S Rajaratnam on Singapore: From Ideas to Reality

This book, a compilation of key speeches and articles by the late Mr S Rajaratnam, is a tribute to one of the founding fathers of Singapore. As the country's first foreign minister, he was pivotal in conceptualising and implementing its foreign policy. Present at the birth of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he was also instrumental in ensuring a constructive role for Singapore in regional cooperation. A staunch supporter of a multicultural society, Mr Rajaratnam envisioned the country as a cosmopolitan "global city". The volume is divided into four thematic sections: foreign policy, ASEAN regionalism, multiculturalism, and Singapore's history - broadly encompassing Mr Rajaratnam's most important contributions to the making of modern Singapore. Also included are original research essays that reassess Mr Rajaratnam's contributions, written by senior staff of the new S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

About the Author:

Kwa Chong Guan is Head of External Programs, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technological University. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of History, National University of Singapore. He was previously Head of the SAFTI Military Institute's Department of Strategic Studies and concurrently, Adjunct Associate Professor in the Division of History of the National Institute of Education's School of Arts. Before joining the SAFTI Military Institute, Mr Kwa served in various capacities in the National Heritage Board, the National Museum and the Oral History Center. Mr Kwa started his working career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before being posted to the Ministry of Defence. He was commissioned into the Singapore Armed Forces in 1969 and had served in a variety of reservist command and staff appointments up to Division level.