of director in 1958. During his time in the colonial civil service, he formed the Council for Joint Action together with K. M. Byrne to seek equal pay for Asian civil servants.
In 1959, he resigned from the civil service and contested the general elections as a People's Action Party (PAP) candidate. He won the Kreta Ayer seat and represented the constituency in the legislative assembly and later the parliament of Singapore until his retirement from politics in 1984. He led various ministries during critical periods in Singapore's history, introducing bold measures to tackle issues in the economy and in the areas of defence and education.
Major accomplishmentsAppointed Minister for Finance in 1959, he introduced an industrialisation programme with the aim of creating jobs for Singaporeans. Jurong, a swampy wasteland at the time, was transformed into Singapore's first industrial estate. To jumpstart the area’s development, he offered incentives and drew in foreign investments. He also initiated the setting up of the Economic Development Board (EDB), which was established in August 1961 with the purpose of furthering the economic development of Singapore by attracting foreign investments.
When Singapore attained independence on 9 August 1965, he became the first defence minister and saw an urgent need for a strong defence force. To quickly build up the Singapore Armed Forces, he implemented compulsory national service for all male Singaporeans above 18 years old.
During his term as Minister of Education, the importance of curriculum development in the education system prompted him to set up the Curriculum Development Institute. To arrest the high dropout rates, he introduced streaming in 1980 to allow students to learn at their own pace within their own capabilities. He also introduced religious education but this was later dropped from the school curriculum.
When he was appointed chairman of MAS and the Board of Commissioner of Currency in 1980, he took measures to promote Singapore as an international financial centre. To this end, in 1984, amendments were made to three major financial regulations, namely the Banking Act, the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act and the Finance Companies Act. During the 1985 recession, he acted swiftly to stop the downward slide of the Singapore dollar.
In the early years of China’s economic reform programme, the Chinese central government sought his expertise and appointed him as its economic adviser on coastal development and tourism in 1985. He was the first foreigner to be appointed to such a role.
In 1985, the Singapore government awarded him the prestigious Order of Temasek (First Class) for his contributions in the nation’s development. To honour him, the financial community set up the Goh Keng Swee Scholarship Fund in 1992, while the National University of Singapore established the Goh Keng Swee Professorship and Master's Scholarship in Economics in 1996. To preserve his legacy, Goh’s wife Phua Swee Liang set up the Goh Keng Swee Foundation in 2008 to help the disadvantaged.