Enigmas is a memoir of Tay Seow Huah, written by his son, revealing the personal roots of Singapore's pioneer spy chief set in the traumas of WWII, the Emergency in Malaya, and Singapore's pre-independence political tumult.1965. Singapore is newly independent. Tay Seow Huah is
appointed Director of the secretive
Special Branch. Over the tumultuous first decade, he is key in ensuring the country's
stability, shaping strategies and initiating new institutions for intelligence and security. He reports directly
to PM Lee. In 1974, when Singapore
is attacked in the Laju Incident - the oil refinery on Pulau Bukom is bombed and civilians
held hostage at gun point - and Tay is tasked to coordinate
all responses, negotiate with the attackers and foreign governments.

Encounters with the Israelis (codenamed "Mexicans") who
assisted in Singapore's military
build up are revealed, as are flash points across the region, when the
Republic's fledgling intelligence agency must rapidly
respond to the Vietnam War and tensions
with neighbours and develop
its place in the world.



This book also tracks Tay's
own challenges: early
retirement and his sudden death
at 47. It then offers a daring, speculative and emotional conversation that juxtaposes those early
years of Singapore with so much that has happened since.