• Latest
Singapore Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean At The Launch Of A Soldier At Heart Memoir Of LG (Retd) Winston Choo

Singapore Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean At The Launch Of A Soldier At Heart Memoir Of LG (Retd) Winston Choo

Is the World in a Debt Spiral?

Is the World in a Debt Spiral?

World Economic Forum: Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

World Economic Forum: Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

World Economic Forum: Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

World Economic Forum: Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

ESQR Award Received by People’s Leasing Presented to the President

ESQR Award Received by People’s Leasing Presented to the President

Over 50% of digital payments could be conducted through secure closed-loop transactions by 2030

Over 50% of digital payments could be conducted through secure closed-loop transactions by 2030

Mobile Phones made 59% of total web traffic last year, almost 10% more than in 2021

Mobile Phones made 59% of total web traffic last year, almost 10% more than in 2021

Cybercrime the biggest risk to businesses in 2023, ahead of supply issues and inflation

Cybercrime the biggest risk to businesses in 2023, ahead of supply issues and inflation

Five surprising countries that produce the best weed in the world

Five surprising countries that produce the best weed in the world

Digital banking app downloads surged 54% in 2022 exceeding 26 million

Digital banking app downloads surged 54% in 2022 exceeding 26 million

People’s Leasing closes the Third Quarter of the Financial Year 2022/23 on a commendable note

People’s Leasing closes the Third Quarter of the Financial Year 2022/23 on a commendable note

Over 2.85 billion people to use online food delivery in 2023, revenues to jump by 20% YoY to $910B

Over 2.85 billion people to use online food delivery in 2023, revenues to jump by 20% YoY to $910B

People’s Bank continues to demonstrate its resilience

People’s Bank continues to demonstrate its resilience

Retail
Saturday, April 1, 2023
Subscription
Advertise
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 2006
      • January 2006
      • February 2006
    • 2007
      • January 2007
      • February 2007
      • March 2007
      • April 2007
      • May 2007
      • June 2007
      • July 2007
      • August 2007
      • September 2007
      • October 2007
      • November 2007
      • December 2007
    • 2008
      • January 2008
      • February 2008
      • March 2008
      • April 2008
      • May 2008
      • June 2008
      • July 2008
      • August 2008
      • September 2008
      • October 2008
      • November 2008
      • December 2008
    • 2009
      • January 2009
      • February 2009
      • March 2009
      • April 2009
      • May 2009
      • June 2009
      • July 2009
      • August 2009
      • September 2009
      • October 2009
      • November 2009
      • December 2009
    • 2010
      • January 2010
      • February 2010
      • March 2010
      • April 2010
      • May 2010
      • June 2010
      • July 2010
      • August 2010
      • September 2010
      • October 2010
      • November 2010
      • December 2010
    • 2011
      • January 2011
      • February 2011
      • March 2011
      • April 2011
      • May 2011
      • June 2011
      • July 2011
      • August 2011
      • September 2011
      • October 2011
      • November 2011
      • December 2011
    • 2012
      • January 2012
      • February 2012
      • March 2012
      • April 2012
      • May 2012
      • June 2012
      • July 2012
      • August 2012
      • September 2012
      • October 2012
      • November 2012
      • December 2012
    • 2013
      • January 2013
      • February 2013
      • March 2013
      • April 2013
      • May 2013
      • June 2013
      • July 2013
      • August 2013
      • September 2013
      • October 2013
      • November 2013
      • December 2013
    • 2014
      • January 2014
      • February 2014
      • March 2014
      • April 2014
      • May 2014
      • June 2014
      • July 2014
      • August 2014
      • September 2014
      • October 2014
      • November 2014
      • December 2014
    • 2015
      • January 2015
      • February 2015
      • March 2015
      • April 2015
      • May 2015
      • June 2015
      • July 2015
      • August 2015
      • September 2015
      • October 2015
      • November 2015
      • December 2015
    • 2016
      • January 2016
      • February 2016
      • March 2016
      • April 2016
      • May 2016
      • June 2016
      • July 2016
      • August 2016
      • September 2016
      • October 2016
      • November 2016
      • December 2016
    • 2017
      • January 2017
      • February 2017
      • March 2017
      • April 2017
      • May 2017
      • June 2017
      • July 2017
      • August 2017
      • September 2017
      • October 2017
      • November 2017
      • December 2017
    • 2018
      • January 2018
      • February 2018
      • March 2018
      • April 2018
      • May 2018
      • June 2018
      • July 2018
      • August 2018
      • September 2018
      • October 2018
      • November 2018
      • December 2018
    • 2019
      • January 2019
      • February 2019
      • March 2019
      • April 2019
      • May 2019
      • June 2019
      • July 2019
      • August 2019
      • September 2019
      • October 2019
      • November 2019
      • December 2019
    • 2020
      • January 2020
      • February 2020
      • March 2020
      • April 2020
      • May 2020
      • June 2020
      • July 2020
      • August 2020
      • September 2020
      • October 2020
      • November 2020
      • December 2020
    • 2021
      • January 2021
      • February 2021
      • March 2021
      • April 2021
      • May 2021
      • June 2021
      • July 2021
      • August 2021
      • September 2021
      • October 2021
      • November 2021
      • December 2021
    • 2022
      • January 2022
      • February 2022
      • March 2022
      • April 2022
      • May 2022
      • June 2022
      • July 2022
      • August 2022
      • September 2022
      • October 2022
      • November 2022
      • December 2022
    • 2023
      • January 2023
      • February 2023
      • March 2023
      • April 2023
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Find Us on Magzter
No Result
View All Result
Business Today
No Result
View All Result

Singapore Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean At The Launch Of A Soldier At Heart Memoir Of LG (Retd) Winston Choo

0 0
0

Transcript of speech by SM Teo Chee Hean, Coordinating Minister for National Security, at the launch.


General Winston Choo and Mrs Choo, Distinguished Guests, Colleagues and Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen. Good evening to all of you. I am happy to join all of you here this evening to celebrate the launch of General Winston Choo’s memoir, “A Soldier At Heart”. This is an apt title, for it captures the essence of a truly remarkable man. From the time he joined the Boys Brigade as a young teenager through his long career in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and as our Ambassador to various countries and Chairman of the Singapore Red Cross, General Choo was a soldier at heart and served Singapore with the heart of a soldier. As General Choo said in his book, he always wanted to be a soldier. At the time of self-government for Singapore, he joined the Singapore Volunteer Corps at the age of 17, and then embarked on a full-fledged military career two years later by signing up for officer-training at the Federation Military College in 1960. As a young officer, when Singapore was part of Malaysia, he saw action during Konfrontasi and the 1960s race riots in Singapore. After our independence, he was Aide-de-Camp to our country’s first Head of State, President Yusof Ishak. You may not have realised this, but many of you were carrying a photo of the young Winston Choo in your wallets. You can see General Winston Choo on one of our $50 notes, standing beside the President at the opening of our first sitting of Parliament on 22 December 1965. General Choo has made a great many important contributions to Singapore. The most important of his contributions has been to the development of the SAF. He is a key pillar in the SAF’s history. He was there at the very beginning, already serving at independence, and he led the SAF through its formative years. From 1974 until his retirement in 1992 – a full 18 years – he was first Director General Staff, then Chief of the General Staff, and then Chief of Defence Force. General Choo built National Service as an institution,

professionalised the three Services, and developed a solid foundation for the Joint Staff and fully integrated tri-service SAF of today. Just as important, or perhaps even more so, General Choo shaped the culture and the values of the SAF. Not by issuing orders alone but by himself living and breathing these values. Winston Choo epitomised the SAF and led by example. He parachuted and dived, jogged with his men, and went into the trenches with them. He cared deeply about his soldiers, and spent long hours talking with them, listening to their problems, and getting to know them and their families. I had the privilege to serve under General Choo’s command throughout my career in the SAF. I observed him and learnt from him. I saw how he valued his soldiers, sailors and airmen, and engaged them easily. They trusted him because of his open and sincere manner. He believed that a robust esprit de corps was the glue that would bind the SAF and make it strong. And he succeeded in nurturing that esprit de corps in our pioneer servicemen even though they had very different origins and experiences – the volunteer corps, the Police, the Malaysian Armed Forces – together with a new crop of home-grown, SAFTI trained officers. General Choo instilled in them a sense of mission to serve our young nation. He led and guided generations of SAF officers who helped him bring the SAF forward – our SAF forward. General Choo’s considerable people skills also served Singapore very well through the relationships he developed with other armed forces and their top leaderships in countries in our region and beyond.

He built friendships based on mutual respect and shared interests that have lasted to this day. Some were formed from his cadet days at FMC, as his senior classmen, peers and juniors rose to the top of the Malaysian and Bruneian armed forces. It is a testament to the regard that they have for him that some came to visit him when he was recovering from his illnesses. He had equally warm personal ties with the top Indonesian generals who played politically influential roles in the Soeharto era. These relationships with our closest neighbours which General Choo nurtured continue to be of great value to the SAF and Singapore to this day. In this area too, I was fortunate to have benefited from observing and learning from General Choo how to engage foreign military and political leaders, how to win their trust, how to put forward our positions in a friendly but firm way, advancing cooperation and friendship while safeguarding our interests. Today, I continue to meet many foreign leaders and officials whom I first met when I accompanied General Choo during his meetings with them. I was a little guy sitting in the corner and taking notes. Several of them I met just in the last fwew days in Brunei, and they send you their warmest greetings. Since all of us have served in the SAF, or have grandfathers, fathers, husbands, brothers, or sons, and now perhaps daughters and sisters, who have served in the SAF, it is no exaggeration to say that General Choo has had an impact on every Singaporean. Many remember him fondly as a “living legend”. The publication of this memoir has triggered glowing memories of General Choo on Facebook. One said: “I would have followed him anywhere.” I would have followed him anywhere. Another, that “He is the definition of a man who puts home and country before all else.” Indeed, General Choo’s life has been one of service to his country. I am glad that he has given us this memoir. It is more than just the life story of a remarkable man.

It also reminds us of how far we have come as a nation, and of the massive challenges that we had to overcome to enjoy the security we have today. This book is a legacy not just to General Choo’s children and grandchildren but to all Singaporeans, especially those who serve in General Choo’s beloved SAF – past,present and future – to make Singapore more secure. I want to thank General Choo for being a role model to me and to all our servicemen in the SAF. I also wish to thank Kate, General Choo’s ever gracious wife, who has been by his side through his life’s journey. Thank you for your kindness to me and my wife, for all the wonderful dinners and post-dinner drinks you hosted for us, and for encouraging General Choo to work on this memoir. According to last weekend’s Sunday Times, this book is already the number one non-fiction bestseller in Singapore, and having read it, I can fully understand why. This is the perfect occasion to launch the book – two days before General Choo’s 80th birthday. Congratulations, General Choo! I wish you a very happy birthday, and many more to come in the years ahead. It is with great pleasure that I join General Choo in launching this book. Thank you. 

TweetShareShare

Search

No Result
View All Result

Recent News

Is the World in a Debt Spiral?

Is the World in a Debt Spiral?

World Economic Forum: Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

World Economic Forum: Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

World Economic Forum: Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

World Economic Forum: Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

Business Today

Business Today Online, the web edition of Sri Lanka’s leading monthly corporate publication. Founded in 1996, the magazine currently has a distribution of over 6,000 copies island-wide.

Recent News

  • Is the World in a Debt Spiral?
  • World Economic Forum: Crisis of Democratic Capitalism
  • World Economic Forum: Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

Find Us

20-2/1 Lauries Place
R A De Mel Mawatha
Colombo 04
Sri Lanka
(+94 11) 259 7991
(+94) 715 134 134
(+94) 715 136 136
info@btoptions.com
btoptions.com

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

© 2022 Business Today | Site by Lithic Labs

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 2006
      • January 2006
      • February 2006
    • 2007
      • January 2007
      • February 2007
      • March 2007
      • April 2007
      • May 2007
      • June 2007
      • July 2007
      • August 2007
      • September 2007
      • October 2007
      • November 2007
      • December 2007
    • 2008
      • January 2008
      • February 2008
      • March 2008
      • April 2008
      • May 2008
      • June 2008
      • July 2008
      • August 2008
      • September 2008
      • October 2008
      • November 2008
      • December 2008
    • 2009
      • January 2009
      • February 2009
      • March 2009
      • April 2009
      • May 2009
      • June 2009
      • July 2009
      • August 2009
      • September 2009
      • October 2009
      • November 2009
      • December 2009
    • 2010
      • January 2010
      • February 2010
      • March 2010
      • April 2010
      • May 2010
      • June 2010
      • July 2010
      • August 2010
      • September 2010
      • October 2010
      • November 2010
      • December 2010
    • 2011
      • January 2011
      • February 2011
      • March 2011
      • April 2011
      • May 2011
      • June 2011
      • July 2011
      • August 2011
      • September 2011
      • October 2011
      • November 2011
      • December 2011
    • 2012
      • January 2012
      • February 2012
      • March 2012
      • April 2012
      • May 2012
      • June 2012
      • July 2012
      • August 2012
      • September 2012
      • October 2012
      • November 2012
      • December 2012
    • 2013
      • January 2013
      • February 2013
      • March 2013
      • April 2013
      • May 2013
      • June 2013
      • July 2013
      • August 2013
      • September 2013
      • October 2013
      • November 2013
      • December 2013
    • 2014
      • January 2014
      • February 2014
      • March 2014
      • April 2014
      • May 2014
      • June 2014
      • July 2014
      • August 2014
      • September 2014
      • October 2014
      • November 2014
      • December 2014
    • 2015
      • January 2015
      • February 2015
      • March 2015
      • April 2015
      • May 2015
      • June 2015
      • July 2015
      • August 2015
      • September 2015
      • October 2015
      • November 2015
      • December 2015
    • 2016
      • January 2016
      • February 2016
      • March 2016
      • April 2016
      • May 2016
      • June 2016
      • July 2016
      • August 2016
      • September 2016
      • October 2016
      • November 2016
      • December 2016
    • 2017
      • January 2017
      • February 2017
      • March 2017
      • April 2017
      • May 2017
      • June 2017
      • July 2017
      • August 2017
      • September 2017
      • October 2017
      • November 2017
      • December 2017
    • 2018
      • January 2018
      • February 2018
      • March 2018
      • April 2018
      • May 2018
      • June 2018
      • July 2018
      • August 2018
      • September 2018
      • October 2018
      • November 2018
      • December 2018
    • 2019
      • January 2019
      • February 2019
      • March 2019
      • April 2019
      • May 2019
      • June 2019
      • July 2019
      • August 2019
      • September 2019
      • October 2019
      • November 2019
      • December 2019
    • 2020
      • January 2020
      • February 2020
      • March 2020
      • April 2020
      • May 2020
      • June 2020
      • July 2020
      • August 2020
      • September 2020
      • October 2020
      • November 2020
      • December 2020
    • 2021
      • January 2021
      • February 2021
      • March 2021
      • April 2021
      • May 2021
      • June 2021
      • July 2021
      • August 2021
      • September 2021
      • October 2021
      • November 2021
      • December 2021
    • 2022
      • January 2022
      • February 2022
      • March 2022
      • April 2022
      • May 2022
      • June 2022
      • July 2022
      • August 2022
      • September 2022
      • October 2022
      • November 2022
      • December 2022
    • 2023
      • January 2023
      • February 2023
      • March 2023
      • April 2023
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Find Us on Magzter

© 2022 Business Today | Site by Lithic Labs

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In