Wong Lin Ken

Wong Lin Ken was born in Penang in 1931 and studied history at the University of Malaya, graduating with first class honours. A Queen's Scholarship took him to London for doctoral study. He returned to university teaching and, in 1964, became director of the People's Action Party's external affairs bureau and a member of its political bureau. ¹

His research examined the economic history of Singapore and Malaya. The Trade of Singapore, 1819–1869 grew from his master's thesis and was first published in 1961. His doctoral work concerned Malaya's tin industry; the resulting book examined Chinese participation in mining before the First World War. He became Raffles Professor of History in 1966. The Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society reissued his Singapore trade study in 2003 with a tribute by fellow historian Wang Gungwu. ^{2, 1}

As Singapore's first ambassador in Washington in 1967–68, Wong accompanied Lee Kuan Yew to his October 1967 meeting with Secretary of State Dean Rusk. Their discussion centred on Britain's impending military withdrawal, the Vietnam War, and Singapore's search for security assurances. Lee presented Singapore's arguments. Rusk made no new security commitment at that meeting. ^{3, 6}

Wong also represented Singapore in its entry into the International Finance Corporation. In September 1968 he signed the corporation's Articles of Agreement in Washington on Singapore's behalf. The World Bank Group's contemporary announcement recorded Singapore as the IFC's eighty-ninth member, with an initial subscription of $177,000. ⁴

After winning the Alexandra parliamentary seat in 1968, Wong became minister for home affairs in 1970. In that role he announced the establishment of Police Day in 1971, linking its observance on 3 June to self-government and police accountability to an elected government. He left the ministry in 1972, remained an MP until 1976, and led the university's history department from 1973 until his death in 1983. ^{1, 5}