He was responsible for laying down the specification for Changi Airport - to achieve a luggage turn around time of 12 minutes.

Other qualities of the Changi Airport followed. That is what we need - action and no-nonsence men who talked less and work more and do not take all the credit to themselves and blame any mistakes on others.

The younger ministers seem interested only in aping the past great leader without new or creative solutions like what Sim Kee Boon has provided and only such new solutions will add values to our life.

Singapore has gone backward due to self-serving people taking over for their own career protection and power game.

sim kee who ?

SINGAPORE: The former Head of Civil Service and Chairman of Keppel Corporation, Sim Kee Boon, died on Friday at the age of 78.

Mr Sim died of complications from stomach cancer which he has been battling for 15 years.

He is one of Singapore's most well-known and respected public figures, having served in many top positions in the public and private sectors.

In 1979, Mr Sim was appointed the Head of Civil Service and held the post till 1984.

He then became the Chairman of Keppel Corporation and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).

His other positions include member of the Temasek Advisory Panel and Temasek Trust, as well as the Chairman of the Singapore Council of Presidential Advisors.

Mr Sim was awarded the Meritorious Service medal and the Malaysia Medal in 1963.

In 1991, he received the Distinguished Service Order.

Mr Sim died at the Singapore General Hospital where he had been receiving treatment for the past four weeks.

He leaves behind his 76-year-old wife, Jean, five sons and five grandchildren.

In a statement, CAAS said it is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Mr Sim.

CAAS Chairman Liew Mun Leong noted that Mr Sim was a pioneering leader in the development of Changi Airport.

He added that "many who were involved in the development stage of the project had benefited tremendously from Mr Sim's wise counsel and guidance".

CAAS Director-General and Chief Executive Officer Lim Kim Choon said Mr Sim was a man who was very passionate about Changi Airport, setting high standards for all.

He added that CAAS owed what it has achieved in the last 26 years to Mr Sim and his leadership.

Tributes also came in from Keppel Group.

Executive Chairman of Keppel Corporation Limited, Lim Chee Onn said Mr Sim developed a strong and stable platform for Keppel, enabling it to grow at a sustained pace during the last eight years.

Mr Lim added that Keppel's success today is a result of Mr Sim's vision and efforts.

people from this clan? click me

We are about the same as our leaders.

so its true.. good men die earlier..

Check in for ride through history of CAAS
A 166-page book tracing the history of commercial aviation in Singapore has been produced.
i]From Ground Up: Stories From The CAAS Experience recounts insights and anecdotes compiled from past and present staff of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS). Aviation Correspondent Karamjit Kaur captures the spirit, initiative and hard work that have seen the team through thick and thin.
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
Home
February 20, 2007

Just fix it

WHEN Changi Airport staff found a pothole in the runway one day in the 1980s, then permanent secretary of the Ministry of Communications Sim Kee Boon, who had taken on the mammoth task of building Changi Airport, went to assess the damage personally.

Topmost on his mind: Can it be fixed? Is the runway still safe?

Mr Liew Mun Leong, who was part of the Public Works Department (PWD) team that built the airport, said it was not in the corporate culture to point fingers when mistakes were made - the priority was to just fix it.

Said Mr Liew, who is now CAAS chairman: 'Mr Sim's emphasis was always: 'What's the problem? How can we move on from here?'

'He was a wise chap.'

Running an airport is a 24-7 affair and when problems crop up, they need to be fixed, and fast.

This 'just fix it' mentality was what made Changi's predecessor, Paya Lebar Airport, work, too.

Mr Goh Chin Ee, director of the Singapore Aviation Academy, remembers that at Paya Lebar - which was the country's main civilian airport between 1955 and 1981 - there was just one runway, compared to the two that Changi now has.

He said: 'So whenever something happened - like if an aircraft broke down on the runway - we had to work fast to clear it so that others could land.'

This focus on getting the job done - whatever the challenges - is crucial when 'you can have all kinds of problems - fuel crises, Sars, airlines starting, airlines dying, air service quarrels'.

A WISE CHAP

'Mr Sim's emphasis was always: 'What's the problem? How can we move on from here?'' MR LIEW MUN LEONG, on then permanent secretary of the Ministry of Communications Sim Kee Boon

Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Running Changi like an orchestra
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
Singapore
February 20, 2007

CAAS director-general Wong Woon Liong likens running an airport to conducting an orchestra, where each section plays a part in making beautiful music.

Not all airports follow this mantra, said Mr Wong: 'The different sections in other airports are not as integrated. In many countries, the airport manager cannot tell Customs what to do, and, in some places, cannot even enter the Customs area.'

In Changi, cooperation and coordination between the different departments, government agencies and commercial organisations are nurtured and encouraged.

Everyone moves as one to serve that most important entity - the passenger.

The CAAS, as conductor of the Changi orchestra, has to take responsibility for the total performance, Mr Wong said.

This is why, added the man behind the building of Changi Airport, Mr Sim Kee Boon, 'we instilled, right from the start, a mindset among airport management and agencies involved - even the private retailers - that the comfort, convenience and well-being of the passenger must be paramount'.

'That's who the airport is for - the passenger.'

It is a basic philosophy that has endured to this day.

This team approach is also critical to tackling emergencies.

During the Sars outbreak, for instance, it was a solid team effort from the CAAS and other key players - such as airport police, medical personnel, immigration, Customs and airline partners - which won the battle for Singapore.

Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Just three planes on the tarmac on Changi's first night
25 staff members who have worked at Changi Airport for the past 25 years honoured
Sunday Times, The (Singapore)
July 2, 2006
Author: Karamjit Kaur and Nur Dianah Suhaimi

THE day before Changi Airport opened on July 1, 1981, Mr Sim Kee Boon, then permanent secretary at the Ministry of Communications, spent the night there.

Tasked to build Singapore's new $1.5 billion airport, he had spent the previous six years on the project and wanted to make sure nothing went wrong on the big day.

He told The Sunday Times: 'We had done all the trial runs and I was confident it would all go well but still, I wanted to be there when the airport actually opened - just to be sure.'

Except for a temporary computer glitch in the flight information system, everything else went smoothly, said Mr Sim who left the ministry in 1984.

He is chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) executive committee on airport development.

Mr Sim, who joined about 1,000 other guests at Swissotel The Stamford to celebrate Changi Airport's 25th birthday yesterday, credits the airport's success mainly to its culture of always putting the customer first.

He said: 'This culture has not changed after all these years.'

No detail is overlooked in the quest for excellence.

So if one bulb on a display panel blows, all the lights are turned off until that one bulb is replaced so that the passenger is spared 'an untidy sight'.

At the end of the day, it is to the credit of every member of the Changi family that the airport has grown from strength to strength, Mr Sim said.

They include people like engineering supervisor Mr Lim Kong Chuan, whose first job was as an apprentice at the old Paya Lebar airport, wiping grease off aeroplane parts.

His pay: $53 a month.

More than 40 years later, he is now a supervisor at SIA Engineering, earning about $3,000 a month. He remembers the airport's first night in 1981 when only three aeroplanes were parked on the tarmac.

'The airport was so huge and there were only three planes. That night, I wondered how we were ever going to fill up the airport. It seemed impossible. But look at Changi now. Whoever thought it was going to be this busy?' said Mr Lim, now a 60-year-old father of two grown-up children.

He was among 25 airport staff who were honoured at yesterday's celebrations. These people have worked at Changi Airport for the past 25 years.

Another recipient, Mr Abdul Hamid Ahmad, 56, remembers the public excitement when the first commercial flight landed on Changi's tarmac on opening day.

'The viewing gallery was crowded with people, both staff and members of the public. It was a novelty to see the plane touch the runway because there were no viewing galleries at Paya Lebar,' said Mr Abdul Hamid, a duty manager for cargo and flight operations at German airline company Lufthansa.

Mr Tay Kim Seng, a supervisor with the airport's meteorological station for 42 years, remembers the first few critical hours when the airport took over operations from Paya Lebar.

'We were under great pressure...Many of us worked late that night to make sure things went smoothly,' said the 59-year-old.

Old-timers like him have no plans to leave their jobs at the airport, which has become their home and their source of pride. Said Mr Tay: 'We're all very proud to have contributed in one way or other to its progress, no matter how little we've done.'

ndianah@sph.com.sg

karam@sph.com.sg

Copyright, 2006, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Fond tributes as Sim Kee Boon retires
73-year-old leaving KepCorp as senior adviser in June
Business Times, The (Singapore)
Companies and Markets
April 3, 2003
Author: Loh Hui Yin

A GOOD mentor, a big-picture person, but also one who is interested in details. That's how former employees and friends described Sim Kee Boon, who will retire as senior adviser group at the end of June.

Mr Sim was appointed the group's senior adviser on Jan 1, 2000, when he stepped down after some 15 years as the conglomerate's executive chairman.

In a statement yesterday announcing Mr Sim's retirement, Keppel thanked Mr Sim for his 'immense contribution and total dedication to the Keppel group for the past 19 years'.

Keppel, it said, has grown and benefited from his business acumen, network and experience.

An avid golfer, the sun-tanned Mr Sim will, however, remain adviser to the Spring City Golf and Lake Resort, 'a task which, we are sure, he will enjoy', said Keppel. Spring City Golf is the Keppel group's resort and golf course complex in Kunming, Yunnan province, where Mr Sim, 73, is frequently seen teeing off.

Mr Sim continues to be adviser to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore board and the Lum Chang group. He has also been a director of Temasek Holdings since January 2000, and a member of the Singapore Council of Presidential Advisers since 1997.

Choo Chiau Beng, chairman of Keppel Offshore and Marine, said: 'As a mentor, he accepts you are not perfect but encourages you to do your best. He has expectations that you will perform to your best.'

Mr Choo has worked with Mr Sim for nearly 20 years, from 1984 when the latter was appointed executive chairman of the Keppel group.

At that time, Mr Sim had retired as head of the civil service to take charge of the financially troubled Keppel group. Then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew had told him: 'Go and turn the company around.'

At that time, Keppel was saddled with debts of $845 million, half of which was a result of the over-ambitious takeover of the Straits Steamship group. From a staggering loss of $174 million in 1984, the group staged a turnaround in just two years, earning a $5 million profit in 1986.

Another interesting point which Mr Choo highlighted was the fact that when Mr Sim joined Keppel, he came alone. 'He did not bring anyone with him from the civil service, not even his secretary. Some people (bring their friends and associates) for comfort level.

'He formed his judgment that he can use people within Keppel and went along with it.'

Another person who regarded him as a mentor is Streats' business editor Conrad Raj.

Mr Raj, who has known Mr Sim since 1989, said: 'I used to fear him because of his reputation but once I got to know him, the fear dissipated. He became a friend and mentor.

'He is inquisitive, he wants to know about things. Also, he is not one who cares about rank; he looks after everyone from top to the lowest in the company.'

Copyright, 2003, 2004, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

duplicate

A few good men - Able people made a difference
Sunday Times, The (Singapore)
September 24, 2000
Page 41
Author: MUIHOONG

Excerpts of SM's memoirs, Volume 2

I WAS fortunate to have had a strong team of ministers who shared a common vision. They were able men determined to pursue our shared goals. The core team stayed together for over two decades. Keng Swee, Raja, and Sui Sen and Kim San were outstanding.

They were all older than I was and were never inhibited from telling me what they thought, especially when I was wrong. They helped me stay objective and balanced, and saved me from any risk of megalomania, which could so easily come with long years in office.

I also had Toh Chin Chye, Ong Pang Book, Eddie Barker, Yong Nyuk Lin, Kenny Bryne and Othman Wok - capable men of integrity, dedicated to the cause.

.......................

SIM KEE BOON

* MAN behind Changi Airport. "

The shrewdest of our permanent secretaries.

He organised the management of the airport. Building a fine airport has been done by many wealthy countries, using foreign contractors.

The challenge is in running it so that a passenger has a smooth and swift passage through customs, immigration, baggage collection and transport into the city. If he has to make a connecting flight, then there must be facilities for rest, recreation and work.

Changi has all these - rest and shower rooms, a swimming pool, business and fitness centres, and a science discovery and amusement area for children.

As head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Kee Boon made Changi into a world-class airport, winning top ratings in travellers' magazines almost every year."

.....................

THE TEAM Singapore was not built by Lee Kuan Yew alone. As he says repeatedly in his memoirs, he was aided by a team of able ministers who supported him, challenged him, and got things done.

There were many in the first Cabinet, and later, who made a difference.

Copyright, 2000, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

The inspiring Keppel men
Sunday Times, The (Singapore)
Sunday Plus! Page 4
September 10, 2000
Author: RICKLIM

LIFE'S LESSONS

With their tales of humble beginnings, hard work, and bold risk-taking, the tough men of Keppel Shipyard inspire equal diligence and dedication

RECENTLY, I was asked to nominate a colleague to give a talk on journalism to a workshop comprising junior college students.

Ordinarily, I would nominate someone who could do it without too much fuss, and forget about it.

But this time round, I nominated myself, since I thought I was of an age when I should be taking on more civic duties such as this one, and not push them to my younger colleagues.

But when the organisers of the workshop finalised the date and told me that my slot was an 8 am one, I almost wished I hadn't nominated myself.

It meant my having to get up before 7 am, since the venue was more than half an hour's drive from my home, and goodness, when was the last time I had to get up at even 8 o'clock? It must have been more than 10 years ago, when I had to attend a friend's breakfast wedding ceremony.

I did it anyway - I hope I acquitted myself well - and only because I reminded myself of the story the widow of Mr Chua Chor Teck recounted to me back in 1993, when I interviewed her for a commissioned book to mark Keppel Corporation's 25th anniversary

...................

IF MR CHUA'S story is an inspiration, so are those of Mr Loh, who became the MD in 1986 and retired in June last year, and of Mr Sim Kee Boon, who was chairman of the group from 1984 till the end of last year, when he too retired.

....................

When Mr Sim was appointed executive chairman Keppel in 1984, he was 55, and had already put in 30 years of illustrious service in the public sector. Keppel had fallen into a hole then, as he described it, its cash purchase of Straits Steamship in 1983 saddling it with a debt of nearly $845 million. His job was "to get it out of the hole".

As if that wasn't bad enough, the shipbuilding and ship-repair business during that period was pronounced a sunset industry by the pundits, and in 1985, after its study of the two shipyards, the American management consulting firm McKinsey & Co proposed that Keppel and Sembawang be merged.

The study, commissioned by the two yards, was believed to have cost $1 million. But Mr Sim didn't think a merger was necessary. He rejected the "expert" proposal, which led to the Wall Street Journal and The Economist anticipating blood on the floor.

Yet by the end of 1986, he had turned Keppel around coolly. And he never had to look back - over the next decade, he grew it into a Singapore flagship company. During all that time, he was also the man behind Changi airport, as chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority.

I took away from my one interview with Mr Sim this invaluable lesson in management: He said: "I give my managers far more direction and power than a lot of other people. I don't see them for days, even weeks. I don't keep them on a leash ...

"My philosophy is this: This is your job, you do it. If you can't do it, I'll take it back. If you can, I'll give you more. If you have any major problem, let me know."

I thought about these tough men when I visited the showflats for the new Keppel showcase which is coming up in the place of the old shipyard. An era has passed.

* Richard Lim's website is at http://LimRichard.tripod.com

Copyright, 2000, 2004, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Originally posted by 4getmenot:

so its true.. good men die earlier..

That explains why...

He's a Boys Brigader.

Boys become men in the BB
From Boys to Men
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
Pages 1,4,5
September 9, 2000
Author: KAICHAI

Uniformed group as surrogate family

As the Boys' Brigade celebrates its 70th anniversary, we look at the role it has played in civil society and its relevance in the new economy.

THE BOYS' BRIGADE

As the Boys' Brigade celebrates its 70th anniversary, Life! looks at the role it has played in civil society and its relevance in the new economy

THE youth are cynical, self-centred and have no interest in community work and nation-building.

This is the nefarious stereotype the Boys' Brigade wants to debunk as it celebrates its 70th anniversary.

As part of its founding commemoration, it is hosting a Thanksgiving Carnival for the less fortunate at the Police Academy today.

And last Monday, it launched a book, 2000 - The Way Ahead, containing essays penned by a coterie of who's who in the country, ranging from Ambassador-At-Large, Professor Tommy Koh, to Minister of State for Defence and Information and the Arts, Mr David Lim, on the theme of shaping the youth for the 21st century.

.......................

A GALLERY OF SOME FAMOUS BOYS' BRIGADE ALUMNI

Lieutenant-General (Retired) Winston Choo, Singapore's first Chief Of Defence (1976-1992) and High Commissioner to Australia (1994-1997)

Mr Khoo Boon Hui, current Police Commissioner

Mr Lim Siong Guan, Head of the Singapore Civil Service and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance

Mr Lim Leong Geok, former head of Singapore's MRT Corporation and SMRT

Mr Arthur Lim Beng Lock, former Chief Fire Officer, Singapore Fire Brigade

Dr Robert Loh Choo Kiat, President of the National Council Of Social Service

Mr Chiam See Tong, Member of Parliament for Potong Pasir

Mr Sim Kee Boon, former Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority and former Executive Chairman of Keppel Corporation Ltd.
Page: L1,L4,L5

Copyright, 2000 Singapore Press Holdings Limited.

--end---

Can we identify any more good action men and put them in charge of lowering our rising costs of living, and create higher-paying jobs for citizens so as to pay for such rising costs and over-charged HDB flats and essential government services.

Can we have more people like Sim Kee Boon to study all available options other than opening the flood gate to allow too many PRs (at least 1 million now) to take away citizens' livelihood and cause so many problems like social frictions, road congestions, pressures on our other critical medical and other facilities and crimes ?

Remember many so-called foreign talents have packed up and gone during the last recessions even saying "thank you".

Originally posted by robertteh:

He was responsible for laying down the specification for Changi Airport - to achieve a luggage turn around time of 12 minutes.

Other qualities of the Changi Airport followed. That is what we need - action and no-nonsence men who talked less and work more and do not take all the credit to themselves and blame any mistakes on others.

The younger ministers seem interested only in aping the past great leader without new or creative solutions like what Sim Kee Boon has provided and only such new solutions will add values to our life.

Singapore has gone backward due to self-serving people taking over for their own career protection and power game.

Did he studied or engaged foreign expert consultants before coming up such wonderful implementation?

I am dreaming that if I got money , I would engage the best space rocket scientist and have them build me my personal space station and rocket. Like this, they all mine and I success . hee hee.

Originally posted by robertteh:

Can we identify any more good action men and put them in charge of lowering our rising costs of living, and create higher-paying jobs for citizens so as to pay for such rising costs and over-charged HDB flats and essential government services.

Can we have more people like Sim Kee Boon to study all available options other than opening the flood gate to allow too many PRs (at least 1 million now) to take away citizens' livelihood and cause so many problems like social frictions, road congestions, pressures on our other critical medical and other facilities and crimes ?

Remember many so-called foreign talents have packed up and gone during the last recessions even saying "thank you".

In the 80's it's all in the name of national pride.

In the 21st century, it's about money, money and more money.

Originally posted by robertteh:

Can we identify any more good action men and put them in charge of lowering our rising costs of living, and create higher-paying jobs for citizens so as to pay for such rising costs and over-charged HDB flats and essential government services.

Well, AirAsia is already a proven success in lowering air fares to empower the common people to enjoy the opportunity to fly and tour at low low cost.

Now, it is trying to up that. By making it more luxrious and cheaper.

To me, this is called true entreprenuership. True talent. True value.

If it succeeds.

I think tony is not an unsmart person.

I think its all up to how solution can be created to achieve this goal.

Always upping prices is not impressive to me.

Who says that the more expensive goods or services become , the better value consumers get?

I would say, if one can make services or goods at lower cost and pass this on to consumers without jeopardising quality and instead even upping the quality and value, this is true success.

In fact, increasing price and costs without the same amount of measurable increase in value is a proof of inefficiency, ineffectiveness and simply a big proof of failure. Big Big white elephant failure.

I wonder how many 'intelligent' and proud singaporeans really understand all these? have their brains been washed?

Originally posted by crazy monkey:

sim kee who ?

x2.

Originally posted by reddressman:

Did he studied or engaged foreign expert consultants before coming up such wonderful implementation?

I am dreaming that if I got money , I would engage the best space rocket scientist and have them build me my personal space station and rocket. Like this, they all mine and I success . hee hee.

Sim Kee Boon might have got away with using his own local talent rather than foreign ones. He did not accept the suggestion of foreign firm McKinsey to merge Keppel and Sembawang Corp and he whole-heartedly worked on good local ideas and get results without all the denials and justificaions.

Work quietly behind the scene, talk less about their own talents and abilities and do not become arrogant. That is what I will advise our ministers.

Nowadays if ministers ever see any Sim Kee Boons in the making they will not bother as they only believe in engaging ready made experts, or pseudo-experts on management, foreign architects, lawyers, consultants and not our own guys.

Our own local process management is yuks to them.

Full 8+ pages of obituaries.

Man who made Changi fly and Keppel swim dies of cancer
Legacy of Singapore stalwart Sim Kee Boon, 77, lives on
Business Times, The (Singapore)
Top Stories
November 10, 2007
Author: Conrad Raj

HE was the man tasked to build Changi Airport. He was also the one given the job of turning Keppel Shipyard around. And it was about him that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew once said: 'He was the shrewdest of our permanent secretaries.'

Sim Kee Boon, the former head of civil service, died yesterday at the age of 77 with his legacy still thriving around him. Mr Sim was hospitalised about a month ago following the recurrence of a cancer that had claimed half his stomach some 17 years ago.

The brilliant bureaucrat was part of that rare breed of civil servants who also enjoyed great success in government-linked businesses. He was someone who believed in excellence and quality, not only in work but also in life - a man who enjoyed good company, good food and good wine.

His colleagues remember him as a good mentor, a big-picture person who was also interested in and attended to details.

Mr Lee and the government was so impressed with him that he was often entrusted with turning around some of the government's ailing companies and embarking on its most ambitious projects.

He was the man tasked to build Changi Airport and did such a splendid job that it has been receiving one accolade after another since its opening in July 1981, including World's Best Airport title for many years running. His connection with his best-known legacy continued and Mr Sim was recently appointed chairman of a new advisory group to help in the global expansion of the airport.

When he arrived on board Keppel Shipyard in February of 1984, just after he had retired after a five-year stint as the head of the civil service, Mr Sim was told by then PM Lee: 'Go and turn the company around.'

Keppel was struggling at that point, following its purchase of Straits Steamship for what was then considered a staggering $500 million. Mr Sim had admitted that he had no specialist qualifications for the job, but his instincts served him well.

From a painful loss of $174 million that year, the group swam out of red ink within just two years to turn a profit of $5 million. Today, the Keppel Group is one of Singapore's largest conglomerates with a market capitalisation of well over $30 billion, if Keppel Land and Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation are included.

His attitude sat well with his colleagues. Choo Chiau Beng, Keppel's deputy chief executive and chairman of Keppel Offshore and Marine, who had worked with Mr Sim since his arrival at the company, said of him: 'As a mentor, he accepts you are not perfect but encourages you to do your best. He has expectations that you will perform to your best.'

Mr Sim held himself to the same standards. Educated at the Anglo-Chinese School, he joined the civil service after graduating from the University of Malaya in 1953, and quickly rose to become acting permanent secretary of the National Development Ministry in 1962, and the Finance Ministry in 1963.

He was also seconded to start up Intraco, which became the government's trading and manufacturing company.

Intraco's former managing director, S Chandra Das, remembers him as 'my xifu (mentor) who taught me everything I know about business today; he was a caring and forgiving boss'.

In 1975, Mr Sim moved to the Ministry of Communications as perm sec and, in 1979, he was appointed head of the civil service, a post he held till 1984, when he became chairman of Keppel and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. He received the Distinguished Service Order in 1991.

An avid golfer, Mr Sim was the founder chairman of Tanah Merah Country Club, and adviser to the Spring City Gold and Lake Resort in Kunming, China.

He was also chairman of the Singapore-Suzhou Township Development, a member and later chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers, and director of DBS and Temasek Holdings.

Mr Sim is survived by his wife Jeanette, 76, five sons and five grandchildren. Youngest son, Arthur, is a journalist with BT.

Air, land or sea, he had a hand in it
Civil servant Sim Kee Boon, who helped raise Changi Airport, dies at 78
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
Home
10 November 2007



PIONEER civil servant Sim Kee Boon was a builder of institutions global and local - from Changi Airport to a shipyard to a golf club - and he did it with head and heart.

Plus lots of walking around, even when he became ill and had a tube under his shirt.

Mr Sim died yesterday morning of complications arising from stomach cancer. He was 78.

A man who bridged the public sphere and corporate world with aplomb, he raised Changi Airport and the Tanah Merah Country Club from barren land.

He led the Civil Service, and also Singapore's export push. He became a shipbuilder who memorably turned around Keppel Corporation.

The tributes streaming in yesterday celebrated him as a man full of ideas and the joy of life.

Mr Lim Chee Onn, executive chairman of Keppel Corporation, said the Keppel success story flows from Mr Sim's 'vision and efforts'.

'I have learnt much from his inimitable style, particularly his great sense of optimism and cheerfulness even during very trying times,' he said.

Mr Sim was concurrently chairman of Keppel Corporation and the Civil Aviation of Singapore from 1984 to 1999. While the aviation sector would enjoy many highs, he was tempted at first to shutter loss-making Keppel.

Instead, within five years, he diversified into engineering, property, financial services and more. He developed shipyards overseas. So out of troubled waters, he drew out one more Singapore icon.

In his own words, his management philosophy was marked by 'fast decision-making and implementation after careful weighing of risks'.

Many remember him for his management-by-walking-about style, too.

He would arrive early at airports elsewhere to scrutinise the details of shopfront lighting, for instance, said Mr David Lum, managing director of Lum Chang Holdings.

Mr Sim and his wife Jeannette, 76, were avid golfers.

Mr Edwin Khoo, committee member at the Tanah Merah Country Club, said although Mr Sim could not play golf due to his health, he would still putt around and join golf buddies for drinks most weekends for two hours.

Until as recently as last month, he was at the club where he was the founding chairman. This despite having undergone chemotherapy and walking with a tube under his shirt, said Mr Khoo.

His passion for work was legendary, and once there was a comic twist to it.

Mr Sim was task-oriented boss to businessman S. Chandra Das, 68, in the 60s and 70s, at the Economic Development Board and at Intraco, the state trading company.

Mr Das recalled taking a day off for his wedding vows at the Registry of Marriages, only to have Mr Sim call and ask: 'Is Chandra Das there? Tell him to come to work.'

But Mr Das and others remember Mr Sim as a teacher and mentor with a caring touch, despite being synonymous with Singapore's mega-projects and enjoying first-rate global connections.

In the sombre days after Lum Chang's MRT construction project at Nicoll Highway collapsed in 2004, Mr Sim advised Mr Lum to make voluntary compensations to workers.

In more joyful moments, if his staff sent him wedding invitations, he would try his best to be there. He would also personally greet new Tanah Merah Country Club members.

He loved reading, music and certainly golf, and once said his wife played 'far better than I do'.

A 1972 profile of her in The Sunday Mail described the dynamics of their marriage, which produced five sons: 'He is sharp, pithy, impatient. She is calm, dependable, tactful - the perfect civil servant's wife.'

Although Mr Sim was known for his meticulous command of details, she affectionately drew aside the curtain on his occasional lapses. He sometimes forgot their theatre dates, or sprang a surprise dinner invitation when she was dripping wet from golf.

She understood. 'He can't help himself, the way he works.'

siewhua@sph.com.sg

'Always ready to answer the call of duty'
Civil servant Sim Kee Boon, who helped raise Changi Airport, dies at 78

Edited condolence letter of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to Mrs Sim Kee Boon:

'My wife and I are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Mr Sim Kee Boon. Please accept our deepest condolences and sympathies.

Mr Sim led a long and distinguished career in the public service. He belonged to the generation of civil servants who served during the tumultuous times of Singapore's early years, and helped to formulate and implement the policies that created today's Singapore.

A shrewd and resourceful man, Mr Sim knew the world and the realities of our region. He understood our neighbours and how to get on with them.

As Permanent Secretary and later Head of Civil Service, he guided the civil service with his practical touch, economic expertise, and sound instincts about people.

As Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communications, Mr Sim implemented the Government's decision to move the airport from Paya Lebar to Changi, and coordinated the massive effort to complete the project on time.

Later as chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), he helped Changi Airport to achieve first-class service standards, winning praise from travellers and multiple awards from travel magazines.

When he went on trips he would wander around the airports... always with the thought of bringing new ideas back to his beloved Changi Airport. He continued doing this long after he had ceased to be directly involved with Changi.

This was how Changi became a world-class airport, and an icon that every Singaporean is proud of.

In 1984, after retiring from the civil service, Mr Sim became the executive chairman of the Keppel Group. Mr Sim proved that he was not just a competent administrator but also an outstanding businessman.

The Keppel Group was then burdened by debts amounting to nearly $850 million. It did not help that the economy soon ran into a severe downturn.

But within two years, he had turned Keppel around and generated a modest profit. Over the next decade, he grew the company from a shipyard into one of Singapore's leading conglomerates.

After Keppel, Mr Sim continued to contribute actively in diverse roles... He was also a member and later chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers, and served on the boards of various companies and government agencies.

In Temasek Holdings, he not only offered valuable perspectives and sound advice to the senior management, but was also much sought after by the younger officers, who vied to work with him so as to learn how he tackled problems, and imbibe his wisdom and insights.

An avid golfer, Mr Sim served as chairman of the Tanah Merah Country Club since its opening in 1984.

With his keen eye for detail and uncompromising insistence on quality, he made Tanah Merah one of the best golf clubs in Singapore.

Even a diagnosis of cancer in 1990 sapped little of his passion for golf. I remember meeting him in Singapore General Hospital in 1992. His cancer had recurred, and he was about to go for a second major abdominal operation.

Yet his main concern was whether he would be able to continue playing golf after the operation. Indeed he did, for many more years.

I was sorry to learn that he had fallen ill again this year. When I met him, he explained how he was leaving the medical decisions entirely to his doctors, in whom he had full confidence, and taking things one day at a time.

I know he was hoping to see his first grand-daughter's wedding in January. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

Mr Sim dedicated himself fully to serving the country, and was always ready to answer the call of duty. He had a deep sense of mission, and in every assignment and task, he demanded high standards and gave his best. His passing is a deep loss to all of us.'

Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Originally posted by robertteh:

He was responsible for laying down the specification for Changi Airport - to achieve a luggage turn around time of 12 minutes.

Other qualities of the Changi Airport followed. That is what we need - action and no-nonsence men who talked less and work more and do not take all the credit to themselves and blame any mistakes on others.

The younger ministers seem interested only in aping the past great leader without new or creative solutions like what Sim Kee Boon has provided and only such new solutions will add values to our life.

Singapore has gone backward due to self-serving people taking over for their own career protection and power game.

Did a Civil Servant set the specification for Changi Airport to succeed ?

Can a Civil Servant given super extraneous powers even come up with a vision that make Changi Airport as it is today ?

Or could it be that this gentleman was a Super Manager with similar visionary acumen as some of the best industrial captains in the private sector, able to pick out a winning design, and simply ensure that managerial discipline is maintained ?

The success of Changi Airport - or even that of Singapore - cannot possibly rest on the shoulders of a single person or personality.

Much like the historical records of Sir Stamford Raffles have borne testimony that it was his visionary acumen that identified the potential of an island which he named Singapore, and claimed it for the British Crown.

It took other talents in the Colonial Government and Private Enterprise to make Singapore what it was, that allowed subsequent generations to fulfill this vision which Sir Stamford Raffles had for Singapore in 1819.

Changi Airport was no different, if the outlining the history of Changi Airport revealed by local architect Tay Kheng Soon in the thread ''A Blast from the Past - An Assessment for the Future''.