Enigmas
Tay Seow Huah, My Father: Singapore's Pioneer Spy Chief
Will be published approx. on 3. October 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
360 pages
978-981-18-8806-9 (ISBN)
Description
Enigmas is a memoir of Tay Seow Huah, written by his son, revealing the personal roots of Singapore's pioneer spy chief set in the traumas of WWII, the Emergency in Malaya, and Singapore's pre-independence political tumult.1965. Singapore is newly independent. Tay Seow Huah is
appointed Director of the secretive
Special Branch. Over the tumultuous first decade, he is key in ensuring the country's
stability, shaping strategies and initiating new institutions for intelligence and security. He reports directly
to PM Lee. In 1974, when Singapore
is attacked in the Laju Incident - the oil refinery on Pulau Bukom is bombed and civilians
held hostage at gun point - and Tay is tasked to coordinate
all responses, negotiate with the attackers and foreign governments.
Encounters with the Israelis (codenamed "Mexicans") who
assisted in Singapore's military
build up are revealed, as are flash points across the region, when the
Republic's fledgling intelligence agency must rapidly
respond to the Vietnam War and tensions
with neighbours and develop
its place in the world.
This book also tracks Tay's
own challenges: early
retirement and his sudden death
at 47. It then offers a daring, speculative and emotional conversation that juxtaposes those early
years of Singapore with so much that has happened since.
appointed Director of the secretive
Special Branch. Over the tumultuous first decade, he is key in ensuring the country's
stability, shaping strategies and initiating new institutions for intelligence and security. He reports directly
to PM Lee. In 1974, when Singapore
is attacked in the Laju Incident - the oil refinery on Pulau Bukom is bombed and civilians
held hostage at gun point - and Tay is tasked to coordinate
all responses, negotiate with the attackers and foreign governments.
Encounters with the Israelis (codenamed "Mexicans") who
assisted in Singapore's military
build up are revealed, as are flash points across the region, when the
Republic's fledgling intelligence agency must rapidly
respond to the Vietnam War and tensions
with neighbours and develop
its place in the world.
This book also tracks Tay's
own challenges: early
retirement and his sudden death
at 47. It then offers a daring, speculative and emotional conversation that juxtaposes those early
years of Singapore with so much that has happened since.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Singapore
Illustrations
50 black and white photographs
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 136 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
604 gr
ISBN-13
978-981-18-8806-9 (9789811888069)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Simon Tay is an award-winning writer, with works of fiction
as well as about politics and international issues. His awards for fiction and poetry include the Singapore Literature
Prize and the 2019 Southeast Asia
Write Award.
He is a former Nominated Member of Parliament, chair of a major statutory board,
and contin- ues to serve as an ambassador for Singapore.
He is concurrently chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, associate professor at the National Univer- sity of Singapore's Faculty of Law and senior consultant with a major Singaporean
law firm.
He is the only son of Tay Seow Huah and the late Madam Cheong
Keong Hin.
as well as about politics and international issues. His awards for fiction and poetry include the Singapore Literature
Prize and the 2019 Southeast Asia
Write Award.
He is a former Nominated Member of Parliament, chair of a major statutory board,
and contin- ues to serve as an ambassador for Singapore.
He is concurrently chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, associate professor at the National Univer- sity of Singapore's Faculty of Law and senior consultant with a major Singaporean
law firm.
He is the only son of Tay Seow Huah and the late Madam Cheong
Keong Hin.