DPM Heng Swee Keat at the Book Launch of "A Trail of Sparks" by Mr Yatiman Yusof

Mr Yatiman Yusof and family members,
Mr Suraidi Sipan, President, Angkatan Sasterawan 50,
Current and former Members of Parliament,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. I am delighted to join you today to launch this collection of deep and reflective poems by Yatiman Yusof.

I came to know Yatiman after I entered politics, contesting in Tampines GRC. I deeply appreciate that Yatiman was most generous in sharing his experiences and reflections and guiding me along the way. I am also very happy to see so many former Tampines GRC MPs here too. As I got to know him better over the years, I have found him to be a very gentle, thoughtful and wise man, and as we heard earlier, a beacon of humility and integrity. So when Yatiman invited me to launch this book, I agreed immediately.

As a public figure, Yatiman is known for serving as a Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC. Although he retired from politics in 2006, when I became MP in Tampines 5 years later in 2011, many residents still spoke fondly of him. They recalled his care and concern, especially for those who are disadvantaged. As an office holder in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in the-then Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, he represented Singapore far and wide.

This collection of 119 poems is titled “A Trail of Sparks”. Yatiman’s trail, as a family man, as a teacher and journalist, and later as Editor of Berita Harian and Berita Minggu, and then in politics, has triggered many sparks – in Yatiman’s heart, as well as in the lives he touched. These 119 poems crafted over more than 4 decades give us a glimpse of these sparks across time and space.

In an interview two years back, Yatiman recounted the excitement of his work as a journalist in the early days of Singapore’s independence. He said, 'Journalism is the best profession that I ever came across. I could work 12, 14, 16 hours a day because of the excitement. You are not just recording history, you are actually activating the minds of the people on which direction to take in our nation building – something which is quite important for Singapore at that time. We had just left Malaysia and were left with nothing, we were struggling to build a nation.'

Yatiman's feel for the power of words in conveying complex realities and in moving hearts and minds were well-harnessed in our nation-building efforts, especially in the early tumultuous years of our nation’s independence. This feel, together with Yatiman’s gentle demeanour, enabled him to represent Singapore well at international meetings around the world. His feelings and reflections sparked off during these foreign journeys are well captured in the 63 poems he penned after these visits across so many countries.

The beauty of poetry lies in how profound emotions and reflections can be expressed and evoked through carefully chosen words.

It is lovely that this collection of poems starts with Letter To My Wife (For Su). Now if I may quote a stanza from this:

di situ kita satukan
durimu  duriku
apiku apimu
deritamu laraku
lalu kita akhiri dengan ikrar
hidupmu hidupku
di Lorong yang satu

I am not sure if I do justice to the poem with my recitation, but let me also read out the English translation:

There we paired,
your thorn and mine,
your fire and mine, your pain your grief.
So we tied with a pledge:
that your life and mine
are on one single path.

This lovely poem was written in October 1970, 54 years ago. Yatiman is a romantic, and I am very happy to see Mdm Sadiah here. Let us give them a round of applause.

Yatiman has travelled far and wide, on his own, as well as on work serving in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is an acute observer who records his reflections well. In the second half of the collection, titled Foreign Journeys, he shares these reflections and invites us to reflect on the struggles and travails in these places and the paths that led them there.

Today, the world has over 8.1 billion people. Each of our lives is shaped by who we are and the choices we make. These in turn are shaped by the society we live in, and the interactions these societies and ourselves have with others around the world.

In sharing his reflections and feelings in these 119 poems, as Yatiman noted earlier, he endeavours to provoke thought, stir emotion, and inspire change. You can see the changemaker in him, and that he wants to inspire change — I think it is wonderful. He invites us to cultivate profound connections as we embark on this journey of life together, and to treat each other with open hearts and open minds. By emphasising our common humanity, he urges all to cherish the threads that bind us all.

Yatiman’s collection ends with a poem titled ‘Old Casuarina’ – which has this refreshing line:

– in your old age,
you let a young branch,
stem out from your spirit….

I do not know if Yatiman regards himself as an Old Casuarina, but certainly, we look forward to seeing many more young branches coming out from Yatiman – from his reflective mind, deep love of people around him, and his sense of humanity.

Indeed, Yatiman and other stalwarts of Malay culture including many in ASAS 50 have not only kept the language spoken and alive but nurtured many literatis including the young generation. This collection of poems enriches our Malay heritage and culture, while the English translations enable all of us in Singapore and around the world to appreciate Yatiman’s unique thoughts — as a poet, a teacher, a changemaker, and a leader who played a very special role in Singapore’s formative years. So overall, it deeply enriches Singapore’s multiracial, multicultural society.

My heartiest congratulations to Yatiman on the launch of this collection, a Trail of Sparks! We look forward to more Trails of Sparks in the years ahead! So congratulations Yatiman. Thank you.

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