Wee Kim Wee
Wee Kim Wee was a Singaporean journalist, diplomat and politician who served as the fourth president of Singapore between 1985 and 1993.
Born in Singapore during colonial rule, Wee was educated at Outram Secondary School and Raffles Institution, dropping out to work at The Straits Times in 1930. He left The Straits Times to join the United Press Associations in 1941, working there through the Second World War and eventually becoming the office manager and chief correspondent by 1959. That same year, he returned to The Straits Times after being offered the position of Deputy Editor.
During his time with them, he was best known for his interview of Lieutenant General Suharto, where he reported his intentions for peace during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. He also became the first Singaporean journalist to enter Jakarta when he went to interview Suharto. He retired from journalism in 1973 at the position of editorial manager and became a diplomat, serving as Singapore's High Commissioner to Malaysia from 1973 and 1980 and Ambassador to Japan and South Korea concurrently from 1980 and 1984, on the request of Foreign Minister S. Rajaratnam.
In 1985, Wee was elected president by Parliament and served in the role for two terms, ending in 1993. For the ensuing presidential election in 1993, the first in Singapore to be decided by popular vote, Wee decided not to contest and retired after his second term had ended. During his presidency, he was known for improving relations between Singapore with Israel, Malaysia, and China, along with attending or officiating many events. He was also the first president to exercise custodial powers pursuant to the constitutional amendments in Singapore's history. He was succeeded by Ong Teng Cheong as president and went into retirement. Wee released an autobiography in 2004, and died of prostate cancer the following year in his home at Siglap Plain on 2 May 2005, at the age of 89.
Early life and education
Wee Kim Wee was born in Singapore, which was then under British rule and a part of the Straits Settlements, at the Free Middleton Hospital on 4 November 1915. The youngest of four sons to Wee Choong Lay and Chua Hay Luan, his father Choong Lay worked on a ship, being in charge of the cargo. His father later went blind after an unsuccessful surgery, causing his family to move from their home in Zion Road to a house at Holland Road. The house, which lacked electricity or piped water, was owned by a wealthy landowner whom they paid a rent of a month. Wee's family relied on rearing poultry and fruits growing around the house for money.In 1923, Wee attended Pearl's Hill School for his primary education. He later attended Outram Secondary School, before enrolling in Raffles Institution, for his secondary education. He passed his Standard VII in 1929, being promoted to a "Junior" class. He dropped out of school sometime after 1929 after his mother urged him to find employment, seeing as how their family was still struggling financially, living in Singapore Harbour Board housing at Kampong Bahru. His uncle Tan Kok Tiong, who worked as a chief clerk at Singaporean newspaper The Straits Times, recommended that Wee work at the circulation department of the newspaper.
He married Koh Sok Hiong in 1936 in an arranged marriage between their families; she was eighteen years old. They had their wedding conducted at the United Chinese Library in Mandarin, which he later stated in his 2004 memoirs that he did not understand. He was one of three suitors whom Koh's family chose from, and Wee considered himself to be the most unlikely due to his limited education and wealth. Wee did happen to be good friends with Koh's brother, Koh Kim Swan, who backed him and subsequently got Koh's grandmother to agree to picking him, allowing Wee to eventually marry Koh.
During his youth, Wee enjoyed playing badminton. He founded the Useful Badminton Party in 1932 alongside thirteen other badminton players, whom he met while living at his Singapore Harbour Board housing. In 1937, he won the singles title in the Singapore Junior championship. In 1938, he was elected to the Singapore Badminton Association's management committee, initially serving as its secretary before eventually becoming the president. He retired from competitive badminton the following year due to medical reasons.
Career
Journalism (1930–1973)
In 1930, Wee started working for the newspaper The Straits Times in its circulation department. He worked in the circulation department for five years before being transferred to the advertising department, which he worked at for about three to four years before becoming a reporter. Initially, Wee covered sporting events such as soccer, badminton, table tennis, and basketball, which were usually at the stadiums or the amusement parks.Early in 1941, he resigned from The Straits Times to join American news agency United Press Associations after the post of circulation chief clerk was not offered to him upon its vacancy at The Straits Times. During the Second World War, while working at UPA, he served in the Air Raid Precautions. He struggled financially during the war, setting up a stall in Kampong Bahru where he sold things such as mosquito coils. During the Japanese occupation, he worked clerical jobs at various Japanese military establishments. After the end of the war, Wee continued to struggle financially. Following the liberation of Singapore, UPA correspondent Charles McQuown-Wright contacted him and gave him to support himself. As he continued to work at UPA, he eventually became the office manager and chief correspondent in the early 1950s. As chief correspondent, he reported to an American manager about Singapore, Malaya, Borneo, and Brunei.
In 1959, Wee was asked to return to The Straits Times where he would be appointed as Deputy Editor, the head of The Straits Times editorial department, to which he accepted. In 1963, Wee managed to interview a Sulu pirate chief while he was in Malaysia. In 1966, he interviewed then-Lieutenant General Suharto and then-Indonesian Foreign Minister Adam Malik. He reported their intentions to end the confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia, also known as the Konfrontasi. Wee had interviewed Malik earlier in Bangkok before gaining permission to interview Suharto in Jakarta. He was also the first Singaporean journalist to gain permission to enter Jakarta. In the early 1970s, Wee was responsible for helping form the Singapore Press Club. Suggesting the idea to T. S. Khoo, Wee set up and held the first inaugural meeting of the club after his agreement. Wee was also responsible for finding where the club's premises would be, first at the Summit Hotel and later the Apollo Hotel, both at low rental rates. In 1970, he was appointed as editorial manager, which he worked as till 1973 when he left journalism.
Diplomacy (1973–1984)
In 1973, Wee was approached by then-Foreign Minister S. Rajaratnam to serve as Singapore's High Commissioner to Malaysia, which he accepted and subsequently left The Straits Times. Originally, he was only supposed to serve for three years but ended up serving seven years as the High Commissioner to Malaysia, ending on 31 August 1980. During his time there, he lived in Kuala Lumpur and was credited by Rajaratnam in helping improve the relationship between the two countries, especially after the separation of Singapore from Malaysia a few years prior.In September 1980, Wee was appointed to serve concurrently as Singapore's Ambassador to Japan, having presented his credentials earlier in October, and Ambassador to South Korea. In 1981, Wee opened the Development Bank of Singapore's first Korean branch in Seoul. In 1983, he represented Singapore at the funeral for the victims of the Rangoon bombing. He retired from diplomacy in 1984.
Other appointments
During his career, Wee held multiple appointments on different statutory boards such as the Rent Control Board, Film Appeal Committee, Land Acquisition Board, Board of Visiting Justices, National Theatre Board, and the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation. He also served on the Council of the Singapore Anti-Tuberculosis Association and later chairman of SATA. In 1959, Wee alongside fellow SATA Council member Sen Gupta introduced mobile x-ray machines to treat tuberculosis more efficiently in Singapore. Wee also served as a director for United Engineers, Wearne Brothers, and Banque Internationale à Luxembourg's Asia branch till 1985.Presidency (1985–1993)
1985 presidential election
Following the resignation of incumbent president Devan Nair in March 1985, eight months before the end of his term, Parliament had to elect a new president. As presidents were elected by Parliament, not by popular vote, the presidential nominee had to gain a majority of the vote by Parliament to be elected. In August 1985, then-prime minister Lee Kuan Yew nominated Wee to become president at the 1985 presidential election after a five-month vacancy. Lee decided to choose Wee after being suggested him by Rajaratnam, who stated that Wee would be able to serve the presidency well after Nair's resignation. Other reasons for Wee's nomination was due to the government wanting a "non-political personality for the job". Wee received a unanimous agreement to his election, making him the first Chinese Singaporean to become president, and was sworn in on 2 September 1985.Member of Parliament for Kampong Kembangan Constituency Yatiman Yusof stated of Wee becoming the first president from a non-minority race of Singapore to have shown "a maturity of thought on the part of the multi-racial people of Singapore." Upon his inauguration, Wee received congratulations from Malaysian King Sultan Iskandar and Malaysian Queen Tengku Zanariah. He also received congratulations from Queen Elizabeth II, Pope John Paul II, Governor-General of Canada Jeanne Sauvé, and the presidents of India, Austria, Tanzania, Israel, and Cyprus.