Just heard that our former DPM Goh Keng Swee passed away this morning, he was 91.

Think he was called the Father of SAF, salute to a great statesman and good son of Singapore. Another old guard passes on....

RIP Dr. Goh.

indeed we have a lot to thank him for, for starts, the very safety of Singapore. RIP Dr Goh.

RIP Dr Goh.

may future governments honor your values of thrift, prudence and steadfast service to our country.

He also worked at the Ministry of Education where his Goh Report greatly influenced the education system which include policies like streaming and religious knowledge education.... Only hope SG will have more ppl of his calibre and foresight....indeed one of the pillars of early Singapore and undoubtly one of the founding fathers of modern Singapore.

Sad day for us all.

RIP Dr Goh.

Condolences to the family of the late Dr Goh..

Rest in peace, Dr Goh..

Yup. First SG minister of defence from 1965 to 1967 (and 2nd term from 1970 to 79). Responsible for creating NS, SAFTI, DSO and a host of other SAF initiatives.

DSO tribute:
http://www.dso.org.sg/home/publications/comm/2-Tribute.pdf

Als set up JTC, EDB, NTUC income etc, all major institutions in Singapore today.

NLB bio
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_662_2005-01-11.html

Condolences to the family. Singapore was indeed lucky to have such a great person as one of its pioneers.

RIP.

Just realised, he is also one of the only few to be awarded with the Order of Temasek, First Class. In short: DUT(1).

Edit: Added in his civil decorations.

He has done a lot for Singapore...very hard to find another minister like him.....fyi, the initial batch of ministers hold very low pay compared to the ministers now. They are in the job coz they love Singapore and that's y they are called the Old Guards.

RIP to the late Dr. Goh Keng Swee.

First time, met him during Ops Thunderstorm. He was a man that cannot tolerate senior officers who were not up to date on what's happening.

Met Dr Goh in the 1990s when he was still compos mentis.

At the end of our chat, he was nice enough to sum up what he thought was the most important thing to remember about the Singapore's security challenges.

Read further on Dr Goh and realised that he practised what he preached - financial thriftiness - he seems to have excelled in the different ministries entructed to him...
be it in the defence ministry or education ministry, he made impact in each and left lasting legacies and strong foundations.

Like I said, its difficult to find replacements of such calibre....we all know that he was a good minister....it showed in the results....

Sad to hear the passing of a Old Guard

Rest In Peace Dr Goh.

Anyone going or gone to pay last respects to Dr Goh yet?

Am thinking of going....anyone keen to join?

After reading up on him, I think alot of us have benefitted from him being in office.

When will you be going Sayaret? I'm keen..

Am thinking of going when his body will be placed at Parliament on the 20th of this month bro.... during lunch time.

im keen too. his body is lying in state at parliament house from 20-22th. state funeral will be held on 23rd.

Can I take the initiative to start the list of attendees please?
Perhaps we could decide on the date as well?

Name List:

1) Sayaret
2) Alfie007
3) stars

The CNA report says the body of the late Dr Goh Keng Swee will lie in state at Parliament House from 20 May – 23 May, and members of the public may pay their last respects from noon to 8pm on Thursday and Friday, and from 10am to 6pm on Saturday.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/spe...7144_37/1/.html

Though my office is in City area, sometimes last minute urgent stuff do pop up just before lunch time.. An alternative is after office hours let's say 6pm, 20.05.10 meet up at Funan DigitaLife Mall, then proceed to Parliament House.. I suppose this way, more of us who are keen, can join in.. I think security checks may be tightened, so try not to bring too many things..

Is this OK for you??

Mediacorp done it again.

The Darjah Utama Temasek (Order of Temasek) is the second highest honour awarded, not the highest as mentioned in the special documentary. The highest honour is actually the Bintang Temasek (Star of Temasek).

http://www.pmo.gov.sg/NationalHonoursandAwards/InfoonMedals/

Am ok bro...6pm not an issue...Stars bro...you ok with the time?

Anyone else going??

Its the highest award a civilian can obtain. Bintang Temasek is only for SAF, police and civil defence but strangely PMO office lists it under "civilian". Another web boo-boo?

There are only 2 surviving holders of the 1st class Order of Temasek. Yong Pung How and Queen Elizabeth II are likely the only other persons who will be entitled to a state funeral in SG.

Guys?? Come on....let's pool together for our last farewell to one of Singapore's founding fathers...a good one at that too.

Maybe the timing may not be right for some of us or already have plans to go with colleagues..

If meet-up time is push back to 6.30pm, will anyone else be able to make it??

All awards given out under PMO are considered civillian awards. Afterall, the PMO doesn't lists medals given out by SAF, SPF, etc (eg, SAF/SPF 5, 10, 15, 22 medals, Police Gallantry Medal, SAF/SPF Overseas Medal).

Hence, it still could be safely said that the BT is still the highest civillian honour. But this honour is only available to SAF/SPF/SCDF personnel.

We'll be attending the State funeral service in honour of Dr Goh Keng Swee on Sunday.

State funeral service is by invitation only due to limited space..

Gate crash??

I'm going tmr with colleagues & friends..

We won't be gatecrashing but many people will be there to see it.

Alfie, what time you going? Anyone esle?

around 6.. with a few colleagues.. PM u my hp number..

ok

If there's anyone else going to Parliament House tomorrow or Saturday, please remember not to bring penknife with you.. I realised I had one in my pencil case, so had to throw it away before allowed to enter.. :P

Traffic arrangements for State Funeral Service of Dr Goh
Posted: 21 May 2010 1639 hrs

SINGAPORE : Several roads in the vicinity of Parliament House and the Singapore Conference Hall will be closed between 1.30pm and 2.30pm on Sunday. The roads are:

a ) North Bridge Road between Coleman Street and High Street;

b ) Parliament Place;

c ) Connaught Drive;

d ) Esplanade Drive between Raffles Avenue and Fullerton Road;

e ) Fullerton Road;

f ) Collyer Quay between Fullerton Road and Raffles Quay;

g ) Raffles Quay; and

h ) Shenton Way between Cross Street and Maxwell Road

This is to facilitate the movement of the body of the late Dr Goh Keng Swee from Parliament House.

His body will be moved to the Singapore Conference Hall at about 2pm.

A State Funeral Service for family and invited guests will be held there at 2.30pm.

Motorists can expect some delays along Nicoll Highway, Raffles Avenue, North Bridge Road, Church Street and Boon Tat Street.

To facilitate the Funeral Service, Maxwell Road, between Shenton Way and Prince Edward Link, will be closed from 3am to 9pm on Sunday.

Motorists proceeding towards ECP from Shenton Way and Maxwell Road will be diverted to Keppel Road.

Only guests with car park labels will be allowed to park at the Singapore Conference Hall.

The Esplanade carpark is reserved for invited guests only and will be closed to the public on May 23 from 11.30am to 4.30pm.

Alternative parking is available at Marina Square and Suntec City.

Traffic in the vicinity is expected to be heavy.

The State Funeral Service of the late Dr Goh will be telecast at 2pm over Channel NewsAsia. - CNA/ms