Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon: Speech at launch of Pioneer, Polymath and Mentor: The Life and Legacy of Yong Pung How

1.          It is a great honour to address you at the launch of this book, a long overdue tribute to the life and legacy of Dr Yong Pung How, on what would have been his 98th birthday. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to pay my own tribute to this exceptional man, because so much of what we celebrate in our justice system today rests on the foundations that he laid in the course of an extraordinarily productive and fruitful tenure as Chief Justice. Such is the scale of his contribution to Singapore that he is considered one of our nation-building pioneers. 

2.          This might seem a lofty claim to make in respect of a judge. Judges are seldom seen as nation-builders; their role is primarily to say what the law is and to apply it to the facts of the cases that come before them. And the description of Dr Yong as a nation-building pioneer might seem even more strained because he came to the office in 1990, 25 years after Singapore became an independent city-state. Yet, I think Dr Yong’s accomplishments amply justify his place as one of this country’s true pioneers.

3.          To understand why this is so, I suggest it is necessary to step back in time to recall the state of our legal system in the period before he took office. While the Government had achieved remarkable progress in most areas under the leadership of Mr Lee Kuan Yew in the first quarter-century of our nation’s existence, our court system was still bedevilled by a considerable backlog of cases that led to long delays in clearing matters. To put this in perspective, I can recall, as a young lawyer, being assigned cases to take to trial in the late 1980s, when these had been commenced in the very early part of that decade, if not even in the late 1970s. The Government’s aspiration for Singapore to take its place among the world’s leading financial, commercial and legal centres would have been plainly untenable if businesses were expected to wait up to a decade for the disposition of even relatively routine matters in court.

4.          You have heard the Prime Minister recount how Dr Yong brought our legal system into the 21st century with the numerous and varied measures he implemented in order to clear the backlog. And he then went about streamlining and modernising the process of litigation, building the capacity of the Bench, enhancing the quality of the Bar, insisting on the highest professional standards from both the Bench and the Bar, and instituting a system of court management measures, all to ensure that our justice system would continue to thrive. It is a testament to Dr Yong’s remarkable foresight that many of these measures are still very much a feature of our justice system today. To highlight one particular example of this foresight, Dr Yong initiated the use of technology as part of the mainstream of the work of our justice system at a time when this was largely seen as alien, if not unthinkable.

5.          As a result of his efforts, within just a few years, the chokage of our justice system had become a thing of the past, and this in turn facilitated the efforts of the Government to develop Singapore into the centre for financial and legal services that it is today. The world-class justice system that we now have unquestionably owes an immense debt of gratitude to Dr Yong, and all of us in Singapore, and perhaps especially those of us who have made the law our life’s work, continue to be the beneficiaries and stewards of his legacy.

6.          You have also heard that before he embarked on his judicial career, Dr Yong had already made tremendous contributions in the field of banking and finance, among other fields. He served as Vice-Chairman and later Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, our largest local bank at the time. He was also a key figure in establishing the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (or “GIC”), and played a vital role in helping to establish a system to build and manage our reserves. This is why Dr Yong is accurately described as a polymath. Indeed, as Andrew observes in the opening chapter of this book, “any one of Dr Yong’s achievements, in any single sphere, would already be a monumental achievement in itself”⁽¹⁾ – much less all of them over the course of a single lifetime.

7.          But Dr Yong was also one of those rare individuals whose immense influence on our systems and institutions, and indeed on the history of our nation, was matched by his profound impact on each of the many lives he touched. What is perhaps the most moving part of this book tells the story of Dr Yong as a person, and especially as a mentor. This is seen in the personal tributes, in Chapter Eight of the book, from 64 of the former Justices’ Law Clerks who had the privilege of working for him. It is clear from these tributes that Dr Yong was so much more than their first boss; he was also an inspiration, a guide, and a father figure in their journey through the law and through life itself. The deep respect and warm affection with which Dr Yong’s former law clerks continue to regard him to this day powerfully bears witness to the indelible impression he left on each one of them. 

8.          My own life in the law has been shaped by Dr Yong. Perhaps most significantly, it was Dr Yong who gave me my first exposure to judicial work when he very kindly invited me to join the Bench as a Judicial Commissioner nearly two decades ago, in 2006. I was the last appointment to the Bench that Dr Yong initiated. As a result, I only served ten days as a member of his court. However, it was to be a life-changing experience for me. 

9.          Of course, my professional interactions with Dr Yong began much earlier. I vividly recall the first time I saw Dr Yong in late 1989, quite shortly after he became a Judge. I was attending to a matter in open court on a Friday that had been placed on the common list over which Dr Yong was presiding. There were several dozen matters called that morning, and I was struck by Dr Yong's mastery of the details of each and every matter, the civility and polish with which he addressed each counsel who appeared before him, and the precise and crisp way in which he explained the reasons for each of his decisions. 

10.          Soon after that, Dr Yong was appointed the Chief Justice; and he was, for most of my time as a practitioner, the dominant figure in our profession. I appeared before him several times in the Court of Appeal in the years that followed and he was always on top of every matter, and displayed a remarkable ability to get to the key questions that either made or broke your case, often in the first quarter of an hour or so of an argument. In my experience, you usually knew by then where you stood, and more importantly, why.

11.          After Dr Yong retired as Chief Justice, several of his former judicial colleagues continued to stay in touch with him, as did I. When I was appointed as Chief Justice in 2012, Dr Yong was among the very first to extend his congratulations and good wishes. We remained in touch in the subsequent years and he was always and unfailingly kind, encouraging and gracious.

12.          All of this might help explain why I am so very grateful to Ying-I and to Andrew for inviting me to address you and to honour Dr Yong. I would especially like to express my deep gratitude to Andrew for taking on this ambitious project, because the story of Dr Yong’s life and work fills a vital gap in Singapore’s legal history. We are all in your debt, Andrew, and in the debt of all who have assisted Andrew in this endeavour, for the tremendous industry and dedication that has been applied to bring this project to fruition. 

13.          The only regret is that Mrs Yong, who was Dr Yong’s life partner, best friend, confidante and counsellor, passed away just a few weeks ago. Of course, she fully understood her husband’s contribution to the Singapore story, and even played an instrumental role in bringing it about. She also saw the final proofs of the book. But her presence today would undoubtedly have completed our joy. Let me again offer you, Ying-I, our heartfelt condolences.

14.          Let me finally thank the SMU and the organisers for affording all of us this opportunity to honour Dr Yong, and congratulate Andrew and his team once again on the launch of Pioneer, Polymath and Mentor: The Life and Legacy of Yong Pung How.