The Singapore Lion

This is Volume 1 of the projected 2-volume biography of Raja, Mr Sinnathamby Rajaratnam (1915-2006) widely recognised both as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as one of the three or four most significant figures in the early years of Singapore's emergence as an independent nation. The author's narrative draws on personal memories and informal comments as it describes Raja's family roots in Jaffna and Seremban, his time in London as a student and then as a journalist and broadcaster in World War II. His return to Singapore, anti-colonial stance, stormy career in journalism, and roles in the early years of the nascent PAP are all described. The final chapters of this volume give a view of the post-1959 period when as Minister of Culture and Cabinet Minister Raja, his idealistic, astute and sometimes acerbic views played a major role in the run up to Singapore's 1963 Merger with Malaysia. With black-and-white photographs, bibliography and index.