The History of Singapore: Living in a Time of Deception

Episode 23: Living in a Time of Deception

"Poh Soo Kai (PSK) on his memoir's title: The left wing was deceived. Kuan Yew presented himself... pro-forma as an anti-colonialist. When in fact he was fighting the left and working with the British...

PJ Thum (PJ) on the British Archives : When you were going through the material, was there anything which really shocked you or surprised you or just jumped out at you...

PSK: I was very shocked. First I went there to find out what were the real reasons for my arrest. Was it security? I know it wasn't security but I wanted to know what they write, and the archives showed it wasn't security but political. We were arrested on political grounds. In fact Moore the acting high commissioner, PBC Moore wrote that "if it was security we should arrest them straight away"... it's because we were political opponents and he, the British admitted that we were the strongest political force in Singapore at that time. And so we had to be smashed. We had to be crippled...

The greatest shock came when first I found that Lee Kuan Yew was like, you take Clause 30. Where detainees were not allowed to take part in the 1959 Rendel Constitution election... we all thought at that time that it was the British who insisted on that clause. But when I read the archives, I was shocked because it was Kuan Yew who initiated the clause and who persuaded the British to introduce it. And told the British that you introduce it, you bear the blame. But I am going to oppose. I can't believe the deception, the depth of deception. And in the Tanjong Pagar by-election he went to the extent to tell the electorate look if you vote for me I will have that clause which was introduced by him, suggested by him removed...

'When Lim Yew Hock wanted to spill the beans when he felt that Lee Kuan Yew was attacking him unfairly'

'On the Chew Swee Kee case. He said in the assembly: you play dirty, I play dirty'

'And of course, this is all in the government hansard of course. When Lee Kuan Yew realises what is going to come out of Lim Yew Hock's mouth, he jumps up and says "That's a dirty lie".'

'And technically he's correct. Because Lim Yew Hock said he and Lim Yew Hock both saw the colonial secretary together. But it wasn’t so. The colonial secretary was careful to see each of them separately. So it was a lie. Technically a lie'...

[On being detained and getting newspapers] ‘Why black out the economic news?’

‘I don’t know. I mean why don't they allow me to read Barisan newspaper? It's published legally. I asked for it they say no, we can’t let you have it. Unless you apply personally to the director. So I did apply. And he says, no no, he says Dr. Poh, I permit you to read this paper, that issue because you are not a communist. And the letter was sent by his department through the prison to me… I had the letter with me but during my second arrest, it disappeared.’

‘So you had in writing at one point that you weren't a communist. So then did you respond well if I'm not communist why am I here? Why am I locked up?’

‘They said you’re pro-communist’...

‘In British hongs, British firms, if they employ a British officer and he comes down to Singapore, he falls in love with a local girl, he can't get married. He can’t. If he gets married they send him back, sacked.’
‘And what happens to the local girl?’

‘He can only keep her as a mistress. And they all do that’"