No holds barred memoir

SINGAPORE - Former Wildlife Reserves Singapore chief Bernard Harrison is revealing all in his new biography, Naked Ape, Naked Boss. The book cover sports a picture of him covered only by a strategically placed leaf.

In the book written by his friend of 36 years, Dr Kirpal Singh, associate professor of English literature at Singapore Management University, Mr Harrison talks about taking orang utans to meet Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor at the Raffles Hotel in 1993; the failure of his first two marriages; and why he resigned as CEO of Wildlife Reserves Singapore in 2002, following a strained relationship with then group chairman Kwa Soon Bee.

Mr Harrison receives no fee or royalties for Naked Ape, Naked Boss, but had final say over what went in the book. He says: "I think it's an easy, very light read and is juicy in parts. The sex life is one thing probably women will be interested in and why I left the zoo, how I kind of had a problem with my boss, would be what a lot of the zoo people would be interested in.

"I don't have a problem being honest and I think that's one of my traits, I don't mask too many things. Even in my management style, I'm a direct, honest person."

The 224-page book, which retails at $24.30 before GST, will be launched this evening at The Arts House. Publisher Marshall Cavendish Editions has printed 3,000 copies, but says it will print more if there is advance reader interest.

Mr Harrison, 62, was with the zoo for almost 30 years and helped conceive and design the Night Safari - the first of its kind when launched in 1994 - before resigning in 2002 as chief executive officer of the newly formed Wildlife Reserves Singapore group.

The group was formed in 2000 to oversee the zoo, the Jurong BirdPark and the Night Safari. He says the clash between his working style and the "civil service manual" led to his resignation after only two years in the top post.

Dr Singh, 65, calls the resignation "a loss to the nation" and one of the chief reasons he wrote the book over 3½ years, through numerous e-mail interviews and three full-day sessions with Mr Harrison at his home in Bali.

"I felt here was a man who was a little bit frustrated that his final dream could not be realised," says the author.

Mr Harrison says: "I'm very happy that I left because I'm really doing what I enjoy, which is designing zoos." He runs zoo consultancy Bernard Harrison And Friends with his third wife, Ms Tina Lim.

Ongoing projects include designing zoos in various cities in China and a night safari for Greater Noida in India. He has two children, Sharda and Sean, and two stepsons, Alex and Christian.

His love of nature and animals was nurtured by his late father, Mr John Leonard Harrison, a major in the British army and a zoologist who researched diseases in rodents. He and his older brother Edward, a botanist, often joined their father on field trips in Malaysia and Australia, and raised orphaned bats or shrews as pets.

Mr Harrison studied zoology and psychology at the University of Manchester and returned here to work as an assistant administrative officer at the Singapore Zoological Gardens. The post was secured by the intervention of his mother, former nurse Song Kiew Ying, who knew the chairman at the time.

To supplement his salary, he often did modelling jobs on the side, appearing on the cover of magazines such as Her World in the 1970s.

As for the naughty cover of his memoir, the photo was taken by his wife for a collection of unpublished poetry, tentatively titled No Leaf Unturned. About 30 years ago, he wrote a novel, Malacca And Beyond (Media Masters) but says "the thought of writing my memoir was just horrific".

"I'm very lazy. I just can't be bothered, so someone else doing all the work is great," says Mr Harrison. "I think it's a very readable book. Because I didn't write it, I can be much more critical about it."

Naked Ape, Naked Boss is available at major bookstores at $24.30 (without GST).

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BOOK LAUNCH: NAKED APE, NAKED BOSS When: Today, 5pm

Where: The Arts House, The Chamber, Level 2, 1 Old Parliament Lane

Admission: Free

This article was published on April 11 in The Straits Times.

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