The final version, on Deputy Prime Minister's Office letterhead but with the word, Deputy, crossed out, was typed by Mr Teo Ban Hock, personal assistant to Mr Lee. He had to be summoned late in the night from Singapore House, to which he had returned from the Cameron Highlands together with the Prime Minister. A typist who had earlier been assigned the task had become so nervous he was making error after error.
Says Mr Barker: "To Ban Hock's credit, he did it in one go without making a single mistake." Mr Teo, 59, who retired from government service in November 1986 and is now a tennis coach, says he knew then that it was a very important occasion. But amid the excitement, the full import of those documents he was asked to type did not sink in. "I just typed away! I was more concerned with getting it right. I knew I couldn't afford to be nervous. I had to do it well."
Tun Razak: "Eddie, it's your draft, it's your chap who typed the final document, so what are you reading it for?" So Mr Barker signed itWhen it came to signing, Tun Razak and his Malaysian colleagues were very swift about it. Mr Barker remembers: "When it came to my turn, I wanted to read the document again. Razak turned to me and said: 'Eddie, it's your draft, it's your chap who typed the final document, so what are you reading it for?' So I signed."
Next: Through a mist, darkly
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