Writing a Biography Can Be Tedious, Painstaking Work. but the Effort Can

BIBLIOASIA APR - JUN 2019 VOL. 15 ISSUE 01 FEATURE other important items, such as his arm- chair and typewriter, found a new home in their premises. (Facing page) S.Rajaratnam during an election mass rally at Fullerton Square, 1 April 1959. Seated sixth The experience reinforced my convic- from right is Secretary-General of the People’s Action Party, Lee Kuan Yew.Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore. tion that the images, voices and documents of our founding leaders should be syste- (Below) S. Rajaratnam, c. 1970s. S. Rajaratnam Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore. matically preserved for the benefit of the Researching present and future generations. Writing Rajaratnam’s biography for me is part of the larger endeavour to preserve memories. Biography is the form through which writers recreate life from archival documents such as letters and diaries, S. Rajaratnam TV and radio recordings, newspapers and official records – in this case, Hansard Writing a biography can be tedious, painstaking work. But documents (transcripts of parliamentary the effort can also be uplifting and inspirational, Ireneas Ng debates). This work is vastly different from discovered when she began researching the life of S. Rajaratnam. my previous job as a newspaper journalist. Journalists write the “first draft” of history, chronicling people and events with speed and immediacy in mind. In contrast, biog- When I embarked on writing the biography aptly situated at the foot of the historic bastion of social memory and national iden- raphers may take years – in my case, more of S. Rajaratnam in 2005, I did not realise Fort Canning Hill. The building, a former tity. Yet, all too often, its role is neglected than a decade – to complete their account that it would take over my life. A project that schoolhouse, had the feel of, well... an old and underappreciated by the public. of a subject’s life. I am grateful to all those originally involved just one book became two school with a run-down air (at least when who have helped me and believed in me w1 volumes – one already published, another I visited it between 2005 and 2015 for my throughout the arduous process, particu- in the making – and a third, an anthology of work). Within the building itself, however, larly my patient bosses at ISEAS. Rajaratnam’s short stories and radio plays,2 was a treasure trove of old documents, I had known Rajaratnam since my days as published as a surprise baby in between. And photographs, maps, radio broadcasts and a journalist and had interviewed him in who knows, there might be a fourth book. television footage. It is hard to describe the the 1980s and 90s. Writing his biography It has been a long research journey. I sense of anticipation I feel each time I enter may have been the furthest thing on my During my research journey, NAS staff very started with the question: how does one its reading room, ever hopeful that I would mind then, but those encounters gave kindly steered me through their vast col- capture the complex life of a man who come across new insights and learn new me a sense of the kind of man he was: lection. They organised dozens of boxes of was one of Singapore’s founding leaders, ways of understanding the past. his thinking, his values, his mannerisms. materials, provided an outline of the files the first minister for culture (1959) of self- Over the years, I have built a respect- By the time I started on his biography in each box, and even highlighted which governing Singapore, the first minister for ful relationship with the NAS as I gained in 2005, he was already 90 and suffering boxes might contain the most interesting foreign affairs (1965–80) of independent a deeper appreciation of the challenges it from late-stage Alzheimer’s disease. With files that would aid my research. Singapore – and the ideologue who wrote has faced in fulfilling its mission. It plays an the permission of the trustees of Rajarat- Pitt Kuan Wah, then director of the the country’s National Pledge in 1966? indispensable role in preserving the primary nam’s estate (his Hungarian wife Piroska NAS, and Ng Yoke Lin, senior archivist, both In trying to answer this question, records of our past, the very essence of Feher had died in 1989; they had no chil- shared with me useful historical insights I turned to the archival materials at the our heritage. I don’t think I overstate the dren), I browsed his personal library and into the defining moments of the post- National Archives of Singapore (NAS), importance of the NAS when I say that it is a private papers in his old bungalow in leafy independence era, such as the drafting Chancery Lane, a process that continued of the National Pledge. They also alerted until some months after his death in Febru- me to newly acquired resources, including ary 2006. Other than his vast collection of audiovisual materials, and tracked down books, there were the boxes upon boxes of additional items to help in my writing – papers, files and photos, all gathering dust. these led me to unexpectedly valuable I became worried that the materi- files. More recently, for the second book als would deteriorate in the heat and on Rajaratnam I am working on, staff at humidity, or worse, be misplaced or the NAS made it possible for me to access destroyed. After Rajaratnam passed away, secret files that had to be declassified first. I recommended that important items be With their help, I ploughed through donated to the archives for preservation. thousands of documents, including declas- So imagine my despair when, during one sified British and Australian records as well visit to his house, I saw hundreds of books as documents from Singapore’s Ministry smoulde ring in a bonfire in his garden. of Culture and Cabinet files. I spent hours Thanks to the actions of the NAS and listening to Rajaratnam’s sound recordings. the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies I watched video footages of him at work, (ISEAS), however, most of his books and observing his body language, listening to his tone, imagining the emotions – both Irene Ng is a writer-in-residence at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and a former member of parliament of Singapore (2001–2015). She was a senior political the elation as well as the angst – of the correspondent with The Straits Times before entering politics. She has written a biography of S. Rajaratnam and is working on a second volume. moment. These multifaceted resources 42 43 BIBLIOASIA APR - JUN 2019 VOL. 15 ISSUE 01 FEATURE helped me build a nuanced and complex mirror his constant preoccupations, were Lee himself recalled asking Rajaratnam to In a broadcast introducing the series on was in 2017 by a young filmmaker, Jerrold archives. I said: “It is to the credit of the portrait of the man, and to write what particularly rich with references to Lenin, take a plane and not to inform anyone of 4 August 1942, the BBC announced that Chong. He adapted one of Rajaratnam’s excellent staff there that the NAS has I hope is an engaging and authoritative Marx, democracy, nationalism and race- his trip, but he was told years later of Oth- “Raja Ratnam, who is well known among stories, “What Has to Be”, into a short been able to deliver good service to the account of his life. related issues. man’s recollection that they had travelled the new Indian writers in Great Britain, will animation film for the annual Singapore public, despite its cramped workspace How did I know that Rajaratnam wore In the process, Rajaratnam’s handwri- by car. Othman’s version is the one that address his letter to a Quisling”.4 Writers Festival’s initiative, “Utter 2017: and tight funding.” I contrasted it with the a relaxed smile and exuded confidence at ting became as familiar to me as my own. has been used in the media. Now which My heart fluttered when, sifting SingLit Unearthed”, which adapts the best British National Archives at Kew, which is the controversial event on 31 August 1963 From the size and shape of the letters in his version should I use, and how do I justify it? through a musty cardboard box buried of Singapore writing into film. “a modern airy building, a state-of-the-art marking Singapore’s de facto indepen- copious handwritten notes, I learnt to distin- All this places a greater demand on the under piles of books in his house, I spotted building, with large research areas, with dence? From the archival television footage. guish those written in his later years, when skills of the writer to manage complexity some of the literary magazines containing proper lighting for reading and research”. How did I know that he sounded his mind was no longer what it was, and and ambiguity in the narrative. However his published works. How precious they It also has a free museum and a cafeteria. somewhat diffident when he spoke to make my judgment on their use accordingly. rigo rous one’s research, one must be pre- were. With the permission of his estate, they There were, of course, frustrating mo- I repeated my calls in parliament over journalists in his first press conference as In addition to the materials in the pared for a certain degree of controversy. have since been entrusted to the National ments during the research process. For ex- the following years.

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