John Harding
John Harding has lived and worked in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Singapore, Italy, Jamaica and Belgium. This includes work for the largest OPEC member, Saudi Aramco, a position as Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Inland Revenue in Singapore’s civil service, and a Wall Street investment analyst.
John has been a professor at Pratt Institute of Technology’s Graduate School of Engineering in New York City, at King Fahd University in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and John Cabot University in Rome, Italy.
He has also worked for the United Nations Development Programme as a U.N. Expert in Kingston, Jamaica, and as a consultant to the United Nations Secretariat in New York.
A native-born American, John speaks Italian, French, and Spanish, with a working knowledge of Arabic.
John is the co-author of Escape from Paradise, Amazon’s best-selling book for Singapore. For years it was assumed the book had been banned in Singapore. Only recently, did Singapore’s Media Development Authority MDA confirm by email that Escape from Paradise had never been banned.
Escape from Paradise was not banned by Singapore, but by a lawyer, Helen Yeo. Her husband, Yeo Cheow Tong, was formerly a Singapore cabinet minister and, consequently, Helen Yeo had a lot of clout.
The reason for Helen Yeo’s pushing to get Escape from Paradise banned was that she was afraid that it might lead to expose a property transaction in which she was involved. Escape from Paradise did nothing to expose her, and mentioned her only in passing. However Helen Yeo did not want to take the risk that someone might connect the dots.
Helen Yeo was formerly the Managing Partner of Rodyk & Davidson, a Singapore law firm. She no longer holds that position. Her husband, Yeo Cheow Tong, is no longer a Singapore Cabinet Minister, nor is he a Member of Singapore’s Parliament.
The Tiger Balm Kings
Escape from Paradise is about the daughter of a Singapore family—a family whose founders were referred to as the “Tiger Balm Kings,” as they built a pharmaceutical, banking, and newspaper empire from the well-known ointment called “Tiger Balm.”
C. V. Devan Nair, former President of Singapore wrote of Escape from Paradise, “It took me two and a half evenings to complete your un-put-downable book…it is a unique contribution to the appreciation of a life in Singapore. Thank you for having written it.”
Escape from Paradise is now being made into a movie, and, of all people, John Harding is doing the screenplay and is listed on IMDb.
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