Because he stood up to be counted, he made a difference to Singapore.

He was a journalist, union leader, politician and ambassador. Mr Othman Wok had the courage of his convictions. He stood up to be counted and made a difference to Singapore.

Born in 1924 to a Malay school principal, he went to Radin Mas School and Raffles Institution.

He worked for Utusan Melayu. It was while working for Utusan Melayu that he became involved in union activities. He first met Mr Lee Kuan Yew when he was Secretary of the Singapore Printing Employees. Mr Lee was then the union's legal advisor.

He was persuaded by Mr Lee to enter politics and joined the People's Action Party a few days after it was formed in 1954. He won his first election battle in 1963.

“Mr Othman was one of the signatories of the Separation Agreement and a founding father of Singapore. He was a key member of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s Cabinet, during the critical period when Singapore was in Malaysia, and then separated from Malaysia to become an independent republic. He supported Mr Lee in the fight for a multiracial and multireligious Singapore, and became one of Mr Lee’s closest comrades,” PMO said.

Visiting a Woodlands home in 1965

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had praised Mr Othman as "one of the multi-racial team of founding leaders who built Singapore".

Mr Othman's signature contributions were in rallying Malay Singaporeans round to support a society where everyone was treated equally, regardless of race or religion.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong previously noted that when Singapore was part of Malaysia and the PAP fought for a multiracial society, Mr Othman was denounced by ultras as an "infidel", "a traitor to Malays", and got death threats. But he stood firm, "and that made all the difference to Singapore".

Tour of Redhill Constituency.

Mr Othman Wok watering a sapling he had planted at a tree-planting campaign along Aljunied Road and Upper Aljunied Road.

The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew said of Mr Othman:

"I remember your staunch loyalty during those troubled days when you were in Malaysia and the tensions were most severe, immediately before and following the bloody riots in July 1964.

"At that time, the greatest pressures were mounted by UMNO Malay extremists who denounced you and Malay PAP leaders – especially you – as infidels, "kafirs" and traitors, "khianat", not to Singapore but to the Malay race.

"I heard it, the crowds said it, bunches of them. They were designed to intimidate him and the other Malay leaders in PAP.

"Because of the courage and the leadership you showed, not one PAP Malay leader wavered and that made a difference to Singapore."

In a Facebook post, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam wrote:

"We are indebted to (Mr Othman), and will always be. He made a multiracial Singapore possible, which matters more than anything else we have."