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EARLY FORAYS IN DIPLOMACY
David's first foray in diplomacy had been back in 1955 when he was chief minister. At that time, he had led a delegation — in his capacity as Minister for Commerce and Industry — to Indonesia in an attempt to ease the trade tensions between Indonesia and Singapore. This trip was not without controversy since foreign relations and foreign affairs were still under the charge of the British. Yet the visit was a great success and added greatly to David's stature as an international statesman. His attempts at forging a pan- Asian connection with India and Ceylon — while on his way to London in December 1955 for talks with the British — were less successful, even though leaders in the two countries gave him much support and encouragement from the sidelines. David remained in government for too short a time for more forays into diplomacy, although his post-chief ministership, two-month tour of China must also be considered a great success.
Certainly, David had many attributes of a good diplomat. He was intelligent, charming, witty, a great raconteur, genuinely enjoyed the company of people, and understood politics as an insider. However, there were other aspects of his personality that did not make him the epitome of a diplomat. His tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve, his willingness to openly criticize things he did not like or which he thought were unfair, his quick temper and independent frame of mind made him less than ideal as a diplomat.
It was therefore to his great surprise that in 1968 he was invited by Foreign Minister S. Rajaratnam to be part of the five-member Singapore delegation to the 23rd session of the United Nations General Assembly. The delegation, led by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Rahim Ishak, included Ng Kah Ting (member of parliament for Punggol), Harry Chan Keng Howe (acting permanent secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Abdul Aziz bin Mahmood (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and David. The team was joined in New York by Tommy Koh, who had been David's pupil and assistant in 1961–1962. After leaving David's firm, he had joined the teaching staff of the Faculty of Law, at the University of Singapore. In 1968, he was seconded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to serve as Singapore's permanent representative to the United Nations.
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