First Spy Chief of Independent Singapore, Tay Seow Huah

Tay Seow Huah, then Permanent Secretary for the Home Affairs Ministry, helmed Singapore’s response to the 1974 Laju hijacking incident. This was when four terrorists tried (but failed) to destroy Shell’s oil infrastructure on Pulau Bukom Besar and subsequently took five hostages. Little is known about the enigmatic spy chief, who was the founding Director of the Security and Intelligence Division. Simon Tay, lawyer, academic and winner of the 2010 Singapore Literature Prize, tells us about how his Penang-born father – who lived through WWII, the Malayan Emergency and the political tumult of the 1960s – came to play a giant role serving a newly independent Singapore.

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What Simon Talked About

00:00 – The 1974 Laju hijacking and its significance
02:00 – Tay Seow Huah’s legacy and role in Singapore’s security operations
04:00 – Why Simon’s wrote the book Enigmas
06:00 – Background on the Laju hijackers and geopolitical tensions in the 1970s
08:00 – Singapore’s strategic and diplomatic response to the Laju incident
10:00 – Why Lee Kuan Yew appointed Tay to lead the Special Branch
12:00 – Challenges of writing about classified events and uncovering the past
14:00 – Insights from S. R. Nathan’s memoir and limited disclosures
16:00 – Why Tay did not accompany hijackers to Kuwait although he volunteered
18:00 – Tay’s childhood in Malaya and educational achievements
20:00 – Speculations about Tay’s post-university activities before joining civil service
22:00 – Comparison between Tay and James Bond
24:00 – Writing approach and archival research
26:00 – How Simon’s relationship with his father changed after Tay’s heart attack
28:00 – Tay’s declining health and early retirement from civil service
30:00 – Tay’s struggles in his retirement years
32:00 – Simon’s reflections on his grandmother’s strength and complexity
34:00 – Tay’s relationship with food and how childhood hunger shaped his habits
36:00 – Tay’s party trick
38:00 – Simon on his public service journey