Othman HARON EUSOFE
Political History of Singapore 1965–1985,
Accession Number 003131
- Oral History Centre
Source
- 6
Total Reels
- Gupta Santanu
Interviewer
- 05:32:16
Total Running Time
- English
Language
Copyright Notice
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Reel/Disc 1 of 6
Metadata
- 14 May 2007
Recording Date
- 00:56:00
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Born in 1940 in Singapore. Recollections of his parents and siblings. Grew up in Guillemard Road. Early childhood memories that included the Japanese Occupation. Life in a multi-racial community. Difficult time after World War II. Gang problems in the 1950s and 1960s. Anecdote over an incident of bottle throwing. Started schooling aged 10 but had no problems with English language. Performance in the Primary School Leaving Examination. Studied in Raffles Institution (RI) from 1955 to 1960. Initial problems settling into RI but gradually overcame them. Recollections of peers such as Mr Goh Chok Tong, Dr Ahmad Mattar, Dr Tan Cheng Bock and Saidi Shariff. Read economics and political science in university.
Offered a job in the Administrative Service upon graduation. Various postings in the service, starting with the Land Office. Issues tackled in the Land Office. Later handled civil aviation at the Ministry of Communications. Split of Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) and the protracted negotiations. Introduction of the “Park& Ride” scheme. Impressions of Minister Yong Nyuk Lin. Posted to Ministry of Finance (Budget Division). Impressions of Minister Hon Sui Sen and Permanent Secretaries Tan Chok Kian and George Bogaars. Next posting was in the Trade Department. Seconded to the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in 1980. Approached to be a possible election candidate in 1978. Reason for his secondment to NTUC.
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Reel/Disc 2 of 6
Metadata
- 14 May 2007
Recording Date
- 00:54:59
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Circumstances that led him to join the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). Agreed to become a labour Member of Parliament (MP). Interviewed again in August 1980 to stand as a People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate at Geylang Serai. Resigned from the civil service to join politics. State of affairs in Geylang Serai. Easily defeated opposition candidate in the General Elections (GE) of December 1980. The nine-day campaigning. Problems he faced as a new MP. Maiden speech in Parliament. Remembered Deputy Prime Minister Dr Goh Keng Swee taking MPs to task for comments made in Parliament. Anecdotes about parliamentary exchanges.
Impact of the entry of J B Jeyaretnam into Parliament. Role as advisor to public sector unions. NTUC Secretary-Generals and their different styles. Tripartism in Singapore. Promotion of a symbiotic relationship. Examples of tripartism in action.
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Reel/Disc 3 of 6
Metadata
- 23 Jul 2007
Recording Date
- 00:58:40
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Uniqueness of tripartism in Singapore. Comments on perception that tripartism was a tool used by the ruling party to control the unions. Role of People’s Action Party (PAP) Members of Parliament (MPs) in the labour movement. Advent of the National Wages Council (NWC). Acceptance of the need for government, employers and workers to bond together. Difficulties in explaining to workers why wage increases had to lag behind productivity increases. Spent hours explaining issues to members. Merger of unions and problems associated with them. Restructuring of house unions and the initial resistance faced.
National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) ventured into lifestyle projects and how well these were received by the workers. Establishment of cooperatives. Acceptance of the role of NTUC. Recollections of colourful union leaders. Promoted to Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour (MOL). Factors that helped Singapore to weather the 1997 financial crisis. Tripartism put to test.
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Reel/Disc 4 of 6
Metadata
- 23 Jul 2007
Recording Date
- 00:57:18
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Adverse effects of the 1997 financial crisis and the response by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). Had to re-look at all issues from a new perspective as times and circumstances had changed. Sensitive issues addressed by government and unions. Impressions of his 17 years as a labour Member of Parliament (MP). Appointed Mayor of South-East District in 2001.
Background to the formation of the Community Development Councils (CDCs). Scheduled to retire in 2001 and why he did not do so in the end. Appointment as Chairman of the Committee of Mayors. Decentralisation of job support to the CDCs. Vital role of CDCs in forging community relations. Appointment of new Prime Minister (PM Lee Hsien Loong) in 2004. PM asked him to move to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as Minister of State and be seconded to NTUC. Explained concept of Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs). Founder member of Mendaki. Reasons for having ethnic-based self-help groups. Functions of Mendaki.
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Reel/Disc 5 of 6
Metadata
- 3 Mar 2008
Recording Date
- 00:58:40
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Acceptance of the need for ethnic-based self-help groups. Successes of Mendaki. Impressions that the Malays made great strides in the last twenty years. Involvement with the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS). Belief in a holistic approach to tackling problems of the community. Outstanding grassroots leaders in Geylang Serai. View of civil servants in Singapore. Formation of Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). How family adapted to his busy schedule. His family.
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Reel/Disc 6 of 6
Metadata
- 3 Mar 2008
Recording Date
- 00:46:39
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*His family. Retirement from politics in 2006. What has been doing since retirement. Felt that although Singapore had grown phenomenally over the last 35 years, some things could have been done differently. High and low points of his political career. His vision for Singapore.
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