A few good men. A few honest men. A few godly men.
Sometimes, you read the obituary and you realise the people who have gone before us had also lived their lives before us. That’s obvious I know.
But what is less obvious is the lives they have lived, each of them tells of a story, a narrative of the moment they came, the crossroads they faced, the life they struggled with, and the death they came to terms with.
It’s not all written so clearly unless you are prepared to read about them, learn about them, and at times, see through their eyes the furnace of fire they have walked through.
Today’s obituary highlights a passing twenty years ago. He was our former law minister, a gentleman’s parliamentarian, a winsome speaker of the house, and a man who loved life as much as he loved sports, wine and country. EW Barker, the People’s Minister, and I have read the book written by Susan Sim about EW Barker.
He was no doubt brilliant academic wise, being awarded one of only three Queen’s Scholarships in 1947. But as the People’s Minister, not much is known about him.
SR Nathan said: “He was never much of a household name as some of the other pioneers. To understand his importance, you really had to know him and be aware of what he was doing.”
What he first did was to put Singapore on her first step to Independence when he drafted, finalised and secured (together with GKS) the signatures of the three separation papers that laid the cornerstone for the celebration of our National Day every year since Aug 1965. When he handed the signed papers over, LKY said: “Thank you Eddie. This is a bloodless coup.”
He was known as the People’s minister because he blended in with the community. One day, he could be up there arguing in courts and parliament, and the next, bantering with common folks at the coffeeshops.
Being the MP for Tanglin, the late legal eagle Subhas Anandan once described him as someone who “could go to a coffee shop and sit around the people. He could have his beer there. I don’t think any other minister could do it. I think EW Barker was the only person who could do it.”
And we must not forget that EW Barker (and GKS) were not afraid to stand up for what is right, or what they think is the right thing to say or do. They were the few good men who were prepared to stand up to disagree with LKY. Indeed, you will need such people to turn an echo chamber into a chamber of progress, learning and humility.
In the book, here is an extract of what EW Barker shared about his working relationship with LKY.
“I’m not scared of him. I’m his contemporary. I never wanted the job. He asked me to come in, and I came in. I gave him the benefit of my advice. Whether he took it or not, that’s another matter.
In fact, a few months after I was appointed Minister in 1964, he called me to his office and asked me: “Why are you always taking me on in Cabinet?”
I said: “Well, if I think you are wrong, I must tell you.”
He said: “But why so many times?”
I said: “Well, if you want me to be a yes-man, than starting tomorrow, I’ll say yes to everything you say.”
He said: “Well OK. You just carry on.””
Imagine that, LKY said “...but why so many times?” Yes, iron sharpens iron, and the best disagreement you can have is one premised on mutual understanding and respect and rooted on courage, principles and enduring friendship. LKY and EW Barker shared that bond that always puts their country and friendship above their differences and disagreements.
EW Barker continued: “About one month before I left the Cabinet (1988), (LKY) pointed to me and said (to the rest of the Cabinet): “He’s always disagreeing with me. Why don’t you all do it more often? There was no response. He went on: “Sometimes he’s right, sometimes he’s wrong, but at least I had the benefit of his advice.””
That’s so true. EW Barker was that man, that man who was not defined by the obsessive desire to be right all the time. LKY thus had the benefit of his advice because he spoke out from his heart, and if he were wrong, he accepted it and moved on. But at least, he was not known in LKY’s eyes as a yes-man, not one who was a voiceless advisor, but a fearless one.
Another trait you should know about him is that he too struggled financially when he didn’t make enough to pay for his house mortgage. He took out the mortgage when he was working in Lee and Lee. But on a minister’s pay of about $2,500 in 1964, he and wife had to make do and spend less.
Although the minister’s pay was increased to $4,500, it was nothing compared to what he could earn in private practice. In 1973, EW Barker’s pay was increased to $7,000 and the aim was to help him pay his mortgage.
And that was why, over the years of service mainly motivated by a sense of civil duty, LKY, a man who said he has no regrets, said this: -
“I feel very guilty about Mr Barker, my friend Eddie. I robbed him of at least $30 million had he stayed in Lee and Lee or had he gone into business with my brother, he would have had easily $60 million.”
“When he left, all I could give him was a pension which he could commute. And he wanted to leave, from the 1970s, the moment the Government was stable, he said, “Can I leave now, Harry?” I said, “Who have I got?” He was honest. He was capable. He said as honourable. I trusted him. He ran the Ministry of National Development. He ran the Ministry of Law and he ran with competence. His wife was not a lawyer and they had only his salary. Can I repay him now?”
“All I could do was to ask the Prime Minister, “Will you consider giving the old guards a little token of recognition?” It is too late. By the time he retired in 1988, time had passed, his energy levels were lower.”
In fact, having said all that, EW Barker had always been puzzled about the high ministerial pay. At one social gathering, he said that he could not understand the need for huge salaries. He said to Anandan that as long as he got his “cigarettes and beer,” that was fine for him.
And to add to the remembrance of a man who once graced this groaning earth, he was truly a family man too. His daughter, Deborah, recounted: “As a father, he played games with us in our garden. We used to have family badminton competitions...He would rent holiday bungalows in Changi. That was our idea of a perfect holiday - by the sea, walking along the beach, building sand castles.”
Here I recall what one professor of psychology Marshall Duke (of Emory University) said about life.
He said: “All family narratives take one of three shapes...First is the ascending family narrative: We came from nothing, we worked hard, we make it big. Next, the descending narrative: We used to have it all. Then we lost everything.”
Marshall then continued: “The most healthful narrative is the third one. It’s called the oscillating family narrative. We’ve had ups and downs in our family. Your grandfather was vice president of the bank, but his house burned down. You aunt was the first girl to go to college, but she got breast cancer.”
“Children who know that lives take all different shapes are much better equipped to face life’s inevitable disruptions.”
That’s so true too. Life is not just up and up all the way. For what goes up comes down right? Valleys and mountaintops share one common golden thread or narrative: they are not what breaks us. In fact, they could very well build us up, regardless.
Yes, circumstances challenge us, but it is a choice made as a family as one that determine how we make mountaintops out of valleys, and vice versa, valleys out of mountaintop. For you can be at the top and miserable. Or, you can be down there and yet your spirit is always up, lives are still touched by you, and your family and friends still stand by you.
Alas, a healthy and resilient narrative is one where the downs are just as empowering as the ups, and the ups never cause them to lose sight of their humble valley roots. Remember trees grow from valley up, with roots grounded and hopes upward bound.
Let me end with the words of EW Barker: -
“Life is what you make of it. There are some who inherit wealth only to squander it away, while others make their fortune on their own efforts by dint of hard work, determination and perseverance.
But happiness is not necessarily associated with wealth. The important thing is to have a purpose in life, a goal to achieve and the satisfaction of achieving it.” (18 Aug 1973, Swiss Cottage Secondary School Speech Day).
That is why the quoted verse in the obituary is this placed on the doorpost of one’s heart: -
“What does the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God.” (Micah 6:8). Amen.
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