I once asked to meet Dr Goh Keng Swee, Singapore's 1st defence minister, and he told me...

Thanks to my job as a journalist early in my career, I have met or seen in real life every Singaporean who served as defence minister (DM), except Mr Howe Yoon Chong.

The DM whom I wanted to meet for a long time was Dr Goh Keng Swee, one of the Old Guard minsters who helped shape the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in its embryonic years.

I met Dr Goh in 1996. My mother, who thought she saw Dr Goh walking in a park near our home, told me about her chance encounter during one of her strolls. She also knew which house the old gentleman lived in. 

Curiosity aroused, I dropped a handwritten note into the letter box of the house where "Dr Goh" was thought to live. I asked if the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Defence lived there and, summoning some pluck, expressed my wish to see him if that was indeed his residence.

I got a reply from Mrs Goh Keng Swee, who invited me over. The Gohs were kind and gracious to allow me into their home - which minister today would entertain such social calls from random strangers?

That meeting with Dr Goh was memorable, and for many good reasons. I have never forgotten that encounter or his parting words that advised how I should view the SAF. [After my meeting with Dr Goh, I had a much longer conversation with Mrs Goh. Many interesting points were shared, which I won't make public here as it was a private conversation.]

In my opinion, Dr Goh was the best DM Singapore ever had.

My views of those who followed were based on impressions of how they explained or dealt with issues off-script. Speeches, as many of you would know, are mostly written by staff officers. And whether a speech has impact or not depends to a large degree on the competence of the speech writer. So I tend to discount scripted speaking engagements. I also rely on what's shared by individuals who worked with the ministers. Such interactions reveal facets of character and decision making that only the inner circle would know. All of them have quirks - who amongst us doesn't?

Rear Admiral Teo Chee Hean's leadership as the SAF made its journey as a Third Generation (3G) fighting force was impressive. But as he came from the navy, his familiarity with military matters was a given. He made good use of that head start.

My sense is that after Dr Goh, Singapore's longest serving DM is the next most impressive. Dr Ng Eng Hen has made a successful transition from medicine to defence. He helmed MINDEF through some interesting phases of the SAF's 3G journey. Looking back, it is my view that Dr Ng's training as a cancer surgeon gave him the innate ability for clinical (no pun) analysis of complex issues, including the ability to assimilate bad news and make the most out of difficult situations. It is not easy telling a patient who has Stage 4 cancer about the prognosis and way ahead. It can be painful seeing cancer metastasize and claim a promising life. But this is what oncologists go through. Coming from a family where my late father, my mum and younger sister all were stricken with the Big C at some point in their lives, I know the emotional upheavals that a cancer diagnosis inevitably brings.

If you had to imagine a fictional character who made an ideal DM, what would that person be like? I have a good idea what my fictional DM would be like, and what he would do when ballistic missiles start falling.