By Leong Weng Kam
Senior Correspondent
wengkam@sph.com.sg

 

THE men in white made history at Tuesday's launch of the book at the Old Parliament House.

The exchange of warm smiles and handshakes between MM Lee Kuan Yew and his yesteryear political foes - those who broke away from the PAP to form Barisan Sosialis in 1961 and were at the event - were unexpected and not planned. MM Lee, the-guest-of-honour, decided to meet them only when SPH chairman Tony Tan was making his speech. He whispered to SPH CEO Alan Chan who was seated next to him and the message was passed down.

I had to scramble to invite the former leftists from their seats to meet MM Lee just before they went down for a tea reception. They included Mr Fong Swee Suan, Mr Low Por Tuck, Mr Dominic Puthucheary, Madam Ho Puay Choo, Mr Chen Say Jame, Mr Ong Chang Sam and Mr Teo Hock Guan - all former PAP politicians turned Barisan opposition members in the early 1960s. They were gracious enough to accept the invitation from a magnanimous MM Lee, and the result was the spontaneous smiles, the exchange of nice greetings and warm hand handshakes all captured by the cameras and published in the papers the next day.

Like many readers, I was surprised this historic moment took place. Just a few minutes and they brought five decades of rivalry between them finally to a closure. Most of them, MM Lee included, are either in their late 70s or 80s, and last Tuesday at the Old Parliament House was probably the last chance for them to reconcile and heal the wounds of the past.

I was also surprised that so many of the former leftists who normally would shy away from public events like this accepted our invitation to the book launch. It is quite incredible actually. Maybe their presence is proof of their true endorsement of this SPH publication which gave as balanced a view as possible to the PAP story by including many of their voices.

I wish those I interviewed in the peace villages in southern Thailand and the former exiles now in Hong Kong, Macau and southern China could be at last Tuesday's launch too. One former PAP leftist leader even called me from Macau after seeing the pictures of MM Lee and the former leftists at the book launch online from Lianhe Zaobao on Wednesday. He too, said it was a historic moment and wished he was here. 

As a co-author of the book, Men In White, my satisfaction is not only in seeing the final closure between the bitter rivalry between the two opposing sides in the PAP when they met again after nearly 50 years, but also in being able to get the voices of the losers or the vanquished into the PAP story.

The important thing now is not to dig into their past differences, but to learn from their common goal and convictions to fight for a better future for Singapore when they were young idealistic men and women. Even at their young age, they were prepared to shoulder the responsibility to work for the good of all, a quality we don't often see in our young people anymore. Many sacrificed their entire lives for that without regrets. For this reason, we have dedicated the book to the younger generation of Singaporeans.

I cannot agree more when my former editor-in-chief and team leader of this book project, Cheong Yip Seng, said in the preface of the book: "We cannot be a strong nation if we cannot remember our past."

I would like to add that the younger generation today can also emulate some of the good qualities as shown by our past political leaders, including those of the leftist members, as portrayed in the book.

Read the Saturday Special Report on Men In White here.