Tommy Koh: SG's Moral Voice! IQ Interview with Prof Tommy Koh

He’s the greatest diplomat Singapore’s ever had. He chaired two of the most formidable and consequential global conferences of the United Nations: the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The Americans asked him twice to run for Secretary General of the UN. He declined. Over a 40-year span, he co-chaired dialogue with three critical countries: China, India and Japan. In 1968 he was appointed Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the UN - at the ripe old age of 30! He returned home in 4 years to become the Dean of the Law School. 4 years later he returned to the UN for a second term that lasted 10 years. He then became our Ambassador to the USA. He was in America for a total of 20 years and set the foundation for a strong relationship based on mutual respect. Since his return to Singapore for good in 1990, he’s been a critical lodestar for the pursuit of civil liberties, critical appraisal of policies, and the regeneration of the arts, culture and heritage. He’s admired for his empathy, decency and courageous advocacy for justice. Many look to him as a crucial moral voice. What he’s achieved over 88 years is by any standard, extraordinary. Yet, in his memoir, he described himself as “ordinary”. Perhaps this is the key to his exemplary achievements, apart from his brilliance. So, behind the gentle, grandfatherly, avuncular demeanour - who is the real Ambassador-at-Large Prof Tommy Koh? What were the behind-the-scene stories of grit, imagination, persistence, foxiness, stubbornness, and disarming charm? IQ Chief Editor and former Nominated MP, Viswa Sadasivan engages Prof Tommy Koh like you have never seen before - candid, honest and from the heart. Stories that give deep insights of the man and the times. More than an interview, it’s a conversation between two old friends. You don’t want to miss this! Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 1:30 Childhood 4:45 UNCLOS 15:00 LKY's speech at US Congress 20:00 Hendrickson Affair 26:40 Goh Chok Tong's diplomacy 30:00 Peacemaking 36:40 Asked to be UN Sec-Gen 39:30 Income Inequality and Poverty 45:10 Viswa's maiden NMP speech 47:15 Multi-racialism 51:00 Contrast between LKY and Rajaratnam 53:40 Graduate Mother's Scheme 57:30 Tommy Koh's wishes for Singapore