Othman Wok (born 1924,a descendant of a malay family living in singapore at the time raffles came .) was a former Cabinet Minister in Singapore for 14 years.
Grew up in Telok Blangah where malays , indians and chinese children played together . He was educated in English in Radin Mas school and raffles institution .
After the japanese occupation , he began working for utusan Melayu in 1946 and became a editor .
His political career began when he met Mr.Lee kuan yew . He was conviniced of the need in multi racial outlook in Singapore . Eventually he joined the PAP . He fielded as a PAP canidate in 1959 in the Malay-majourity , UMNO - controlled ward of kampong kembangan . Some Malays accuse him of being a traitor and was a target of abuse . However he did not gave up .
He was the Minister of Social Affairs from October 1963 to June 1977. After retiring from active politics, he was Singapore's ambassador to Indonesia and served on the boards of the Singapore Tourism Board and Sentosa Development Corporation. For his political, economic and social contributions to the nation building of Singapore, the Singapore President awarded him the Order of Nila Utama (2nd Class) in 1983.
