Cover How author Simon Tay’s latest memoir honours his late father, Singapore’s pioneer spy chief
How author Simon Tay’s latest memoir honours his late father, Singapore’s pioneer spy chief
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His latest memoir ‘Enigmas: Tay Seow Huah, My Father, Singapore’s Pioneer Spy Chief’ tells the story of the life and career of Tay’s late father
In 1974, the Shell Oil Refinery on Pulau Bukom Besar (an island south of Singapore) was attacked by four men who were later dubbed the ‘Bukom bombers’ by the media. Armed with guns and explosives, the group hijacked the ferryboat Laju and held five crew members hostage. The following nine days saw tense negotiations involving governments in Singapore and Japan before the hostages were released. Singapore’s first international terrorist attack, this unforgettable event is known today as the Laju incident.
On top of being a significant part of Singapore’s history, this was also a pivotal event in the careers of those who had handled the crisis, including former president S. R. Nathan and former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Tay Seow Huah. While we have heard and read accounts of this incident from commanders including the late president S. R. Nathan, we have never known many other perspectives of those who were also on-site, like Tay’s—until today.
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Above Enigmas Tay Seow Huah, My Father, Singapore’s Pioneer Spy Chief
Enigmas Tay Seow Huah, My Father, Singapore’s Pioneer Spy Chief
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Singapore’s first director of Security & Intelligence Division (SID), many may recall Tay Seow Huah’s name in the news as he shaped strategies and initiated new institutions for intelligence and security. During the Laju incident, he fronted everything with the media on top of coordinating and negotiating with the attackers and foreign governments.
Tay Seow Huah, was many things—a pioneer, a spy chief, a civil servant. Beyond the headlines he also wore many hats: he was a husband, a son and a father. To honour his legacy, his son Simon Tay has published a memoir, Enigmas: Tay Seow Huah, My Father, Singapore’s Pioneer Spy Chief.
It has been 44 years since the SID director’s passing and Tay has decided that there is no better time to honour his father than now. “The book is a thing of many different parts,” he says, adding that he wrote the memoir to give insight into who his father was as a person both in and out of his career. 2024 also marks 50 years since the Laju Incident, a pivotal event in the late spy chief’s career and for Tay, the memoir also serves as a source of sharing this part of Singapore’s history with the younger generation.
Above On top of being an author, Tay serves as chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) and is a tenured associate professor of international law at the National University of Singapore
On top of being an author, Tay serves as chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) and is a tenured associate professor of international law at the National University of Singapore
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Leaving imprints
Like his father, Tay wears many hats. On top of being an author, he is also the chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) and a tenured associate professor teaching international law at the National University of Singapore.
Tay had a complex relationship with his father growing up. As his father had passed at an early age, Tay admitted that he “didn’t really get to know him” as a young adult. But upon reflection, Tay began noticing that his father had left imprints on him in his personal life and career. He shares: “I’m the chairman of SIIA and a professor of international law, which relates a bit to [my father’s] role in security intelligence.” At home, he found himself conversing with his son about political affairs, similar to dinner conversations he would have with his own father.
Family history
The inspiration to write this memoir was born out of the pandemic. Like many of us, the pandemic was a “weird sense of time” for him. “I felt I should at least think a little bit back about my own history,” Tay says, admitting that while he did not know what exactly motivated him to write the memoir, he was glad to be doing so during this time in his life. The author reveals feeling like he would not have related to and understood his father as well as he does today if he had written this memoir in his 20s or 30s.
For Tay, the process of writing the memoir took two to three years, comprising oral history lessons from his uncles and aunts. “Writing about the family history was quite hilarious … while the main part of the story is always the same, details tend to vary a bit—even when I interview the same relative,” he shares, adding that old age also plays a part in their forgetfulness. Tay also used various newspaper clippings to weave the story together.
Above Photograph of the older Tay eating
Photograph of the older Tay eating
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Tay and his sister curated various photos of their father to include in the memoir. “My sister being the archivist [in the family] had many more photos than this. We had a bit of a fight as to which pictures to add,” he says. From images of the late Tay with his sports car to family photos, each photo picked for the memoir represents a significant time in his father’s life.
Through the memoir, Tay hopes to educate readers about his father and inspire others to get to know their parents better, even if they’ve passed.
Credits
Images: SIIA
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Amanda Goh was the former senior writer for Tatler Singapore.
