Dr Goh's State Funeral...Part 3

After the final eulogy was delivered, Dr Phua Swee Liang his wife since 1991, walked up to place a wreath at the casket. This was in turn followed by PM Lee Hsien Loong who represented the government and people of Singapore.

PM Lee standing firmly and ramrod straight in respect after he had placed the wreath.

At the lectern is the MC Mr Peter Ho, Head of civil service.

The military pall bearers preparing to remove the state flag and medals

from the casket to be handed to President SR Nathan who then handed

the same over to Mrs Goh Keng Swee.

To the left of this scene, a lone bugler from the SAF began to play

"The Last Post". This solemn piece always played only on a bugle signals the

Final Farewell, the Final Goodbye for a fallen comrade, soldier or stateman.

The sounds from the bugle echoed throughout and within the confines of the sombre

hall...Ta..ta..ta..ta..ta..ta..ta.. tah..ra..ra.tah..ra..ra..tah..ra..ra..ta..ta..tum..tum..tum..thumph....!

The whole assembly stood in stoic silence, many reliving their

private moments of sadness and grieve at the passing of such a great man

they have all loved and cherished.

Many must have felt blessed to have at least come into even the briefest

of contact with him. Others knew they had the privilege only few can dream

about...they had actually benefitted from his advice, mentoring and teaching.

Men from all the military wings of the SAF giving The Final salute: We salute you, Sir!


Unk Dicko doesn't think this is the end of the Dr Goh Keng Swee story.

If I gauge correctly, the larger public especially the older generation,

will want our nation to not only preserve the memory, legacy and accomplishments

attributed to him, but to HONOUR and RECOGNISE him in more elevated and

permanent ways.

Ask any student of history, ask any ordinary person if he or she has heard of this or

that king of a certain period of China and I would not be at surprised if the reaction

is "No".

But ask the same person about a certain man called "Confucius" and the response

will likely be ..."A-ha, yes Confucius. I know ! "

In the same way, we ought to ensure that, at least our present younger generation and those after them,

know WHO Dr Goh once was and the immensity of his contributions to Singapore.

So, what and how can the Government, the people, the stat boards, the universities

and so forth do this?

We the ordinary folks can suggest...for a start.

Any suggestion anyone ?

Dr Goh's State Funeral....part 2

Before the MC for the occasion spoke, the TV cameras had panned around the sombre hall to

show the faces of the approximately 800 people inside. They came from a cross-section of Singapore society...Cabinet members, government, stat boards, military, unions, ministries, grassroot organisations, schools and even some ordinary folks like the 2 old ladies both carrying umbrellas ( they could be ex-samsui women from Dr Goh's Kreta Ayer Constituency ). I recognised many of the old familiar faces of former PAP MPs, all looking obviously much older with white and greying hairs seated a few rows back.

There were students in their full school uniforms seated a few rows further back. I have no idea how they were selected to attend or what they were feeling, what impressions they got from the experience. But if I may say so here, I think their school and family should be thankful that years down the road, these students will look back and recall this rare privilege of witnessing a momentous event together with others who have made history and are still making history in the Singapore story.

The MC, Mr Peter Ho, head of the Civil Service then invited the first of the 5 people to deliver

the eulogies. PM Lee Hsien Loong was the first to walk up on stage and spoke warmly, and at one point when he was recounting a particularly poignant shared experience which he had with Dr Goh, I noticed a slight change in his voice and his eyes almost teared.

He spoke about the time he went on a site visit with Dr Goh and noticed the NS men were all busily digging bunkers. No one idled.

But the scene did not escape the sharp eyes nor the mind of Dr Goh who suggested that perhaps it would have been better if the NS men had been divided into 3 shifts...one digging, one guarding and one group r-e-s-t-i-n-g ! ( He knew they needed rest, men are not machines ).
After the PM has spoken, the name, the person that almost everyone in the hall and in Singapore was waiting for to listen to....MM Lee Kuan Yew. He was the Prime Minister when Dr Goh was his able deputy PM.

MM Lee had just returned from a working trip to China and Japan and had especially asked the organising Committee for the State Funeral to make arrangements so that he could deliver his eulogy.


MM spoke with sadness yet with a great sense of pride of the immense contribution that Dr Goh had made to Singapore. He recounted their early fledgeling days before the PAP was even formed. How Dr Goh became his economics tutor...and his then discovery of what a brilliant mind Dr Goh had.

MM Lee touched on a few poignant moments in his delivery...all very frank and revealing.

But the one moment in his eulogy that I would never forget is this.....the moment when he recounted in greater detail the role that Dr Goh played in negotiating the complete breakaway from the Fed of Malaysia...and he mentioned Tun Tan Siew Sin ( former Finance Minister, M'sia ) who was related to Dr Goh.

MM Lee said....that what Tun Tan Siew Sin did ( back then between 1963 and 1965 ) was to deliberately SPITE Singapore. He added that Singapore was " ambushed " by our supposedly good partner, Malaysia.

If you are like me a fan of the old wild west ( cowboys, outlaws and red Indians ) then the term

used in their lingo, their setting is, to be " bushwhacked".

MM is still a gripping speaker in many ways. He chose his words ever so carefully...describing Dr Goh as his most able, chief "trouble-shooter" while he himself was the " executor".

Former top Minister Mr S Dhanabalan was the 3rd speaker. He recounted episodes of working

closely with Dr Goh on overcoming many complex problems.

The one story I will remember from his telling ...is about how his mentor Dr Goh went out of his way when he was slated to do English Lit by the MOE when he actually wanted to do Economics.

How Dr Goh helped him as a then unknown has changed the course of his personal history as well as that of S'pore.

The family members of Dr Goh sat in the front row.


The 4th speaker was Dr Goh's grandson, Goh Ken-Yi whose father is the only son of the late Dr Goh. In a soft but moderated voice, he told of his memories with his gradpa...the nights Dr Goh spent reading him bedtime stories until poor, tired Dr Goh fell asleep while he was still actively awake...and nudging his grandpa to continue reading. Dr Goh always obliged.

The last speaker was the grand niece of Dr Goh... Marian Hui.

She may have been the youngest of the speakers but her eulogy was so, so moving that there

were many watery eyes among the gathered assembly.

Even D2 and I succumbed to the emotions as she spoke so warmly, so affectionately and so lovinglyly

of her Granduncle "Keng Swee".

The State Funeral for Dr Goh Keng Swee...pt 1

Sunday 23 May 2010 will be remembered as the day Singaporeans, friends and diplomats bade a final farewell to our former Deputy Prime Minister Dr Goh Keng Swee in a moving State Funeral. The entire ceremony and procession was telecast "Live" by CNA Tv channel and also covered "Live" by 93.8 Fm radio station.
D2 and I had gone on our own to pay our deepest respect at the Dunbar Walk wake. Thousands of Singaporeans took the trouble to make their way to Parliament House since Thursday when Dr Goh's casket was moved there...to show their love and pay homage to this truly GREAT son of Singapore.
At 1 pm, a one hour programme was shown on CNA highlighting the great achievements and contributions that Dr Goh had made to our country since 1959. It contained a lot of flashback footage of our early days in black and white showing the work he was doing...Jurong Industrial Estate, SAF, MINDEF, Elections, Kreta Ayer, opening factories, EDB, DBS, Zoo, Bird Park, Sentosa and etc. Many of the key people who have worked with him were interviewed...and their very frank and candid comments were a revealation!
Former ministers, perm secs, Generals and others spoke about Dr Goh and what they fondly remembered about him most.
There seemed to be a common trait running through their different strories.
The trait?
I think in bits and pieces, a little here and there, the picture becomes very clear....that Dr Goh Keng Swee was a man, a Minister, a LEADER like no other we have seen in Singapore before or since!
He was unique.
A man with a brilliant, creative mind and was forceful and very original in his ideas and approach to solving the country's complex problems. Yet, he was most frugal and prudent in his own ways. Strict but fair-minded, he went out of his way to help those who needed it most.
More can be said and more will be said by many.
Looking back to history for examples of such selfless and capable leaders, I can think of the great Chinese sage Confucius.

The photos in this post are all captured from images appearing on my Tv screen "Live", today.

The Gun carriage that carried the casket of the late Dr Goh from Parliament House to Singapore Conference Hall.

The route that the funeral procession took ended at the SCH. All flags at Govt buildings were flown at half-mast in a sign of deep respect.

The gun carriage carrying his casket arrived and the Bagpipers played their soulful sounds. Men from the Military Police executed a special drill with their heads bowed and arms on rifle.

Mr Tharman, Dr Yaacob, Mr Lui Tuck Yew accompanying Mrs Goh ( Dr Phua Swee Liang )



The casket being gently borne into the Conference Hall. The state flag was draped over it.

And Dr Goh's medals were on top of the flag.

The casket being placed on a blue raised bier while solemn music

was being played in the background.