From delinquent to president: ESM Goh, PM Lee letters recount Nathan's life
Letters to his family tell of the late Mr Nathan as one who overcame circumstances to become a well-loved president
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WHEN first asked by then-prime minister Goh Chok Tong to stand as a candidate for president in 1999, SR Nathan broke down, fearing that his delinquent past would stain the sanctity of the highest office of the land.
But, as detailed in separate letters by Mr Goh and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to the late Mr Nathan's family on Tuesday, Mr Nathan would not only overcome this to become the Republic's longest-serving president, he also drew from these past experiences to endear himself to all Singaporeans.
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