00:00I don't know of anyone with so little fear and that came I suppose with a
00:06certain reckless quality. He was detained twice in total for about five years but
00:12he continued to advocate for a better future to see the end of British rule
00:17over Singapore
00:30my father was a unionist at heart he never became a minister because he didn't
00:34want to be. Many remember Devon Nyer as Singapore's third president but his true
00:40legacy began before our independence as a fearless union leader and founder of
00:46NTUC who helped shape the course of our young nation. When you met him in those
00:53days I mean it was quite obvious that this was not an ordinary person there
00:57was something unique about him. Devon Nyer was born in Malacca in 1923 and when
01:04he was 10 his family moved to Singapore in search of a better life. He loved reading
01:10when he was young and he enjoyed works by British authors as well as works by
01:17Indian leaders such as Gandhi and Nehru. At a point in time there was some strong
01:24independence movements and of course the books that he read influenced his thinking
01:30so he had very strong anti-colonial views. There was once when Mr Devon Nyer was asked to
01:38lead the school choir to sing a British song and he actually changed the lyrics
01:44while singing the lyrics while singing the song. His voice was loud and they heard him sing
01:50that line. Britain shall never, never, never rule the waves.
01:59Headmaster called him out and Mr Devon Nyer said oh he forgot the lyrics and the
02:05headmaster closed an eye and let him off. At a young age it showed that Mr Devon Nyer had an
02:14independent mind. He was also bold and willing to stand up and sing for his beliefs.
02:22During the Japanese occupation, the cruelty made Mr Nyer realise that oppression wore many
02:28faces and that was the moment he awakened as a revolutionary.
02:33After the war, he became a teacher, ended up in the teachers' union and he slowly gravitated
02:40and found his way to all the radical organisations who were fighting colonial rule.
02:46At that point in time, post-war, life wasn't that easy. Workers wanted better working environment,
02:55more equal rights, more opportunities. So the unions actually stood up for the workers and took action
03:04on behalf of them. By 1949, Mr Nyer's conviction and fearless activism
03:11made him one of the key leaders in the teachers' union and a member of the Anti-British League.
03:17He has the natural leadership abilities and he was also able to governise the people and he would advocate
03:26on their behalf. And because of their agitation and organisation, they were all arrested by the colonial authorities in 1951.
03:34I didn't expect to be arrested so soon. You know, that was on the first day of the new school term.
03:40January 8, the schools had opened. They had just taken over the new class.
03:45The messenger came along and said the principal wanted to see me in his office.
03:49Walked into the principal's office, there was Amat Khan, who put me into his car and drove me off.
04:01So they detained him first in Chang'e prison. He was put in solitary confinement.
04:08Life was very harsh and he endured it and continued to hold on to his beliefs.
04:15After about three weeks, he was sent to St. John's Island where he was detained for 27 months
04:22and during that time, he continued to read and write.
04:25In fact, he wrote anonymously for various publications about his anti-colonial perspectives
04:32and the need for self-determination.
04:36And when his then girlfriend, Mrs. Naya, visited him, they would smuggle his writings through her
04:43out to the press.
04:45He was finally released in 1953 after more than two years of detention,
04:52time that only strengthened his resolve and prepared him for the political battles ahead.
04:58You know, a few hundred chaps were arrested and only two of them were left at the end.
05:03Samad Ismail and my father.
05:05And they became part of Mr. Lee's Oxley Road group.
05:09In the basement of Lee Kuan Yew's Oxley Road home,
05:13Mr. Naya joined future leaders like Dr. Goh King Sui, Dr. Toh Chin Chai and others,
05:19a circle that would soon chart Singapore's destiny.
05:23Mr. Lee and his group had decided that in order to get support of the mass base,
05:28they had to make common cause with the unions,
05:31which were, in many respects, communist if not pro-communist.
05:36Amidst these discussions, the seeds of a new political force were sown.
05:41They would meet to discuss about the future
05:45and the formation of a new political party to fight British coronalism.
05:51And that was the People's Action Party, or PAP.
05:56In 1954, when the PAP was formed,
05:59Mr. Naya was among its founding members
06:01committed to the vision of a united, independent Malaya that included Singapore.
06:07Though he lost the 1955 election, he pressed on through the unions,
06:11determined to keep fighting for workers.
06:15He continued with agitation in the unions, mobilising in the unions,
06:19led strikes, led union negotiations,
06:22while being a member of the PAP.
06:25And then they got arrested again in 1956.
06:28This time was a time of personal struggle for Mr. Naya
06:32because he had to think the treaty continued to be aligned with the communists.
06:38It was no small decision.
06:41The unions were still dominated by far-left leaders
06:44and many of Mr. Naya's closest friends were among them.
06:48He had spent much of his life fighting alongside these men.
06:52I had begun to get increasingly disillusioned
06:56by the style and content of the United Front propaganda.
07:02It seemed to me that this was not the manifestation
07:06of a genuinely nationalist movement,
07:09but a chauvinistic movement.
07:12And so, after much thinking,
07:14he decided to break away from the communist approaches
07:17and to support Mr. Lee
07:19and the non-communist leadership of PAP.
07:22And he didn't make that choice alone.
07:26Mr. Naya convinced several fellow detainees,
07:29many of them his closest comrades,
07:31to pledge loyalty to the PAP's non-communist leadership.
07:37After the party's landslide win in 1959,
07:40they were all released.
07:42Mr. Lee Kuan Yew had made it a condition
07:45that he would not assume office
07:47unless the British released eight detainees
07:50who were closely associated with the PAP leadership.
07:55But this unity was short-lived.
07:57Within two years,
07:59it became clear that his fellow detainees
08:01had broken their pledge.
08:03And in 1961, the PAP split into two factions,
08:07pro-communist and non-communist.
08:10All the others went back, except him.
08:14So, it was a very wrenching period.
08:16One day, they were close friends.
08:18The next day, they were on different sides of the fence.
08:21The split was more than political.
08:23It threatened to tear the labour movement apart.
08:26With communist influence growing in the unions,
08:30the future of the PAP and Singapore
08:33hung in the balance.
08:36What happened immediately after the split
08:39was that I perceived myself
08:41rounding up as many trade unions as I could.
08:44I made quite sure that my own union,
08:46the SDC union, was not recaptured
08:48because they did try to do that.
08:51It was a crucial, critical time
08:54in the history of Singapore.
08:56It was primarily a political struggle
08:59waged on many fronts,
09:01including in the unions.
09:03I knew it was a real danger.
09:05I knew what the communists would do
09:07to those whom they felt betrayed them.
09:10I did not have any bodyguard
09:12or personal escort or so in those days.
09:15And I expected to die.
09:18So, it was very intense, those days.
09:21Among the eight detainees released,
09:24it was the most prominent figure left
09:26and he led the non-communist
09:29or pro-PAP unions
09:31that formed the NTUC.
09:33When the NTUC was formed,
09:35he believed genuinely
09:38that they were going to lose.
09:40With only about 20% of the unions,
09:42the rest were all on the other side.
09:45Against those odds,
09:47what anchored Mr. Nair wasn't numbers
09:49but the values he stood for.
09:52In my father's life,
09:53there's a constant threat
09:55and that is moral conviction.
09:57Through his life,
09:59he acted out of moral conviction.
10:01As Secretary General of NTUC,
10:03his leadership was defined
10:05by principle and incorruptible honesty.
10:08In NTUC, in those days,
10:10early days,
10:11so little money,
10:12the Secretary General
10:14kept the petty cash.
10:15You know, 20 cents coffee,
10:1710 cents pencil.
10:19All this was noted.
10:23It was so important for them
10:25to account for every penny.
10:28You have to be honest.
10:30If you're not honest,
10:32you're going to lose the ground.
10:33That was the values they had.
10:37Rooted in dedication and integrity,
10:40his leadership gave NTUC
10:42the credibility needed
10:43to win workers' trust.
10:46It was a very fast and intense pace.
10:50I used to begin the day early
10:52at 6.30 or 7,
10:54go straight to office,
10:55find myself in the field
10:57and carrying on.
10:58By the time I went home,
11:00it would be midnight,
11:02one o'clock.
11:03He would speak for the workers,
11:05care for the workers,
11:06stand up for their rights.
11:08So the workers could then see
11:09which unions were more successful,
11:12which unions were able
11:13to deliver the goods.
11:15Better working environment,
11:18more equal rights,
11:20more opportunities.
11:22And it was the unions
11:24under NTUC,
11:26led by Mr. Devanaya.
11:28So over time,
11:30more and more workers
11:32joined the NTUC unions.
11:34By standing firm
11:36against communist influence
11:37in the unions,
11:38the NTUCs threatened
11:40the PAP's position
11:42and in the 1963 general election,
11:45the party went on to win
11:4737 out of 51 seats.
11:50If there had not been
11:51an NTUC waging struggle
11:53in the trade union realm,
11:55it would have been far more difficult
11:56for the PAP
11:57to establish its dominance.
12:00Owing to his influence
12:02in the unions,
12:03Mr. Naya stood out
12:04in the 1964
12:05Malaysia general election
12:07when the PAP
12:08fielded a few candidates.
12:10He ended up being
12:12the only one
12:13who won a seat.
12:15And in August 1965,
12:17when the separation
12:18was announced,
12:19Mr. Devanaya
12:21decided to continue
12:22staying on
12:23as an MP in Malaysia.
12:25And it wasn't easy
12:26because his family
12:27will be in Singapore.
12:29Cornu was very upset
12:32and he feared
12:33that my life was in danger
12:35and I said that
12:36I would see him
12:37and tell him
12:38that he need not
12:39have me on his conscience
12:41that neither he
12:43nor anybody else
12:45in Singapore,
12:46including my wife,
12:48would be able
12:49to persuade me
12:50to leave the Malaysian Parliament
12:52and return to Singapore
12:54because as far as
12:56I was concerned,
12:57it was a matter of honour.
12:58I had been elected there
13:00and I must
13:01go through my full term.
13:03Mr. Lee's deepest concern
13:06was for Mr. Nair's safety.
13:08But he also knew
13:09Singapore's fragmented
13:10trade unions
13:11needed his leadership
13:12and kept urging him
13:13to return in the years
13:14that followed.
13:16The trade union membership
13:17was declining
13:18and they were drifting
13:19so he wanted him back.
13:21But there was also
13:22a political concern.
13:23So long as Mr. Nair remained
13:25an MP in Malaysia,
13:26it strained relations
13:28between the two countries.
13:30So he accepted it.
13:32I think by then
13:33he also accepted
13:35that the separation
13:36was permanent.
13:37So in 1969,
13:40Mr. Nair came back
13:41to Singapore
13:42and he resumed
13:44the leadership
13:45of NTUC
13:46and this was
13:47an important phase.
13:48Singapore was
13:49still a young nation then
13:51and Mr. Nair's
13:52leadership turned
13:53a fractured labour movement
13:55into a driving force
13:56for nation building.
13:57He helped
13:59to revolutionise
14:01and modernise
14:02the trade union movement
14:03so as to help them
14:04to level up
14:05to meet the challenges
14:06ahead.
14:08He urged the unions
14:09to collaborate
14:10with the government
14:12as well as the businesses
14:13and in that way
14:14he laid the foundation
14:15for the tripartism
14:17that we have today
14:18where the government,
14:19the unions
14:20and the businesses
14:21will work closely
14:22together
14:23towards shared goals.
14:26He helped the unions
14:28to become constructive
14:29partners
14:30that actually supported
14:33the economic growth
14:34of the country.
14:38For Mr. Nair,
14:39unions weren't
14:40just about wages.
14:41They were about
14:42dignity
14:43and finding
14:44real solutions
14:45that gave workers
14:46stability
14:47in uncertain times.
14:49In 1970,
14:50he helped set up
14:51NTUC Comfort
14:52which is today
14:53known as
14:54Comfort DelGro.
14:55So at a point in time
14:56there were
14:57retrenched workers.
14:58So he helped
14:59these retrenched workers
15:00to find jobs
15:01as taxi drivers.
15:03Beyond NTUC Comfort,
15:05he also helped
15:06build other household
15:07names like
15:08NTUC Income
15:09and NTUC
15:10Welcome Supermarkets
15:11today known as
15:13Fair Price.
15:14These social
15:15enterprises
15:16actually serve
15:17to provide
15:18valuable employment
15:19for the workers
15:20as well as
15:21useful services
15:22to society.
15:23In 1981,
15:25following the death
15:26of President
15:27Benjamin Shears,
15:28Mr. Lee turned
15:29Mr. Nair
15:30to take on the role
15:31as President,
15:32valuing the
15:33integrity
15:34and moral conviction
15:35he had shown.
15:36I remember that
15:38on the eve of
15:39becoming President
15:40he called
15:41Dr. Go
15:42and said
15:43can you please
15:44tell Harry
15:44I don't want
15:45to do this.
15:45He was a man of action
15:47but
15:48the President
15:50can't act.
15:51In those days
15:52he was even more
15:53of a ceremonial
15:54President.
15:55He had a person
15:56of strong views.
15:57Your President
15:58cannot express
15:59strong views.
16:00It was a
16:01completely
16:02mismatch.
16:03At that time,
16:05few were considered
16:06suitable for the position
16:07and so…
16:08Out of a sense
16:09of responsibility
16:10and commitment
16:11he accepted
16:12that role.
16:13As a President
16:14he cared for
16:15Singaporeans
16:16and the well-being
16:17of the people.
16:18He continued
16:19to serve
16:20and he engaged
16:21with Singaporeans
16:22from different walks
16:23in life.
16:24In 1985,
16:25before the end
16:26of his term
16:27as President,
16:28Mr. Nair
16:29stepped down
16:30due to ill health.
16:31His resignation
16:32sparked much
16:33discussion
16:34but what remains
16:35clear is the
16:36profound impact
16:37he had on
16:38Singapore's labour
16:39movement
16:39and the making
16:40of modern
16:41Singapore.
16:42I hope that
16:44people will
16:45appreciate his
16:45efforts and
16:46contributions
16:47and see him
16:48for who he is
16:49over the years.
16:50His legacy
16:51in terms of
16:52the trade union
16:53efforts
16:54remain
16:55thriving
16:56today
16:57and in
16:58these uncertain
16:59economic times
17:00it remains
17:01all the more
17:02relevant.
17:03What was he
17:04most proud
17:04of?
17:06He was NTUC.
17:08He had a plaque
17:09in his study
17:10that he got
17:10from STC
17:12union
17:13and that was
17:14the only
17:15political
17:16memorabilia
17:18that he had
17:19kept
17:20because
17:21when the split
17:21occurred
17:22the STC
17:23union
17:23was among
17:24the few
17:24unions
17:25that stayed with him.
17:26So that was
17:27his identity.
17:29Mr Nair's
17:30passing in 2005
17:31marked the loss
17:32of a leader
17:33whose resilience
17:34and resolve
17:35played a pivotal
17:36role in our
17:37nation's story.
17:39Mr Devin Nair
17:40dedicated decades
17:41of his life
17:42to the service
17:43of people.
17:45I hope
17:46that people can
17:47remember him
17:48as a leader
17:49who cared
17:50for his people
17:52and through his work
17:53as a trade union
17:54leader,
17:55he made that
17:56difference.
17:58My father
17:59was born a rebel.
18:01He was a deeply
18:01courageous person,
18:03a person of conviction.
18:06Singapore could be
18:07quite different
18:08if we did not
18:09have a leader
18:10like him.
18:41Thank you all.
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