Mr President,

Family members of Mr Rajaratnam,

Fellow Singaporeans,

1.             Every nation has its heroes and so has Singapore.  Our history as a nation may be short, but without a few extraordinary people whose ideals, courage and passion impelled them to stand up, fight, and change Singapore�s history, we would not be here today.

2.             Mr S Rajaratnam was one of these extraordinary people.

3.             Mr Rajaratnam, or Raja to all his friends, was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), raised in Seremban, but committed his heart and soul to Singapore.  From the earliest days of Singapore�s anti-colonial struggle until he retired from politics, he was a nationalist. He worked tirelessly for Singapore � first as part of Malaya (which became Malaysia), and then after 1965 as an independent republic.  He shaped our values as a new and fragile nation, and helped to establish Singapore�s reputation and standing around the world.

4.             Raja�s first choice as a career was not politics but law.  But while studying law in England, the Second World War broke out.  His studies were disrupted, and he experienced first hand the hardship of war conditions.  He also encountered other foreign students living in Britain, and learnt about socialism, anti-colonialism, and the ferment in the British colonies.  These experiences proved to be an awakening, and convinced him to change course and pursue political goals.

5.             Returning to Singapore in 1948, Raja started work as a journalist.  He gained a reputation for being a fearless critic of colonial rule as well as of the communists, and was repeatedly threatened.  His desk was burnt, twice. Once the British Military High Commissioner of Malaya, General Sir Gerald Templar, summoned Raja to explain a critical editorial.  Templar questioned him with one leg resting on an open drawer, where a revolver could be clearly seen.   Raja�s friends and family worried for his safety.  But he was not easily intimidated.

6.             Soon Mr Rajaratnam would become friends with a small group of men who shared a common conviction of what Singapore should become.  Together, they founded the PAP, and through the tumultuous years of our independence struggle, they fought against great odds to master events and lay the foundations of our nation.

7.             To this team, Raja brought his insight and understanding, his indomitable fighting spirit, and his powers of persuasion.  In the battle against the communists, he was indefatigable.  His robustness and tenacity stiffened the morale of the whole team.  In the fight against the communalists during the period when Singapore was in Malaysia, he was equally undeterred and steadfastly advocated multi-racialism.

8.             Throughout his years in public life, Raja would continue to think deeply and speak ardently about Singapore � our values, our future and our relevance to the world.   He was an idealist and a visionary. He believed profoundly in a multi-racial, multi-religious society. The National Pledge which he drafted has helped to shape the nation�s psyche and entrench a core value for Singa­pore. In this age of extremist terrorism and tensions between Islam and the West, multi-racialism and harmony is more vital than ever to our very survival, both as a nation and a civilised society.

9.             Raja also set Singapore the goal of becoming a �global city�.  In a 1972 speech, he explained that Singapore had lost a natural hinterland after independence and could no longer be the �Change Alley of Southeast Asia�.  Instead of surviving on our traditional entrepot trade, we had to become a global city, plugged into the global network through modern technology, with the world as our hinterland.  This was decades before globalisation became a buzzword, and anyone had heard of the internet.

10.        Raja made outstanding contributions as Singapore�s first and longest serving Minister for Foreign Affairs.  He had no precedents to go by, no manual to consult and no experience to guide him.   But he had a clear understanding of our national interest, a shrewd sense of how to persuade others of our cause, and a natural warmth and sincerity. He became the chief architect of Singapore�s foreign policy, setting out fundamental principles that still guide us today.

11.        As one of the founding members of ASEAN, Raja played a pivotal role in fostering an ASEAN consensus and promoting a more cohesive and cooperative region.  During the Cold War, ASEAN became an important bulwark against the regional spread of communism. After the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia in December 1978, ASEAN was a key institution which resolutely opposed the invasion, and eventually got it reversed.

12.        Many of our older diplomats will remember Raja�s role in this epic diplomatic campaign.   At the Non-Aligned Summit in Havana, Cuba in 1979, Fidel Castro as the Chairman had on behalf of Vietnam prevented the Cambodian government-in-exile from taking its seat at the meeting.  In the lion�s den, Raja took on the political heavyweights of the Non-Aligned Movement.  He made an impassioned speech and carried the ground with him.

13.        One of Raja�s weapons in this campaign was a series of booklets and pamphlets which showed vividly why the invasion was wrong and should be condemned, and why the govern­ment of Cambodia should be supported against the Vietnamese occupiers, despite the appalling record of the Khmer Rouge.  This was first-class political propaganda.  It was published under the name of MFA or one of its senior officials, but nobody was fooled.  Raja�s style and brilliance were unmistakeable and inimitable.  He was happy to do the work, and let others take the credit.

14.        Raja carried himself with grace and dignity, and detested empty form and hypocrisy.  He once told me how at the United Nations General Assembly, leaders would read long tedious speeches which nobody listened to, but afterwards other delegates would nevertheless queue up to congratulate them on a brilliant performance.  Raja said his ambition was to read a speech at the UN, so that when the others came to congratulate him ritually later, he could respond: �Thank you, this was exactly the same speech that I gave last year�.  Unfortunately, this was one ambition which he left unfulfilled!

15.        A man of many talents, Raja knew his limits.  In a speech he gave at Mr Lee Kuan Yew�s 60^th birthday in 1983, he said �though I have been a Cabinet Minister for 24 years, he (Mr Lee) has never put me in charge of the nation's finance because that is not one of the things I do best � and that, believe me, is an understatement.�  Indeed, Raja was more a mobiliser than an organiser.  His speeches not only convinced the mind but stirred the soul.  Watching on CNA this last week the snippets of Raja speaking in Parliament and on the stump brought back to me � and I am sure many others � memories of Raja at his prime: the cadences, the gestures, the warmth, the eloquence.  He was genuine and considerate; he spoke with conviction and passion, and even when he stuck a stiletto into an opponent � for he knew how to defend himself � it was done so nicely that the victim would smile with him.

16.        As the Member of Parliament for Kampong Glam for 29 years, Raja was well loved by his constituents. He saw to their needs, and gave them time and attention. He continued to hold meet the people sessions even in his 70s, solving residents� problems patiently.

17.        With age Raja slowed down, but his fighting spirit was undiminished.  In Parliament, he would rise from time to time to make a point he felt strongly about.  After retiring from politics, he would occasionally write letters to the press in his characteristic style, which were a joy to read.  The letters were signed �1-legged chicken�, sometimes in response to a �2-legged chicken� letter by somebody else � in those days the Straits Times allowed letters to be published under pseudonyms.  But however many legs the chicken had, there was no mistaking the dragon�s claw.

18.        I have known Raja since I was a child. My parents would bring me along when they visited him and his wife Piroska at his home at Chancery Lane. I called him �Uncle Raja�. Later, as an SAF officer, I would be in attendance during meetings of the Defence Committee of Cabinet (Defco), when MINDEF presented papers. Raja was a member of Defco, and would examine the political and foreign policy aspects of the proposals. When I entered politics in 1984, Raja chaired the PAP selection committee which interviewed me, instead of the Secretary General, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

19.        After I was elected and entered the Cabinet, Mr Rajaratnam was the Senior Minister.  He had no portfolio, but continued to give us advice and share his wisdom. He joined the younger ministers in our Pre-Cabinet lunches, where we discussed issues informally but thoroughly, before we put up papers to Cabinet for formal decision.  My colleagues and I benefited much from his guidance.  I recall particularly one important speech which I had to make overseas. The purpose was to express our sincere desire to improve relations with the neighbouring country, while explaining our stand on various bilateral issues firmly but quietly, without raising the temperature.  It was a delicate exercise to strike the right tone and balance.  The ministers discussed the drafts repeatedly, and Raja chipped in with his inputs.  When I circulated the final version to the Ministers, Raja faxed back a handwritten remark on the front page: �nobody can take offence at anything in the speech now�.  His few words gave me comfort and reassurance that I had pitched it about right, and indeed the speech was well received by the foreign audience.

20.        A few times, Raja invited me and my wife to his home. One day in 1991, he rang up to invite us to dinner. I happily accepted, but noted that everyone was expecting the Prime Minister to call elections soon, and if this happened we would have to change the date. He immediately replied �I don�t want to know when the elections will be�. The dinner did take place after the elections. It was a convivial evening, with a few of Raja�s old friends, including Dennis and Mrs Bloodworth who were helping to keep an eye on him after Piroska died. But it was sometimes hard to follow Raja�s train of thought. It must have been the beginning of the Alzheimer�s disease which eventually robbed him of his memory.

21.        Those who knew Raja will always remember him with the deepest admiration and affection.  But a whole generation of Singa­poreans has grown up since he retired. We must make sure that our young learn about Raja and the other founding fathers who created this country, and do not grow up as a generation which �knew not Joseph�, to use the Biblical phrase.

22.        I received an email yesterday from someone in the generation who knew Raja. She wrote:

My husband and I grew up in the 60s. Mr Rajaratnam�s name and face was one of the handful of leaders that we fondly remember�We can never thank him and the other Old Guards enough.

So much has been said about the pledge that Mr Rajaratnam wrote, and the value of multi-racialism that he strongly advocated for Singaporeans. Wouldn�t it be appropriate and a fitting tribute to this great Singaporean that there be a recital of this Pledge (by students and adults) during his funeral service?

23.        Indeed it would.  Every day when students recite this pledge, they are imbibing Raja�s hopes and dreams for Singa­pore. I hope that through the pledge, each generation will learn about the ideals and the vision which Singa­pore stands for, and will take Singa­pore forward beyond what Raja and his colleagues have achieved. That would be the most fitting and lasting tribute to Mr S Rajaratnam.

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