In the early days of being the No.2 Goh emphasised the need for continued political stability: "I think we have to govern Singapore firmly and we have to govern it very well." His more accommodating style may have been construed as a sign of confidence but through the years he has demonstrated that in hos own way, he can be just as firm as his predecessor.In the 1988 Singapore-United States row over the Hendrickson affair, some political observers said that Lee's speech in parliament was softer than Goh's.Goh had warned that the strength of the US Embassy staff would be reduced and foreign correspondents thrown out o the country if they persisted in meddling in the domestic politics of the republic.
E. Mason Hendrickson was a diplomat serving in the American Embassy in the 1980s when Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States. Hendrickson was discovered to have persuaded two anti-government lawyers to contest the General Election as opposition candidates. The two lawyers were Francis Seow, the former Solicitor-General and Law Society President, and Patrick Seong.
The Singapore government released a statement based on declarations by Seow and Seong. According to the statement, Hendrickson arranged for Seong to meet a senior US State Department official known as "Mr X". During that meeting in the lounge of the Marina Mandarin Hotel, Hendrickson urged anti-government lawyers to join the Opposition.
According to the Singapore Government, Hendrickson had also tried to approach other lawyers in a similar way. In October 1986, the diplomat introduced a State Department official known as "Mr Y" to several anti-government lawyers in a lunch at Amara Hotel organised by Francis Seow. When one of Hendrickson's contacts said that money was needed to finance an election campaign, the diplomat replied that money was not a problem.
The Singapore Government's position was that Hendrickson was free to meet any opposition politician if he wished to understand Singapore politics, but it could not accept interfering with the country's politics. It formally requested the US government to withdraw Hendrickson as a diplomat and reprimand Mr X and Mr Y. Their names were concealed from the public so as not to further embarrass the United States.
Tommy Koh, who was Singapore's Ambassador to the United States had to write a letter to the Washington Post to correct a report that Hendrickson was expelled: "...the Singapore government did not expel E. Mason Hendrickson. It requested the U.S. State Department to withdraw him from the U.S. Embassy in Singapore. In diplomacy, there is a significant difference between the two acts."
After Hendrickson was withdrawn from Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had some conciliatory words for the Americans. In a New York Times article, Lee was quoted as saying that he would apologise if it could be proven that Hendrickson had not tried to interfere in Singapore's internal affairs. Lee also said that he could understand why Goh Chok Tong and his Second Generation colleagues were upset. The article went on to say:
He said older politicians like himself take a more philosophical, if cynical, view of the world, adding: ''My experience of life since World War II has convinced me that American power is benevolent. It is benign.'' But, he said, ''some of their best intentioned schemes turn out to be naive and unwise and end up disastrously.''
Lee was extending an olive branch to the Americans. He could afford to do so. His time as Prime Minister was coming to an end and he could be seen as the mellow seasoned statesman who had seen it all while Goh Chok Tong and his 2G peers fended off American efforts to covertly influence Singapore's politics.
Hendrickson is married to diplomat Anne Derse. He is Executive Director of the U.S.- Philippines Society.
Lee Yue Heng (13/01/2025)