Singapore's Indian-origin former foreign minister Shunmugam Jayakumar today launched a memoir covering his 31 years in politics in the country.
Titled 'Be At The Table Or Be On The Menu: A Singapore Memoir', the 224-page volume chronicles his early life and his career as a law academic and dean before cycling through his stint in politics, reported The Straits Times online.
The memoir draws its title from 75-year-old Jayakumar's philosophy as Foreign Affairs Minister, a post he held from 1994 to 2004 and which of all his portfolios most defined his political legacy.
At the launch of the book at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Jayakumar said that one of the lessons that he hopes emerges from his memoir is that Singapore should "never be deterred by the fact that we are a small country - we can still play a role on the world stage".
Both this book, and his previous one in 2011, 'Diplomacy: A Singapore Experience', reveal in detail how Singapore has used a combination of support for international law, coalition-building with other like-minded states, and a resolve not to be pushed around by bigger nations, to maintain a seat at the global table.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who was guest-of-honour at the launch, said that the book was "more than a nostalgic personal memoir, but reminds us of the harsh reality of international affairs, especially for a small country with little clout vis-a-vis big players".
"As a small country, Singapore always has to fight to be at the table. Things have gone well for us for so long that people sometimes do not realise that we can still easily be turfed off and become an item on the menu, and this has not happened only because of the quiet and unremitting efforts of Jaya and others like him."
Calling Jayakumar a "mentor and old friend", Lee said that the former Senior Minister "played a major role in all the important constitutional and legislative changes in the last three decades".
Jayakumar entered politics in 1980 and held portfolios including Foreign Affairs, Law, Home Affairs and Labour.
He was also Deputy Prime Minister from 2004 to 2009.
He retired from politics in 2011.
Jayakumar dedicated his book to founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, "who made possible the Singapore Story", he wrote.
The memoir ends with a moving exchange of emails between Jayakumar and Lee in 2011, after they both retired from Cabinet.
Jayakumar is donating his royalties from the book to MFA's adopted charity The Rainbow Centre, which helps children with special needs.
