Fragments of the Berlin Wall at Tembusu College

Posted on October 20, 2016January 19, 2021

By Professor Tommy Koh: Small and Successful

Posted on October 15, 2016October 7, 2020

In the game of nations, size matters.  Big countries tend to have big populations, economies, militaries, resources and ambitions.  From time immemorial, big countries have tended to dominate small countries.  Even in the contemporary world, important institutions such as the UN Security Council, Group of Seven (G7), Group of Twenty (G20) are dominated by big countries.

It would, however, be a mistake to equate size with success.  Some of the most successful countries in the world, in different fields of endeavour, are small countries.  This fact is seldom highlighted.  What I would like to do in this essay is to restore some balance to our perception of small countries.  I will give examples of small countries, which have overcome the disadvantage of size and achieved extraordinary success.

Richest Countries:  14 out of top 20

Since we live in a world which worships money, let me begin by asking who are the richest countries in the world.  I will use GDP per capita as the criterion and define a small country as one with a population of less than 10 million.

The 20 richest countries of the world are:

(i)        Luxembourg (small country)           US$101,450

(ii)       Switzerland (small country)             US$  80,215

(iii)      Norway (small country)                   US$  74,734

(iv)       Qatar (small country)                     US$ 74,667

(v)        Australia (big country)                    US$ 56,327

(vi)       USA (big country)                          US$ 55,836

(vii)      Singapore (small country)              US$ 52,888

(viii)      Denmark (small country)               US$ 52,002

(ix)        Ireland (small country)                  US$ 51,289

(x)        Sweden (small country)                 US$ 50,272

(xi)        Iceland (small country)                  US$ 50,173

(xii)       Netherlands (big country)              S$ 44,433

(xiii)      UK (big country)                             US$ 43,734

(xiv)      Austria (small country)                   US$ 43,438

(xv)      Canada (big country)                      US$ 43,248

(xvi)     Finland (small country)                    US$ 41,920

(xvii)    Germany (big country)                     US$ 41,219

(xviii)    UAE (small country)                        US$ 40,438

(xix)      Belgium (small country)                  US$ 40,231

(xx)       New Zealand (small country)          US$ 37,808

The astonishing fact is that, of the world’s 20 richest countries, a majority of them, 14 out of 20, are small countries.

Human Development Index: 12 out of top 20

I acknowledge the validity of the view that GDP per capita may not be the best criterion of human welfare.  Many prefer the UN’s Human Development Index, which also looks at a country’s achievements in education, health, housing, gender equity, etc.

Which are the top 20 countries in the Human Development Index (2014)?  They are:  Norway, Australia, Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Liechtenstein, Sweden, UK, Iceland, South Korea, Israel, Luxembourg, Japan and Belgium.  Of the 20, 12 are small countries.  As a matter of interest, I would mention that China is ranked at no. 90, Indonesia at no. 110 and India at no. 130.

Least Corrupt Countries: 13 out of 20

Corruption is an universal evil.  It is the aspiration of citizens everywhere to live in a society which is free of corruption.  The Non-Governmental Organization, Transparency International, publishes the highly respected Corruption Perceptions Index annually.

Which are the 20 least corrupt countries in the 2015 Index?  They are:  Denmark, Finland, Sweden, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, UK, Australia, Iceland, Belgium, Austria, USA, Ireland, Japan and Uruguay.  13 of the 20 are small countries.  India, China and Indonesia are raked at 76, 83 and 88 respectively.

Gender Equality:  14 out of top 20

Women have fought the longest battle for equality with men.  Although women have made enormous progress in the last 50 years, the progress has been uneven.  In some countries and in some cultures, women are still treated as second class citizens.  We must continue the fight until women throughout the world achieve equality and all glass ceilings have been broken.

The UN Development Report contains the Gender Inequality Index.  Which are the top 20 countries in the 2016 index for gender equality?   They are:  Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Italy, Finland, Iceland, France, Singapore, Czech Republic, Spain, Luxembourg, Israel, Australia and Portugal.  14 of the 20 are small countries.

Best Educated Countries:  8 out of 11

In this new world, human resource is a country’s most important resource.  Countries do well when they educate and train their people well.  The World Economic Forum has just published the list of the 11 best educated countries in the world.  The countries are ranked in the following order:  (1) Singapore (2) Finland (3) Netherlands (4) Switzerland (5) Belgium (6) Denmark (7) Norway (8) USA (9) Australia (10) New Zealand (11) Iceland.  8 of the 11 are small countries.

A Hypothesis

A pattern seems to be emerging from these facts and figures.  Some small countries are extremely successful because they are well governed (non-corrupt), pro-women (high gender equality) and pro-inclusive growth (high score on Human Development Index).  I would add two more factors to account for their success.  The first is that they have educated and trained their population well.  The second is that they are open economies, with an outward orientation and are highly globalised.

Success in Competitive Sports

I will conclude my essay with some observations on the success of some small countries in competitive sports.  The Olympic Games is the apex of competitive sports.  I was watching the Rio Olympic Games.  I was not surprised that USA, Britain and China won the most gold medal.  I was, however, surprised at how well some small countries did in Rio.

I was impressed that Jamaica, with a population of 2.7 million, won 6 gold medals and a total of 11 medals in track and field, Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, is a Jamaican.  Croatia, with a population of 4.2 million, won 5 gold medals and a total of 10 medals.  New Zealand, with a population of 4.5 million, won 4 gold medals and a total of 18 medals.  Fiji, with a population of only 880,000 defeated Britain for the gold medal in rugby!

Our own national hero, Joseph Scholling, defeated 3 world champions from the United States, South Africa and the Czech Republic, to win the gold medal in the hotly contested 100 metres Butterfly.  The moral of the story is that small countries can produce world champions.  Small countries can defeat big countries in sports, as Fiji did to Britain in rugby in Rio or Iceland did to England in football in the Euro Cup.  Iceland’s population is even smaller than that of Fiji.  There are only 332,000 people in Iceland.

We live in a world where size does matter.  It would, however, be a mistake to equate size with success.  Some of the world’s most successful countries are small countries.  We therefore need not have an inferiority complex because we are small.  If we work hard and we work smart, we can out-perform the big countries.

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Tembusu Tree is NUS Students Against Violation of the Earth’s species of the month

Posted on September 26, 2016October 7, 2020

Jeremy Fernando at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin

Posted on September 22, 2016February 5, 2020

On September 11, 2016, at the invitation of Professor Dr Hubertus von Amelunxen — President of the European Graduate School, and member of the Visual Arts section of the Akademie der Künste since 2003 — Jeremy Fernando performed a reading alongside the Irish fiction writer and satirist, Julian Gough, at the Akademie der Künste at Hanseatenweg.

(Professor Dr Hubertus von Amelunxen opening the inaugural event of the Berlin Hub of the European Graduate School.  ©Nancy Jones, 2016)

The triptych of readings were part of the inaugural launch of the Berlin Hub of the European Graduate School, and the event was graced by Dr Christian Schneegass, director of the Junge Akademie of the Akademie der Künste; Ms Susan H. Gillespie, founding director of Institute for International Liberal Education, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson; Professor Dr Kerry Bystrom, associate dean, Bard College Berlin; Ms Ana Z Schenk, architect and sustainable ecologies researcher from the Technische Universität Braunschweig; Dr Daniel S. Margulies, research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences; media, performance, and sound, artist, Dr Baruch Gottlieb, from the Universität der Künste Berlin; writers, performers, and musicians, from the artist communities in Berlin; alongside students, graduates, and friends, of the EGS.

In lieu of an formal address, Professor von Amelunxen addressed the question of learning, thinking, bildung, by addressing the possibilities of the EGS Hub in Berlin as a thinking community — a space which is generated by the coming together of people to bring forth questions, ideas, possibilities.

(Julian Gough reading ‘I’m the guy who wrote The Wild Bunch’. ©Katharina Bosch, 2016)

This was followed by Julian Gough’s whimsical tale of Sam Peckinpah’s accidental, inadvertent, involvement in The Sound of Music — an exploration of ‘forgotten’ Hollywood history, as it were — through a short story called ‘I’m the guy who wrote The Wild Bunch’. And even as there was constant laughter in the audience, there was no doubt that Gough was — through satire — conducting a incisive exploration into the myth-making power of Hollywood, of popular culture, alongside the underlying structures that shape its construction.

(Professor von Amelunxen introducing Jeremy Fernando and D. Katherine Griggs. ©Katharina Bosch, 2016)

Jeremy’s piece, entitled ‘je m’appelle Delilah’ — a retelling which attempts to respond to her voice, a voice around which the biblical tale revolves and yet is missing, is silenced — was performed with the fiction writer, poet, and media philosopher, D. Katherine Griggs. The performance was an attempt to meditate on — explore — the space, place, of Delilah: not through analysis, or even through a reading of the book of Judges, but with an attempt to listen to a voice that is not there, or perhaps has been erased. Thus, perhaps then a reading: as an opening — and here, more specifically — by opening the possibility that the relationship between Delilah and Samson is a space of love.

(Jeremy Fernando and D. Katherine Griggs performing ‘je m’appelle Delilah’. ©Soyoung Kwon, 2016)

[an excerpt of ‘je m’appelle Delilah’ by Jeremy Fernando, feat D. Katherine Griggs, can be found here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnrnGNfdS2k ©Yan Gi Cheang, 2016]

(©Yanyun Chen, 2016)

By Professor Tommy Koh: The Obama Presidency – An Assessment

Posted on September 17, 2016October 7, 2020

On the 8th of November, the American people will elect their 45th President.  In January 2017, 4 months from now, President Barack Obama will hand over the reins of power to his elected successor.  As the Obama presidency is rapidly coming to an end, I would like to do a preliminary assessment of his 8 years in power. 

Perspective

My rendezvous with America began in 1963 when I was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and another scholarship by Harvard to study at Harvard Law School.  Coming from multi-racial Singapore, I was shocked to find that America, especially in the South, was a racially segregated country. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous speech, “I have a dream” when I was in America. 

America only became racially de-segregated after the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965.  In the summer of 1964, I joined a Quaker-led programme, as a volunteer, and stayed in the predominantly Black neighbourhood of Boston called Roxbury.  I have seen first-hand the legacy of slavery and the enduring evil of racism in America.

King’s Dream Fulfilled

I never expected to live long enough to see an African-American elected as the President of the United States.  The election of Barack Obama in 2008 and his re-election in 2012 seemed like a miracle to me.  It is, however, clear from the vitriol which has been rained on him these past eight years, that there are many Americans who cannot accept a Black man in the White House.

State of the Union in 2008

Obama was elected in November 2008.  What was the state of the union at that time?  The United States was faced with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.  The world watched with bated breath to see whether the new President would rescue the US economy and, by extension, the world economy, from another Great Depression.  The US was embroiled in two wars, in Afghanistan and Iraq.  The US standing in the world was dismal.

Obama’s Economic Performance

The Obama Administration’s economic performance has been impressive.  The world owes him a debt of gratitude for averting a second Great Depression.  Consider the following facts.  The US unemployment rate has gone down from 7.8% in January 2009 to 4.9% in June 2016.  Ten million jobs have been created in the last eight years.  The US GDP has increased by 24% during the same period.  US exports to the world have increased by 43%.  The US economy has bounced back and is, once again, one of the most competitive economies in the world. The economy is however still not growing at its optimal rate.

Domestic Policy

Obama’s most important domestic achievement is the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, which has come to be known as Obamacare.  The Republican Party has demonised Obamacare.  The fact is however that 20 million Americans are covered by some form of health insurance and, for the first time in US history, 9 in 10 Americans under 65 years old now have health insurance. 

Law and Order

Obama has made America, a country prone to gun violence, a safer place to live in.  The rate of violent crime, which includes murder, homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, has declined from 429 per 100,000 population, in 2009, to 366 in 2014.  However, because of the power of the gun lobby and the opposition from Congress, Obama has failed to pass any significant legislation on gun reform. .

Energy and Climate Change

Obama’s energy policy has both an internal and an external dimension.  Domestically, the US’ dependence on imported oil has fallen by more than half during his tenure.  In addition to an increase in the production of oil and gas, electricity generated by large-scale wind and solar power has increased by almost 300% since 2008.

Paris Agreement On Climate Change

Externally, Obama has played a leadership role in the successful negotiations leading to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. He succeeded in converting China from an adversary to an ally in the fight against global warming and climate change.  It is significant that, in Hangzhou, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, President Obama and President Xi were able to exchange their ratifications of the Paris Agreement.

Bringing The Troops Home

Obama pledged to withdraw US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. There were over 180,000 American troops in these two countries when he took office.  There are now about 4,000 troops left in Iraq and nearly 10,000 in Afghanistan.  It is one thing to withdraw the troops, it is another to consider the consequence of such withdrawal. For example, will the Taleban fight their way back to power once the troops from NATO and the US are gone?  Does the US not have the responsibility to help Iraq deal with some of the consequences which ensued from the US invasion and the foolish decisions to dismantle the Iraqi army and the Ba’ath Party?

It would not be unfair to say that the Obama Administration’s policy in the Middle East is not a success story.  The Arab Spring has turned into a nightmare.  The civil war in Syria is destroying that country and millions of Syrians have been forced to flee their homes as refugees.  Peace between Israel and the Palestinians is a very remote possibility.  President Obama’s failure to punish President Assad when he crossed the so-called “red line” and used chemical weapons against his own people will continue to haunt him even though the chemical weapons were removed from Syria through diplomacy.

Pivot To Asia

The one area of the Obama Administration’s foreign policy which has been a success story and a game changer is the “pivot to Asia” or “rebalancing to Asia”.  As a strategic thinker and as the first Pacific President of the United States, President Obama knows that in the 21st Century, power is moving from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  He wants the US to remain the predominant power of the Asia Pacific.  Towards this end, he has elevated the importance of this region in US economic, political, military and cultural policies.

The US has refreshed and strengthened its alliances with Japan, South Korea and Australia.  It has been welcomed back to the Philippines. It has normalised its relations with Vietnam.  It has forged a close relationship with India.  President Obama is working to get Congressional approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement before the end of his administration.

US-ASEAN Relations

Obama has brought about a paradigm shift in his country’s relations with ASEAN.  No US President before him has given to Southeast Asia and to ASEAN, the priority, attention and respect that he has.  He signed the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. He is the first US President to have held an annual summit with ASEAN’s 10 leaders since 2009.  He has elevated the relationship between the US and ASEAN to the strategic level.  He hosted a special summit with the leaders of ASEAN at Sunnylands, California.  He has come personally to attend the annual ASEAN-US Summit and the East Asia Summit except in 2013 when he had to stay back to deal with the shut down of the government caused by the Congress.  He visited Myanmar twice to encourage that country’s transition to democracy.

US-Singapore Relations

President Obama and Prime Minister Lee enjoy a close relationship.  This was very much in evidence, in August, when President Obama hosted an  Official Visit by Prime Minister and Mrs Lee and a rare  State Dinner at the White House.

US-China

China is the challenger to US leadership in the Asia Pacific.  The relationship between the US and China is however fundamentally different from the relationship between the US and the Soviet Union.  China is the largest creditor of the US and the US is China’s largest export market.  Their relationship is therefore both interdependent and competitive.  The leaders of the two countries appear to have arrived at a modus vivendi:  they will cooperate where their interests coincide, compete where they diverge and manage their disagreements and disputes with maturity and rationality.  We can safely say that under Presidents Obama and Xi, there will be no war, hot or cold, between the US and China.

Conclusion

I believe that history will judge President Obama kindly.  History will record that he saved America and the world from a second Great Depression.  He has restored the US economy.  He has shown moral courage in negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran and normalising relations with Cuba.  He has eliminated Osama bin Laden and other leaders of Al Qaeda and ISIS.  He has brought the US back to its historic role of upholding the rule of law.  He is a champion of the earth.  He has raised the standing of the US in the world.  I hope his legacy of Rebalancing to Asia will endure beyond his administration.

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Call for Participants: International Summer Course on Imogiri Saujana Heritage

Posted on September 7, 2016September 10, 2021

Professor Tommy Koh’s remarks at the exhibition of Iskandar Jalil’s Works

Posted on September 2, 2016February 5, 2020

Thank Yous

I wish to begin by thanking the National Gallery of Singapore for organising this major retrospective of the works of our beloved master potter, Iskandar Jalil.  I wish also to thank the Gallery and Cik Gu for inviting me to officiate at the opening of this important exhibition.

Friends Of 25 Years

Cik gu and I have been friends for a quarter of a century.  We became friends in 1991 when I was appointed as the first Chairman of the National Arts Council.  I overcame some resistance on the part of colleagues who argued that pottery is a craft and not an art.  I argued in favour of including pottery in the NAC’s agenda on the ground that pottery is both a craft and an art.  Some potters are mere craftsmen.  Other potters, like Iskandar, are both artists and craftsmen.  I also included photography and film in the NAC’s agenda for the same reason.  Over the years, our friendship has strengthened and my admiration for Cik Gu has deepened. I often introduce myself as the self-appointed Chairman of the Iskandar Jalil Fan Club.

Iskandar Is A Singapore Icon

Iskandar Jalil is a world class potter and ceramic artist.  His distinction and stature have been recognised at home and abroad.  In Singapore, he has been conferred with the Cultural Medallion and the highest honour accorded to our top artists, the Meritorious Service Medal.  In 2015, the Emperor of Japan conferred on him the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette.  This year, he received an honorary doctoral degree from NTU.

If Singapore were Japan, I am sure that Cik Gu would be named as a “National Living Treasure”.  In my view Iskandar has already become a national icon of Singapore.  His name is widely known and admired.  It is the ambition of many Singaporeans to own a pot by Iskandar.  A few of our second generation artists will, in time, join our four pioneer artists, Cheong Soo Pieng, Chen Wen Hsi, Georgette Chen and Liu Kang, in the pantheon of Singapore’s great artists.  I am confident that Iskandar will be one of them.

Iskandar Is A Great Artist

Is Iskandar a great artist?

A great artist is one who, because of his innate talent and a lifetime of practice, reaches a level of achievement which makes his work special and unique.  A great artist imparts his personality and spirit to his works.  When we see a painting by Georgette Chen, for example, we immediately recognise it as a Georgette Chen.  In the same way, when we see a pot by Iskandar Jalil, we immediately recognise it as a Iskandar Jalil.  Why?  Because it embodies the essence of the creator.  According to one of Cik Gu’s disciples, Suriani Suratman, that essence is the distillation of his skills, values, ideals and convictions.  This is the mark of a great artist, as opposed to a good artist.  There are many good artists but very few great artists.  Iskandar Jalil is a great artist.

Teacher And Mentor

We also admire Iskandar Jalil, the teacher and mentor.  Throughout his career, Iskandar has combined practice with teaching.  He is a dedicated, demanding and inspiring teacher.  Some of his students have described his method of teaching as “tough love”.  He demands discipline and respect for the artistic process.  If he is not satisfied with the work of a student, he would sometimes break it or toss it out of the window, earning him the nickname, “The Flying Missile”.  However, behind the tough exterior, is a warm and loving heart.  He has quietly sponsored many of his students on overseas cultural programmes.  He is lovingly referred to by his students, past and present, as “Cik Gu”.

Pot From S R Nathan

The exhibition features 180 works by Cik Gu spanning a period of over 50 years.

The Gallery has borrowed two pots by Cik Gu from my wife’s collection.  One of them is particularly meaningful.  In 2006, I was one of the recipients of the inaugural President’s Award for the Environment.  President S R Nathan gave me a beautiful pot by Iskandar as the award.  I will always treasure the pot, created by a great artist and presented to me by a great son of Singapore.

On that note, I have great pleasure in declaring Kembara Tanah Liat open.

Thank you very much. Terima kasih.

Professor Tommy Koh: The misunderstood Asian who helms the UN

Posted on August 27, 2016October 7, 2020

Ban Ki-moon is the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. He was elected in 2006 and re-elected to serve a second five-year term in 2011. He will step down at the end of this year.

He is the second Asian to occupy this important post. The first was U Thant of Myanmar, who served as the third Secretary-General, from 1961 to 1971.

The job of the Secretary-General is a thankless one. If he is too independent-minded and too proactive, the Permanent Members of the Security Council would be unhappy. On the other hand, if he is too timid and passive, the wider UN membership and the international community would be unhappy. The challenge for any Secretary-General is to balance the realities of Big Power politics with leadership, conviction and quiet diplomacy.

From Mr Charisma to Confucian Gentleman

Ban Ki-moon succeeded Kofi Annan, who was very popular and often treated like a rock star by the media. Kofi Annan is good looking, speaks well and exudes charisma. He understands the importance of the media and cultivated it effectively. As a result, he has enjoyed good press.

In contrast, Ban Ki-moon is a Confucian gentleman. He is humble, disciplined, hard-working and self-effacing. He does not go out of his way to cultivate the media. He believes that history will judge him on the basis of his performance and not on his popularity or his image in the press.

The Western media is largely unfamiliar with Asian civilizations. It does not understand the values and traditions of a Confucian gentleman. The Western media does not like Ban Ki-moon and has written negatively about him from the moment he took office. For example, in March 2007, three months after he became Secretary-General, the US magazine, Newsweek, had him on its cover with the caption: “Why This Man Will Fail!” That was very unfair but the Western media’s negative narrative about him has persisted to this day. It has, unfortunately, influenced the perception of many Western intellectuals towards Ban.

Korean Workaholic

The Koreans are a very hard working people. Ban Ki-moon is a workaholic. He is on duty 24/7 and his phone is never switched off. He will accept telephone calls from the world’s leaders at anytime of the day or night. He prepares himself conscientiously for every meeting that he chairs or attends. On some days, he makes as many as ten speeches.

Ban Ki-moon has tried very hard to be helpful to the member states, especially when they are faced with adversity. Thus, when a member state is hit by a natural disaster, its call for help will always be answered by Ban. He went to Pakistan when it was struck by devastating floods, to Myanmar after cyclone Nargis, to Haiti after the earthquake, to Chile, Sichuan, etc. He wanted to express the UN’s solidarity with the victims of the natural disaster, to mobilise the assistance of the UN system and to call for the help of the world’s leaders.

Ban Ki-moon is a good friend of ASEAN. He has expressed his friendship and respect for ASEAN by coming personally to meet our leaders at our annual summits. He has also been a good friend of the small states and their grouping called The Forum of Small States (FOSS). No previous Secretary-General has given as much time and attention to the small states. FOSS honoured him on the occasion of its 25th anniversary as a “Friend of FOSS”.

The image of Ban in the media is that of a timid man. He is cautious, prudent and circumspect. He is, however, not lacking in conviction or courage. He believes passionately in the principles of the UN Charter. When he feels strongly that a political leader has committed egregious violations of the human rights of his people, Ban has not hesitated to speak out. He has, on several occasions, publicly called upon President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, “to stop killing your own people”. He has also not hesitated to criticise member states for their failure to comply with the decisions of the UN and their obligations under the UN Charter.

Peace-Maker

Ban is a diplomat by profession and nature. He believes that diplomacy can be used to narrow the gap between parties to a dispute. He believes that when diplomacy is used in a timely manner, it can prevent war. Ban has used the office of the Secretary-General to convene meetings of leaders who are locked in disputes and to prevent the disputes from escalating into conflicts.

Ban is good at quiet diplomacy. He does not take credit for his successes. In January 2008, there was a crisis in Gaza, following the Israeli invasion. The leaders of the world tried unsuccessfully to persuade the two parties to agree to a ceasefire. To break the impasse, Ban came up with the idea of a sequential instead of a simultaneous ceasefire. He persuaded Prime Minister Olmert of Israel to declare a unilateral ceasefire. This was followed by a ceasefire by Hamas. This has brought peace to Gaza.

What has Ban Ki-moon achieved during his 10 years as the Secretary-General of the United Nations? When asked by Tom Plate, the author of the book, Conversations with Ban Ki-moon, Ban said that he wanted to be remembered for his work on global warming, gender equity and the reform of the management of the UN.

Ban Ki-moon is convinced that global warming poses a dire threat to the future of humanity. This issue has been on the top of his agenda. He has used his moral authority and the moral power of the UN to urge the international community to take collective action. He has spoken on this issue to all the leaders of the world. He has convened meetings, big and small, to forge consensus. He played a significant role in Paris, working closely with France and other key stakeholders, to bring about consensus. This is one of his achievements.

Women leaders at the UN

South Korea is a great success story. However, gender equity is not one of its achievements. It is therefore unusual for a Korean Secretary-General to bring about a revolution at the UN on women.

When Ban took office, he found very few women in senior positions in the UN Secretariat. He increased the number of women with the rank of Under-Secretary-General by 60 percent and the number of women with the rank of Assistant Secretary-General by 40 per cent. He recruited Michelle Bachelet, the current President of Chile, and the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, to fill two senior positions. He appointed Valerie Amos as the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. He appointed a Singaporean, Dr Noeleen Heyzer, as the first woman to head the UN Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific.

When asked whether he would like to see a woman succeed him as the ninth Secretary-General, Ban said it was high time a woman did so.

Reforming the management of the UN Secretariat and the UN system is a formidable task. It is hard to bring about change because of the vested interests of important member states and constituencies. They will oppose any change which threatens their interests. There are many admirable and idealistic men and women who work for the UN. However, there are also some others who are there because of their political connections. Two distinguished Singaporeans, who had served in the Secretariat, were victimised even though they had done no wrong. The system is riddled with politics and does not reflect the best international standard of good governance.

Ban has had some small victories. He created the UN Ethics Office. He managed to merge four separate organizations to form UN Women: UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. I regret to say that Ban’s legacy on this issue is not as impressive as on the other two issues.

As an Asian, I am proud of the records of U Thant and Ban Ki-moon, as the third and eighth Secretaries-General of the United Nations respectively. Ban Ki-moon can look back on his tenure with pride and satisfaction.

Professor Tommy Koh: Eulogy for S. R. Nathan

Posted on August 26, 2016February 5, 2020

Salutations

1.  Mrs Nathan and members of the Nathan family, Mr President, Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament, the Chief Justice, Fellow Singaporeans, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

MFA and Foreign Service

2.  I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Singapore Foreign Service. Mr Nathan had played a key role in the founding of both institutions.  He joined the Ministry in December 1965 and helped our first Foreign Minister, Mr Rajaratnam, to set up the Ministry.  He left in 1971 to assume another assignment.  He returned in 1978 as its First Permanent Secretary.  The Prime Minister had given him a mandate: transform the Ministry into a first class one in two years or it will be closed down and made into a department of the Prime Minister’s Office.  It seemed like a mission impossible.  I had known Mr Nathan and worked closely with him since 1968.  I regard him as my mentor and my comrade.  In my eulogy I will focus on the three enduring contributions which Mr Nathan had made.

From No Class to First Class

3.  First, Mr. Nathan succeeded in transforming the foreign Ministry, in two short years, from no class to a first class one.  As we all know, Mr Lee Kuan Yew had very high standards.  He made no allowances for the fact that our Ministry was new and we were all learning on the job.  He expected the quality of our output to match the high standard of the centuries-old British Foreign Office. Undaunted by the challenge, Mr Nathan recruited bright young officers to join him.  He demanded discipline, hard work, and competence.  Most of all, he demanded loyalty and dedication to duty.  His method of leadership was “tough love”.  However, behind that tough façade, there was a warm and kind heart.  A few months ago, he hosted a lunch for about a dozen of the bright young officers, now grown old, who had helped him to fulfil his impossible mission.  He wanted to thank them and to explain why he was such a demanding boss.  It was a poignant occasion because we knew that it would be the last reunion with “The Boss”.  Because of the strong foundation he had laid, the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Singapore Foreign Service are considered among the best in the world.

Courage In The Face of Adversity

4.  Second, he taught us to be courageous and to defend Singapore’s interests without fear or hesitation.  Mr Nathan was a courageous man as can be seen from his heroic role in the Laju case.  He was our Ambassador in Washington at a difficult time.  The Michael Fay case erupted during his watch.  My American friends have told me that they admired the calm and rational way in which he defended Singapore’s position in the face of vicious attacks.  He held high the flag of Singapore. Because of his example and precept, although Singapore is a small country, it is a country which cannot be bullied by bigger countries, not even the major powers.  One of the principles of Singapore’s foreign policy is that it will stand up for its national interests against any foe, big or small.

Singapore’s Super Ambassador

5.  Third, Mr. Nathan represented Singapore with great distinction as our High Commissioner to Malaysia and as our Ambassador to the United States.  However, his most important diplomatic role was as the sixth President of Singapore.  During his 12 year tenure, he visited more countries than all his predecessors put together.  Through these state visits, he strengthened our links with other countries, expanded our political and economic space and opened the door to new economic opportunities for our business and industry.  He had a flair for dealing with foreign leaders and foreign countries. Perhaps because of his training in social work, he was able to establish a good rapport with his interlocutors and to put them at ease.  He had the memory of an elephant and could remember people he had befriended in his previous assignments, no matter how long ago.  He was able to convert his global network of friends into friends of Singapore.

Conclusion

6.  I shall conclude.  Mr. Nathan will always be remembered as one of the founders of our Foreign Ministry and Foreign Service.  Our success today is due to the strong foundation that he, Mr S Rajaratnam, Mr Lee Kuan Yew and other pioneers had laid.  He taught us to be courageous and to be fearless in defending the national interests of Singapore.  He was our super Ambassador to the world.

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Tembusu Undergraduate Research Opportunities (UROPs)

Posted on August 3, 2016February 5, 2020

SIGN UP FOR UROPS!

Interested in learning more about research? Would you like to gain experience working with a College Fellow? If so , please think about reading a Tembusu College Undergraduate Research Opportunity (UROP) this coming semester. In order to read this 4-MC module you should have read at least one Senior Seminar and at least one Ideas and Exposition  module or a faculty-based writing course (writing module). Applications from students who have read one Junior Seminar and one writing module will also be considered.

Please contact Dr Connor at rctccg@nus.edu.sg by Saturday 6th August at 10.00 a.m. if you are have any questions about the UROP module and/or are interested in pursuing one of the projects below. 

1. Artificial Intelligence, Singapore, and the “Asian Century”

The 21st century has been dubbed the “Asian Century” whereas the 19th and 20th centuries belonged respectively, to the British and the United  States. Singapore’s hub status in Southeast Asia poses a unique position to investigate techno-cultural changes, specifically those  techno-cultural dimensions related to the advent of “broad” AI or “Artificial Intelligence.” Students are invited to submit proposals for research on the topic of broad AI as it is pertinent to Singapore, the region, and beyond. This project is supervised by Dr Adam Groves.

2. Audiencing Social Media: Gendered Perceptions Of Bloggers In Singapore

What do young Singaporean women think of female bloggers in Singapore? How ‘normal’ are they perceived to be? This project will explore these questions through contributing towards an academic paper in progress. Specifically, the work will involve writing a proposal, contributing to a literature review and analyzing interview data from young Singaporean women about bloggers in Singapore. This project is supervised by Dr Connor Graham and will involve working with an Australian anthropologist of the Internet.

3. Reading ‘Dead’ Places

What do abandoned theme parks in Japan mean? How they are displayed online and how does this display relate to the ‘real’ places? This project involves theorizing about and developing a minor history of abandoned theme parks in Japan through focusing on how one site is displayed through photographs online. The work will involve writing a proposal, sourcing and analyzing photographs and developing an understanding of the historyof theme parks. This project is supervised by Dr Connor Graham and will involve working with an interaction designer from SUTD. 

4. ‘The User’ in Studies of ICTs, 1990-2010

What does the term “user” really mean? How is it used and what assumptions does it make about people? This project will focus on examining studies of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as discourse in order to develop answers to these questions. Specifically the work will involve assembling a body of literature and helping with its analysis to trace trajectories and changes in the meaning of the term “user”. The work will contribute to a co-authored paper with an American anthropologist. This project is supervised by Dr Connor Graham.