Another View: Mrs Umi Nathan

Reproduced from S R Nathan (with Timothy Auger), An Unexpected Journey: Path to the Presidency, Singapore: Editions Didier Millet Pte Ltd, 2011.

ANOTHER VIEW

When I first met S R Nathan I was very young – so young I can’t remember as a small child. But I remember him vividly when we were both in our teens, He would cycle up and down the street to catch my eye, when my family lived in a shophouse in Muar.

I didn’t realise it then, but after 16 years of trials and tribulations, I would be rewarded with the happiest day of my life, the day I married him.

By then I had qualified as a teacher. Working with children has brought me great satisfaction. For me, as it is for any teacher, the thrill of the job is to see one of my former students leading a good honest life, with a steady job, and able to look after a family. For me, that is success.

My husband has always worked. I am used to it, and I find it difficult to imagine a time when he is not going out each day dressed for the office and carrying a briefcase. On more than one occasion I thought he had reached the end of a successful career and could look forward to retirement. Each time a new call has come, and he has responded. We both feel that in answering the summons we are repaying a debt to Singapore, and also more personally to Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who has always been willing to put trust in my husband. I am also aware that, like many people of our age, if he were sitting around the house with nothing to do, he would soon go downhill! Even today, he hates holidays and always needs a task. His mind has to be active.

If anyone has ever suggested that one day my husband would be president, I would have responded with utter disbelief. And yet the challenge came, and the day he was appointed was the proudest day of my life. It was a blessing from God. When the possibility was put to him, he consulted the family, and we all supported him in accepting. My only condition was that the family be kept out of the public eye. After all, status is only temporary, and we must keep our feet on the ground.

As to my own role, during my husband’s presidency I was able to continue visiting schools. Once a teacher, always a teacher, and I love my visits to neighbourhood schools several times a year, and the chance to meet with the children. I always enjoyed meeting the Singapore public, whether young or old.

I hope Singaporeans will remember my husband as a self-made man. He started out with nothing, literally, and reached his lofty position through ability and hard work. There is a lesson in his story for all young people, however competitive the world may seem.

Mrs Umi Nathan

Top image: Singapore Press Holdings