INTRODUCTION

This book is a collection of my past speeches and writings. They are jointly selected by Asad Latif and Lee Huay Leng for the English and Chinese versions of the book in consultation with me. Dr Phua Kok Khoo, Founder and Chairman of World Scientific had repeatedly persuaded me to write a book about my views on politics and culture since my time in the Foreign Ministry. I replied, repeatedly, that I was not in a frame of mind to do so. While in government, there were too many issues to grapple with. After I left government in 2011, my life entered a new phase and there were too many new challenges to face. I am not an academic and feel no inclination to discourse on society and government in an abstract way. As for writing the memoirs of my years in government, that would involve combing through records in various ministries, the PAP, Parliament and the constituency I served, over 23 years. Much material would still be classified. It is also easy for my recounting to be misunderstood as self-serving. In all the roles I played, I worked as a member of a team and claiming specific responsibility for particular acts of commission or omission could be invidious. Hence, when Dr Phua suggested that my speeches be compiled instead, I thought it a good idea. They are all already in the public domain. When I left the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in 2004, my colleagues took the trouble of compiling the key speeches I made into a souvenir book with the somewhat flattering title: George Yeo — A Curious and Lively Mind. Only a few dozen copies were published, beautifully bound Chinese-style, paid for by the Chairmen of MTI statutory boards and senior staff. In fact, the collection of speeches in that book covered quite well the key events and decisions during my seven years in the Ministry. I passed that book to Dr Phua who thought that it could be a model for this book…