He Wrote the National Pledge: S. Rajaratnam, Singapore's First Foreign Minister

A journalist turned politician turned diplomat, S. Rajaratnam (1915–2006) wore many hats in the service of Singapore. His contribution to Singapore is so great that to cover his life adequately required 20 years of research and over 1,200 pages of writing. Irene Ng, his authorised biographer, tells us little-known facets of the man, his legacy as Singapore’s founding foreign and culture minister, and his relationship with Lee Kuan Yew.Irene Ng is the authorised biographer of S. Rajaratnam and writer-in-residence at the Institute of ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. She was formerly an award-winning senior political correspondent and a Member of Parliament in Singapore.What Irene Talked About02:29 – Irene’s first meeting with S. Rajaratnam and her impressions of him04:17 – How a journalistic background helped Irene connect with him06:10 – Rajaratnam's personality07:55 – Main themes of the second volume of Rajaratnam biography, The Lion’s Roar10:24 – Why young Singaporeans should read the biography14:49 – How Singapore’s pledge came from Rajaratnam’s ideals19:07 – Rajaratnam's relationship with Lee Kuan Yew24:41 – Rajaratnam’s legacy in shaping Singapore’s foreign policy26:11 – Qualities that made Rajaratnam the ideal founding foreign minister28:04 – Rajaratnam’s impact as the culture minister30:51 – His forgotten achievements as the labour minister35:10 – What inspired Irene to write Rajaratnam’s biography37:30 – Challenges in writing the second volume of the biography39:40 – Irene’s take on criticisms about the book based on her history as a politician44:58 – What Irene reads for leisure46:06 – Biographies that inspired Irene49:00 – What’s next for Irene49:38 – Irene’s Singapore dreamTranscript and ResourcesRead the transcript: https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/all-sections/podcast-s-rajaratnam-singapores-first-foreign-minister/Read the BiblioAsia article: https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/all-sections/vol-20-issue-3-oct-dec-2024-rajaratnam-biography-lions-roar/Subscribe to BiblioAsia for more stories about Singapore.This episode of BiblioAsia Podcast was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by Doppler Soundlab. The background music "Di Tanjong Katong" was composed by Ahmad Patek and performed by Chords Haven. Special thanks to Irene for coming on the show.The BiblioAsia Podcast by the National Library Singapore tells stories about Singapore history.