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Yusof Ishak, The heart of the nation I On The Shoulders of Giants
AsiaOne
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2 weeks ago
More than our first President, Yusof Ishak embodied the heart of our founding values and what it meant to be Singaporean. His quiet strength steadied our young nation as it found its way, and his legacy continues to inspire all of us today.
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00:00
He isn't just a face on our dollar notes.
00:03
He actually was an excellent representative
00:05
who exemplified the positive values of our young nation.
00:10
He was, in many ways, the solution to Singapore's most pressing problem,
00:16
a challenge which could have unraveled us from the very beginning.
00:30
In a time when Singapore was gripped by fear and uncertainty,
00:40
one man stood for unity and showed us what it meant to be Singaporean.
00:46
Yusof Ishaq wasn't just Singapore's first president.
00:49
He embodied the values and hopes of a young nation finding its place in the world.
00:55
So he was a strong believer in multiracialism and equality.
01:00
So he would speak about it and he would advocate for it.
01:04
He went out amongst the people to calm them,
01:09
to tell them to set aside their differences
01:12
and to work together to build up this new state and nation.
01:16
Born in a small village in Perak,
01:19
Yusof Ishaq moved to Singapore with his family in 1923 when he was 13
01:23
after his father was posted there for work.
01:27
He grew up in Singapore and he had very many of the same beliefs,
01:32
values and cultural characteristics of someone who grew up in Singapore.
01:37
He believed in a multiracial society of equality, of justice, of progress.
01:45
At Raffles Institution, Yusof Ishaq was an outstanding student.
01:49
He was good in his studies, he was good in his sports,
01:53
from swimming to water polo to hockey and other sports.
01:58
He was even to the head prefect at Raffles Institution,
02:01
showing leadership qualities even as a young man.
02:05
However, just by a few points, he missed out on getting the Queen's Scholarship.
02:10
He actually thought of going to England to study law,
02:14
but his father could not afford it.
02:17
And really, the only place he could have to further his education
02:21
was the police academy.
02:23
So he went to the police academy.
02:25
But things didn't go as planned for him in the academy in Kuala Lumpur.
02:30
You see, he had grown up in Singapore.
02:33
He was not used to this traditional Malay habit
02:36
where if you are a Malay royal, you are above the law.
02:40
And so when he saw a Malay royal in the police academy
02:45
ill-treating someone who was a commoner, he spoke up.
02:50
And because he spoke up to defend the commoner, he was expelled.
02:55
And perhaps as a young man, he would remember
02:58
that this is what happens when you have the traditional feudal system.
03:05
It's a completely unjust system in so many ways.
03:09
And he was determined to fight against it.
03:13
Driven by conviction and a sense of justice,
03:16
he returned to Singapore and joined Warta Melayu in 1932,
03:21
a leading Malay-language newspaper
03:22
known for its Muslim-oriented perspectives.
03:25
He wanted to be a journalist because he wanted to be a voice for the people.
03:32
And then he saw for himself the poverty of the people,
03:36
the working classes, working in the plantations
03:39
for really hardly any money, just enough for food.
03:45
Their children were barefoot and had no schooling.
03:48
He saw that.
03:50
He wrote about it.
03:52
And he was especially upset by the position of the Malays.
03:57
The Malays were left out of the modern economy,
04:00
held back by colonial policies that aimed to preserve traditional structures.
04:05
When the British controlled the area,
04:08
they were very concerned to protect the Malays.
04:11
And so they protected the position of the sultan.
04:16
And they wanted to preserve as much as possible
04:19
what they saw as the Malay way of life.
04:23
At the same time,
04:24
they were bringing in the Chinese and the Indians
04:26
and the Eurasians and every other race in the world
04:30
to build this trading hub and to build a modern economy.
04:36
And what that did was that the Malays did not participate
04:39
in the development of modern Malaya in Singapore.
04:44
They were kept very separated.
04:47
And this was to very much create a society
04:51
in which the Malays became more and more left behind.
04:56
His time at the Arab-owned Water Melayu
04:58
made him realise the need for a more locally-focused Malay publication.
05:03
He felt the paper did not fully reflect the concerns
05:06
and aspirations of the local Malay community.
05:09
So he left and...
05:11
He started Utusan Melayu with a few close friends.
05:15
The first edition came out in May 1939.
05:19
He wanted it to be a newspaper for the Malay community
05:21
and owned by the Malay community.
05:23
So when he started the Utusan Melayu,
05:26
it was to campaign that every Malay would be part of the modern economy,
05:32
every Malay child would be educated.
05:35
And he wrote very powerfully that said,
05:37
parents, let your children go to a modern school.
05:41
Send them to an English school.
05:43
Because at that time, English was the language of commerce
05:46
and it was important that the Malay children could speak English.
05:54
The Japanese occupation halted Utusan Melayu's operations,
05:58
but not Yusuf Ishak's conviction.
06:01
Barely a week after the war ended,
06:03
he brought the paper back to life,
06:05
restoring a voice that once again spoke for his community.
06:09
So it actually revealed how passionate he was
06:13
to be the voice for the community.
06:15
More and more people started to appreciate Utusan Melayu
06:18
because they found it relevant.
06:20
News articles were of high quality.
06:23
It dealt with issues that they felt mattered to them.
06:28
And so more and more readers started to buy the papers.
06:33
Utusan Melayu became so successful that in 1957,
06:37
Yusuf Ishak moved its headquarters to Kuala Lumpur,
06:40
the heart of Malaya,
06:42
a decision that would soon prove costly for him.
06:45
He had new investors who bought the shares of the company.
06:52
And some of them were actually political leaders in Malaya.
06:56
However, as a result of this development,
06:59
there were also differences.
07:01
There were differences in views
07:03
between him and new shareholders.
07:07
and it got very difficult at one point in time.
07:11
They wanted him to sack his close partner,
07:15
Samad Ismail,
07:16
and he was very reluctant to do that.
07:18
And subsequently,
07:19
the tension reached a very high stage,
07:21
so much so that he resigned in 1959.
07:25
That was a very sad day for him
07:27
and for the Malay community
07:29
in that they lost their champion.
07:32
They lost the person who would speak up for the common man.
07:37
But he was soon to get a phone call to come to Singapore,
07:41
and that journey was to change his life.
07:44
That same year,
07:46
Singapore achieved internal self-governance for the first time.
07:50
With the PAP forming the new government,
07:52
the state now needed a young Diputuan Negara
07:55
as its constitutional head.
07:57
At that time,
07:58
there was a lot of interest in the Malay royal families
08:02
to become the young Diputuan Negara of Singapore.
08:06
But our government did not want
08:08
the system of traditional Malay royalty
08:12
installed in Singapore at all.
08:15
I went to see the Prime Minister.
08:18
He asked me what Jey Uso was doing,
08:20
so I told him he was unemployed at the moment.
08:22
And he asked me this question.
08:24
He was an honest man, wasn't he?
08:26
I said, yes,
08:27
because if he were any other person
08:29
in charge of this kind of company,
08:30
he could make tons of money.
08:31
But he never took a cent.
08:33
And I also told the Prime Minister
08:34
that when he was travelling,
08:36
on official business for the people,
08:37
he travelled in the train,
08:39
second class,
08:39
never took a plane
08:40
between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
08:43
Seeing in him the ideals
08:45
of the new nation,
08:46
Lee Kuan Yew turned to Yusuf Ishak,
08:48
a common man who rose on his own merit,
08:51
to head the Public Service Commission
08:53
and serve as Singapore's head of state.
08:56
I think our Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew,
08:59
trusted him
09:00
because through his writing,
09:03
he knew that Yusuf Ishak
09:04
was very much Singaporean
09:08
in his values and his belief
09:11
of a multiracial society,
09:13
of equality,
09:15
of justice,
09:17
of progress.
09:18
Everything that Lee Kuan Yew himself
09:20
believed in and fought for,
09:22
he knew that Yusuf Ishak
09:24
would fight for the same things.
09:26
Though he wasn't a political leader,
09:28
he had leadership qualities.
09:29
By then, also well-respected
09:31
as a leader in the community.
09:33
He was also seen to be somebody
09:35
who cared deeply for the people
09:37
and he had a good feel
09:39
of what's happening on the ground.
09:41
So in that sense,
09:41
he was in a good position
09:42
to be a leader
09:45
of the state of Singapore.
09:48
After giving it serious thought,
09:50
Yusuf Ishak agreed
09:51
to take on the monumental responsibility
09:54
as Singapore's head of state.
09:56
As head of state,
09:57
he'll be able to reach out
09:58
to many more people in Singapore
10:00
and make a positive difference.
10:02
I believe that he saw it
10:05
as his last chance
10:07
to achieve the mission of his life,
10:11
to uplift the Malays
10:13
and make them equal in every way,
10:17
to give them a chance
10:18
to be equal in the economy,
10:21
in education,
10:22
in their place,
10:24
in society,
10:25
and all that he hoped
10:27
that was possible in Singapore.
10:29
That belief, however,
10:32
would soon be tested.
10:34
In 1964,
10:35
racial riots broke out,
10:37
revealing just how fragile
10:39
Singapore's harmony still was.
10:41
The year 1964
10:42
was a very terrible year
10:44
for Singapore,
10:45
with 36 people killed
10:48
because of riots
10:50
between the Malays
10:51
and the Chinese.
10:53
After the riots,
10:54
he personally visited
10:55
the kampongs and the villages,
10:58
walk the streets of Singapore,
11:01
calming people
11:02
and telling them,
11:05
encouraging them,
11:06
reassuring them,
11:08
please,
11:09
let's live together.
11:10
Let's not allow
11:11
our emotions
11:12
to get the better of us.
11:15
Let's remember
11:16
that our only hope
11:19
to be an independent nation
11:21
and to be
11:21
a sovereign people
11:23
is to live together
11:26
in peace and harmony.
11:28
But the tensions of 1964
11:30
were only the beginning.
11:32
A year later,
11:33
Singapore separated
11:34
from Malaysia
11:35
and the new nation
11:36
entered its most
11:38
uncertain chapter.
11:39
It was a time
11:40
of uncertainty.
11:42
Of course,
11:42
there were tensions.
11:44
The Malays
11:45
in Singapore
11:45
were very,
11:47
very afraid
11:47
because they felt
11:49
that in Singapore
11:50
they were the minority.
11:52
You can't forget
11:54
that at that time
11:55
there were many
11:55
newly independent countries
11:57
that were in civil war
12:00
caused by
12:01
the seeming impossibility
12:04
of races
12:04
to live together
12:05
in harmony.
12:06
Amid fear
12:07
and uncertainty,
12:09
it fell on Yusuf Ishak
12:10
as the new president
12:11
to steady the nation
12:13
and assure its people
12:14
that Singapore's future
12:16
held a place for all.
12:18
I really believe
12:19
that as a modern Malay,
12:21
he was the only person
12:23
who could have played
12:25
such an effective role
12:26
to calm the Malays
12:28
and to reassure them
12:29
that, look,
12:30
in independent Singapore,
12:32
you will not be left behind.
12:35
In his first speech
12:36
as the head of state,
12:39
he actually spoke
12:39
about the importance
12:40
of interracial unity
12:43
and harmony
12:44
so that we can work
12:45
towards peace
12:46
and prosperity.
12:47
And he lived
12:48
those words
12:49
every day.
12:50
I remember him
12:51
being very visible,
12:53
very present
12:54
in public life.
12:56
Every day,
12:57
in every way,
12:58
he would be out
12:59
amongst the people
13:01
and you could see him
13:03
not just with
13:04
the Malay community,
13:05
but with every community
13:07
of every occupation,
13:10
of every interest.
13:12
If he went to any event,
13:14
he would make sure
13:15
that all the races
13:16
were represented.
13:17
I think his example
13:19
was the most powerful way
13:22
to bring together
13:23
the country.
13:24
Each day brought
13:25
new faces,
13:26
new voices,
13:28
and Yusuf Ishak
13:29
welcomed them all
13:30
with the same
13:31
steady grace.
13:32
General Chu
13:33
would always tell me
13:34
that his daily schedule
13:37
was packed.
13:38
Everyone wanted
13:39
to see him.
13:40
He would say,
13:40
let's fit them in.
13:42
I'll manage it.
13:43
That meant also
13:45
less personal time
13:46
with family.
13:47
And of course,
13:48
he did it willingly.
13:50
And it was great
13:50
that he had a very
13:51
supportive,
13:52
caring wife
13:53
in Puan Norayisha.
13:55
She actually
13:56
rose to the occasion.
13:58
She took great care
13:59
of the family
14:00
and also supported him
14:02
as our first lady.
14:05
Even with a schedule
14:06
that never seemed to end,
14:08
his grace
14:09
and quiet confidence
14:10
left an impression
14:11
that stayed
14:12
with Singaporeans
14:13
of all ages.
14:15
I recall
14:16
every time
14:17
we had a school
14:19
open day
14:20
or a special
14:20
school festival,
14:22
he would come.
14:23
He was a very,
14:24
very handsome
14:25
and very impressive man.
14:28
Very big and tall,
14:30
especially when you
14:30
were a young kid
14:32
like me.
14:32
And also,
14:33
he had a very elegant
14:35
way of presenting himself.
14:38
At home,
14:39
he was admired
14:40
for his warmth
14:41
and compassion.
14:42
But on the world stage,
14:44
he embodied Singapore's
14:45
image with dignity,
14:47
showing what our
14:48
young nation stood for.
14:50
And I remember
14:51
seeing many photographs
14:52
of him with the leaders
14:54
of other countries
14:55
and feeling rather proud
14:57
of him that we had
14:59
such a president.
15:00
He was outward-looking.
15:02
He was very well-spoken
15:03
in so many languages.
15:05
And in a way,
15:06
he represented
15:07
what it was
15:08
to be a Singaporean.
15:11
His calm,
15:13
confident demeanour
15:15
enabled him
15:15
to engage
15:17
meaningfully
15:18
with the leaders
15:19
of other countries,
15:20
the officials
15:21
of other countries.
15:22
And I think
15:22
that that was
15:23
certainly helpful
15:25
in that stage
15:26
where we are
15:26
a young nation
15:27
trying to build
15:28
relations with others.
15:30
A few years
15:31
into his presidency,
15:33
his health
15:33
began to fail him,
15:35
though his resolve
15:36
never did.
15:38
He still carried
15:39
on his presidential
15:40
duties
15:40
as best he could
15:42
because he thought
15:43
that it was
15:43
really, really important.
15:46
Singapore was still
15:47
such a new country
15:48
and people were
15:50
still feeling
15:51
very afraid
15:52
and uncertain
15:53
and unsettled.
15:54
through it all,
15:56
he pressed on,
15:58
determined to serve
15:59
to the very end.
16:01
Even when Mr. Lee
16:01
spoke with him
16:02
and told him
16:02
to take it
16:04
at a slower pace,
16:05
he was still keen
16:06
to contribute
16:07
and to be the president
16:09
for our people.
16:11
He would engage
16:12
the people,
16:12
so not many people
16:13
realised that
16:14
he was actually
16:15
having serious
16:17
health issues
16:18
at that point in time.
16:18
So it was only
16:20
in 1970
16:21
that the public
16:22
realised about
16:23
President Yusofi Shaq's
16:24
poor health
16:25
when he was hospitalised
16:27
due to his heart problems.
16:28
And even when
16:29
he had a heart attack,
16:30
he was still
16:32
in good spirits.
16:34
He wanted to shake hands
16:35
with the doctors
16:36
and nurses
16:37
and thank them.
16:38
But sadly,
16:40
he had a subsequent
16:41
heart attack
16:42
and he passed away.
16:45
In 1970,
16:47
Singapore mourned
16:48
the loss
16:48
of a beloved leader
16:49
who had guided
16:50
the nation
16:51
through its most
16:52
fragile years.
16:53
I remember
16:55
the day
16:56
he passed away.
16:59
It was really
17:00
such a sad day.
17:02
We lost a very
17:03
important man
17:05
in our history
17:06
and we'll always
17:07
remember him.
17:08
When his
17:09
casket was brought
17:10
to City Hall,
17:12
many, many
17:13
Singaporeans
17:14
wanted to pay
17:15
respects to him,
17:16
even the
17:17
young children.
17:18
He may no longer
17:21
be with us,
17:22
but what he stood
17:23
for has become
17:24
part of who
17:25
we are today.
17:26
He fought so many
17:28
of our battles
17:29
to become
17:29
independent
17:30
and he
17:32
represented so
17:33
many of our
17:33
struggles to
17:34
become a modern
17:35
nation.
17:36
I hope
17:37
he's remembered
17:38
as somebody
17:39
who is
17:40
highly
17:41
caring,
17:42
committed
17:42
and capable.
17:43
As our first
17:44
president,
17:45
I think in many
17:46
ways,
17:46
he's a remarkable
17:47
role model.
17:48
During the most
17:49
difficult time
17:50
of our
17:50
independence,
17:52
at a time
17:53
that our
17:53
society
17:54
appeared to
17:55
be under threat,
17:57
our economy
17:58
was facing
18:00
its darkest
18:00
time.
18:02
He was our
18:02
leader.
18:03
He was the
18:04
man who
18:05
appeared every
18:06
day out
18:07
on the street.
18:09
I think we
18:10
have really
18:11
a lot to
18:13
be thankful
18:14
to him
18:15
for.
18:33
the
18:42
time
18:46
to
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