THE FATHER-DAUGHTER DUO WRITING FOR SINGAPORE’S FUTURE

By Zoey Chow

Diploma in Creative Writing for TV and New Media

Singapore Polytechnic

Following the success of The Leader, The Teacher, and You, Mr Lim Siong Guan (second from left) and Ms Joanne Lim (far right) with special guests at the launch of the Chinese version of their book Winning with Honour (Source: Joanne Lim)

The father-daughter pair of Lim Siong Guan and Joanne Lim, authors of The Leader, The Teacher, And You were surprised when they were announced as the co-winners of the non-fiction category of the Singapore Literature Prize in 2014.

The book had been on the bestseller list for over 40 weeks, but neither had had any expectations before the ceremony.

 “We thought we were just going for dinner,” Ms Lim, 38, recalls.

The Leader, The Teacher, And You discusses principles and values as well as Singapore’s future. It was inspired by Mr Lim’s time in the public sector which allowed him to write “a compilation of experiences and of lessons”.

71-year-old Mr Lim was the Head of Civil Service from 1999 to 2006. During his career in the civil service, he worked with Singapore’s founding fathers, Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Dr Goh Keng Swee. From 2007 to 2016, Mr Lim was the Group President of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).

Ms Lim is the founder and creative director of The Right Perspective, a consultancy specialising in writing, strategic communications, branding initiatives and creative services.

She explains that her father’s passion for the country is about “the survival and success of Singapore,” and how “he is very concerned about whether Singapore is going to be future-ready”.

The Collaboration

The pair has great chemistry, constantly finishing each other’s sentences. Mr Lim is also quick to give credit to his daughter.

 “Quite frankly, Joanne is the one who actually wrote the book,” Mr Lim says.

Working with family can sometimes lead to tension but Ms Lim says the process was “smooth”. Mr Lim had a lot of material for Ms Lim to refer to, one of the most helpful being a farewell book he received from staff when he left the civil service. The book was a compilation of all his slides and short anecdotes.

“More importantly, which was very touching, was how they wrote a small paragraph of their observations about my father and the lessons they learnt,” Ms Lim says.

Ms Lim sifted through all this material and picked out ideas which she felt “would be useful” for her generation and the generations after her.

Following the success of The Leader, The Teacher, And You, Mr Lim and Ms Lim published a second book, Winning with Honour: In Relationships, Family, Organisations, Leadership, and Life, in 2016. A Chinese version was released in 2018. The book focuses on “why honour is important for your present and future,” especially in a Singaporean context.