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Goh Keng Swee Career

Politics:
Goh Keng Swee was anti-colonial during the pre-independence years. He founded
the Malayan Forum in 1949 - a political discussion group comprising Malayan and
Singaporean students in London and they supported the decolonisation of and
independence for Malaya and Singapore. It was through the Forum that he met
Toh Chin Chye and Lee Kuan Yew. He entered politics and he was elected as MP
for Kreta Ayer on 30 May 1959. He was its MP till his retirement from politics in
Dec 1984.
Economics:
He spearheaded many of the most impressive public policy achievements in
Singapore: Economic Development Board (EDB), the Development Bank of
Singapore (DBS), the Jurong Industrial Estate. His thoughts on economic growth
contrasted sharply with the vast majority of his counterparts in other Third World
governments. His decidedly conservative approach to public finance stands out.
Together with Lee Kuan Yew in 1965, they decided that Singapore's central bank,
Monetary Authority of Singapore will not have currency issuing power. Singapore
remained one of few independent states to issue currency under a currency
board until 2003. He was instrumental in the founding of Monetary Authority of
Singapore (MAS). He "undertook major restructuring of MAS' key functions monetary policy, reserve management, and supervision and development of the
financial sector.
Defence:
He built up the foundations of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). SAF was based
on a concept of a combination of conscription and a professional military on the
model of the Israeli Army.
He played a key role in setting up the local defence technology section,
beginning with the establishment of Chartered Industries of Singapore in 1967.
This became a model to develop the other state-owned enterprises or
government-linked companies and a basis for the latter evolution of Singapore
Technologies as a multinational company.
Education:
Goh Keng Swees Goh Report published in 1979 led to a major overhaul of
primary and secondary schooling in Singapore. Streaming was introduced. Its
recommendations underpin much of the Singapore school curriculum even today.
The report's message - education is the key to economic development and that
the education system should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate, reflect and
reinforce development needs.

China
He was one of the few analysts during the 1960s to have projected the possibility
of China's economic rise by the 1990s. China, under Deng Xiaoping asked him to
serve as economic adviser on the development of China's coastal regions
Others
He was the chairman of the Institute of East Asian Philosophies, which was
formed in 1983 and had spearheaded the Singapore government's promotion of
Confucianism. In 1990, when the institute was renamed as Institute of East Asian
Political Economy (IEAPE). Dr Goh continued to serve as the chairman. IEAPE
served as a government think-tank on contemporary China as information on
China at that point was limited.
Through his initiative, Jurong Bird Park and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra
were set up.

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