Tribute to Dr Goh Keng Swee, the “Father of Jurong”.

Much has been written about Dr Goh Keng Swee’s role as one of the nation’s founding fathers. Without him, the Singapore of today would not exist.  Without him too, today’s Jurong would not exist.   

Soon after Dr Goh became our first Finance Minister in 1959, he put his attention to jump-starting the stagnant economy.  He decided that trading activities could no longer provide the jobs needed for Singapore’s growing population and that Singapore must embark on rapid industrialisation. The key to this was an ambitious project to transform the swamps, jungles and small fishing villages of Jurong into a modern industrial estate.  Dr Goh saw this as “an act of faith in the people of Singapore”.     

Dr Goh’s vision was for Jurong to be a prime industrial town for generations of Singaporeans. The vast land immediately available there made it an ideal site to him – it was not far away from Singapore Harbour (Keppel), relatively flat and low population density. Furthermore, Jurong’s coastline provided a natural deep harbour which allowed the Jurong Port to be setup at in addition to the Keppel Harbour in the south of Singapore. 

Until 1965, Jurong made little progress. Cynics mocked the venture, calling it “Goh’s Folly”. But after Singapore’s independence Jurong took off, attracting a flood of investments and creating many jobs.   

Mr Lim Kim San, who was Minister for National Development between 1963-1965, later told National Archives in his oral history interview: 

“I know from the very beginning Dr Goh was more concerned with the economic side of it.  He had a concept all right. He had a concept a few years after we graduated. As I told you, probably I was talking with his father, and Dr Goh must have been talking with his father about his concept of how to make Singapore economically viable. So I think I am right in saying that he had a concept very earlier on. Whether he was able to put that concept into practice depended very much upon the political situation. As a colony we probably can't. But when the PAP was formed, all that concept was already in his mind. I think he wanted to set Jurong apart as an industrial area with all the infrastructure.” 

As Jurong Town developed, its rail and road network grew more comprehensive to facilitate the increased movement of goods and people. Bridges were built over the Jurong and Pandan rivers, as well as to some of the southern islands. The 482-feet long and 24-feet wide reinforced concrete bridge linking Pulau Semulun to the Jurong mainland, when completed in 1964, became the second longest bridge in Singapore. The 35.5-km Pan Island Expressway, completed in 1981, provided direct and speedy access to and from the east, where it linked up to the newly operating Changi Airport. 

To be a true industrial town with a thriving resident population, Jurong had to provide comfortable homes for its workers along with attractive social amenities for their families outside its capable industrial facilities.  At the start, 7068 low cost housing units (including 1, 2 and 3-room flats; 3-room terrace houses; and shop houses) were to be built by the HDB in Residential Neighbourhood I. In 1967, Jurong Industrial water lake was opened, with boating facilities for members of the public to enjoy a scenic ride, and an open air cinema began operation.  Although the initial pick up was slow, housing became more popular with the growth of Jurong Town. By 1968, as the available flats at Jurong were by then fully occupied, and the population at Jurong Town, estimated at 16,000, had become substantial. 

Jurong Town began to grow and develop its identity as an industrial town. To cultivate better understanding and closer ties among residents, the Jurong Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC) was formed in April 1965 by the People’s Association. The CCC coordinated various activities in the constituency, including community service and welfare projects. Led by MP Ho Kah Leong, the CCC helped set up funds such as the Scholarship and Bursary Fund, of which about $20,000 was given annually to outstanding and needy students. 

As the number of people who worked and lived in Jurong Industrial Estate continued to grow and expand, Dr Goh, as Minister for Finance, pushed for the JTC Bill, which was passed in Parliament in 1968. S Dhanabalan, who spent the years 1961-1968 in the Economic Development Board as a young civil servant, remembered the rationale for forming JTC in his oral history interview with the National Archives: 

“… by '68, which was only eight years EDB was established, [Dr Goh] decided that this attraction of EDB as a one-stop destination was probably not a good idea because there were too many functions that EDB had to do. And that EDB should actually focus purely on investment promotion and tax exemption and the rest should move out… The decision was taken to establish JTC to take all the physical development of industrial estates, not only Jurong but also all over Singapore, out of EDB.” 

The JTC Bill transferred responsibility for the provision of facilities in industrial estates from the EDB to JTC, a new specialised corporate body formed to focus on managing and improving the industrial infrastructure and also social services in the industrial towns, such as the availability of schools, markets, clinics, public phones and recreational facilities.  As Dr Goh explained in Parliament, “the Corporation can provide for amenities for the well-being of the people working and living in the various industrial estates and sites to the extent which was not possible with the EDB.” 

Dr Goh was, in the words of the Jurong Town Corporation’s (JTC) founding Chairman Mr Woon Wah Siang, the “Father of Jurong”. During the inaugural meeting of the JTC Board, Mr Woon paid tribute to Dr Goh for his contribution to the success of Jurong:

“It was his [Dr Goh’s] foresight and conviction, when he became Minister of Finance in 1959, that entrepot trade could no longer provide the number of jobs for Singapore’s increasing population and that Singapore must industrialise to solve the employment problem. [Dr Goh’s] ‘brain-child’ the ‘Jurong Industrial Estate’ was born when the bulldozers moved into Jurong in September, 1961. To-day, hardly 7 years have passed, and Jurong Industrial Estate has grown into manhood by becoming the Jurong Town.

On 21 May 1970, at the 5th Anniversary Dinner of the Jurong Industries Association, Guest of Honour Dr Goh Keng Swee, who was Minister for Finance then, recalled that:   

 “When the Jurong industrial estate was in its infancy, I had occasion to state that if the millions of dollars spent on development resulted in vast tracts of empty waste land, then Jurong will be known to Singapore’s posterity  as ‘Goh’s Folly.’ In those early days, there were not a few traditionalists who thought that the project would prove a foolish waste of public fund… If you compare the terms on which good industrial land with all the modern facilitation of electronic power, water supply, communication by road, rail, sea are available – if you compare Jurong with any industrial estate in this part of the world – I think you will agree that what you are getting in Jurong is more attractive than what you can get elsewhere in this part of the world.”  

The transfer of the administration of Jurong Town to the JTC proved a boon to its residents. Within three years, major improvements to the social amenities at Jurong were evident. Better quality and range of housing was made available, a 20 acre sports complex with tennis, badminton and basketball courts, as well as an Olympic sized swimming pool was constructed, bus services to Jurong greatly improved, medical facilities in the form of a government outpatient clinic and a private hospital established. Construction was also underway to create a beautiful 700-acre public park in Jurong to rival the Singapore Botanical Gardens – comprising of the Chinese Gardens, Japanese Gardens and then Tropical Gardens. The Chinese Gardens was designed by Professor Yuen-Chen Yu, a well known Chinese Garden expert from Taiwan while the Japanese Gardens was designed by Professor K. Nakane an expert from Japan. Mr George Chan was the Honorary Landscape Consultant to the Tropical Garden.   

 “It was actually very well thought up strategically and practically because Singaporeans at that time, even Singaporeans in those days, were not very confident of our economic future. The World Bank, of course, thought that we couldn't survive if we are outside Malaysia. So, we have to show the people things were moving, jobs were being created.” - Mr HWANG Peng Yuan, Chairman of EDB (1982-1986), explaining how Dr Goh’s strategy to publicise factory openings helped inspire confidence in both locals and foreigners in Singapore’s economic potential.  

In less than a decade, the industrialisation drive in Jurong contributed significantly to the economy of Singapore - the GDP (at factor cost) reached $5.565m, an increase of $724m or 15% over the previous year, and manufacturing ranked top in percentage contribution to the growth. It was Dr Goh’s vision and political determination to push through the Jurong Industrial Estate project in the face of much public scepticism and criticism that was decisive in transforming Jurong into a large and thriving industrial complex, equipped with efficient and modern infrastructure and facilities capable of attracting numerous investors, and providing jobs, incomes and homes to many Singaporeans.

We will never forget what he did for us in Jurong, like the many other things he did for Singapore.