Maurice Baker, one of independent Singapore’s pioneer diplomats, passed away yesterday (July 11) at the age of 97. 

Baker was known to have a close friendship with Malaysia's second prime minister Tun Razak and several other first-generation leaders in Singapore's Cabinet, including Goh Keng Swee and Lee Kuan Yew.

Lee, in particular, was identified by Baker in his autobiography The Accidental Diplomat as being a close friend. Baker said that Lee was one of his two good friends who helped him get through the depression he experienced from a failed relationship shortly after the end of the Japanese Occupation in 1945.

He wrote this line in his book:

"I remain grateful to Lee Kuan Yew for helping me out of my depression for several months at the end of 1945 and part of 1946 before he left for Britain."

Baker's friendship with Lee began in Raffles College (a forerunner of the National University of Singapore) before the war. He noted how Lee had a reputation for academic brilliance, which saw him suffering more ragging than usual:

"Harry Lee Kuan Yew who, as everyone knows, was destined to attain the pinnacle of power as Singapore's Prime Minister. I had got to know him in Raffles College where, as freshman in 1940, he came with a reputation for academic brilliance in school and consequently suffered more ragging than usual. He took it all very well. I never participated in any ragging as I found it distasteful. We got acquainted and I visited him occasionally in his house in Norfolk Road where I enjoyed his mother's wonderful cooking."

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="569"] From left: Maurice Baker, Joan Hon, Hon Sui Sen, and Lee Kuan Yew at 38 Oxley Road’s porch in 1948. Source: NUS[/caption]

When war broke out in early 1942, Baker and Lee volunteered in the medical auxiliary unit to attend to air raid casualties. He relates a story on one of their rescue missions together:

"There were huge craters in the road and several houses on fire. We were in a Traction Company bus converted into an ambulance with stretchers to pick up casualties. When the bus could go no further, we got out and walked into a rubber estate. I noticed an unexploded bomb with its fins above ground in the distance. Kuan Yew at once walked rapidly to inspect the bomb. He had no sense of danger! I had to call him back. We did attend to a girl who had a broken leg and a severe wound in the groin. He dressed her wound and we took her to the nearest aid station which was still manned."

Baker also recounted what Lee and himself would do together when they hung out in their younger years. He disliked riding pillion on Lee's motorcycle because Lee had a tendency to speed:

"I was in Cameron Highlands where Kuan Yew at one time thought of joining me but changed his mind to stay back in Singapore. Two or three times a week, Kuan Yew used to pick me up from Geylang, at first on his motorcycle and later in his second-hand car. I wasn't happy as his pillion rider as he tended to speed but the car, a large Ford, was comfortable. We generally went to the Chinese Swimming Club for a drink or two, a game of billiards and a lot of conversation."

Baker goes on:

"Occasionally, we went to Chinatown where one of the food stalls specialised in roast goose of which Kuan Yew was very fond. Sometimes we adjourned to Bedok where by the sea we used to lie on the grass by a concrete machine gun nest to enjoy the moonlight."

During their times hanging out as, Bake notes that they discussed the need for Malaya and Singapore to be independent from the British:

"We usually exchanged views on the harsh Japanese rule and the atrocities. We agreed that the British defeat made it essential that we should work towards independence to ensure that we should learn to protect ourselves in the future. We were hopeful that the Labour government in Britain under Clement Atlee would be more sympathetic to the aspirations of former colonies. We felt inspired by the events in India where Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru were on their way to gaining independence."

It seemed like a beautiful friendship that would stretch all the way into later years, when both worked together get Singapore to where it is today.

The Accidental Diplomat published by World Scientific Publishing Company is available at bookstores. More details about the book is available here.  

Top photo from a page in The Accidental Diplomat by World Scientific Publishing Company.

Here is a totally unrelated but equally interesting article:

Simple changes to your army boy lifestyle to help you save some money

Related article:

S’pore’s first-generation diplomat Maurice Baker has died at 97

1819 is a labour of love by Mothership.sg where we tell stories from Singapore’s history, heritage & culture. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!