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Lee Siew Choh

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Singaporean politician (1917–2002)
Lee Siew Choh
李绍祖
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Queenstown
In office
30 May 1959 – 21 September 1963
Preceded byLee Choon Eng
Succeeded byJek Yeun Thong
Non-constituency Member of the 7th Parliament of Singapore
In office
16 September 1988 – 14 August 1991
Preceded bySeat Vacant
Succeeded bySeat Vacant
Personal details
BornLee Siew Choh
(1917-11-01)1 November 1917
Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Federated Malay States, British Malaya
Died18 July 2002(2002-07-18) (aged 84)
Singapore
Resting placeMount Vernon Sanctuary, Singapore
CitizenshipSingaporean
Political partyWorkers' Party (1988–1997)
Socialist Front (1963-1988)
People's Action Party (1959-1963)
Spouse Kathleen Fam ​(m. 1943⁠–⁠2002)​
Children
  • Victor Lee Yew Kwong (son)
  • Peter Lee Yew Chung(son)
  • David Lee Yew Kwong (son)
  • Elanie Lee Yu Lian (daughter)
Parents
  • Lee Fook Chuen (father)
  • Yim Kam (mother)
Alma materVictoria Institution
King Edward VII College of Medicine
OccupationPhysician, politician
Lee Siew Choh
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese李紹祖
Simplified Chinese李绍祖
Hanyu PinyinLǐ Shàozǔ
JyutpingLei5 Siu6 Zou2
Hokkien POJLí Siāu-chó͘
Tâi-lôLí Siāu-tsóo
In this Chinese name, the family name is Lee.

Lee Siew Choh (simplified Chinese: 李绍祖; traditional Chinese: 李紹祖; pinyin: Lǐ Shàozǔ; Jyutping: Lei5 Siu6 Zou2; 1 November 1917 – 18 July 2002) was a Singaporean politician and physician. A former member of the opposition Worker's Party (WP), he was the Member of Parliament for Queenstown from 1959 to 1963 and served as the NCMP from September 1988 to August 1991 of the 7th Parliament of Singapore.

Initially a member of the People's Action Party (PAP), he became a leader of the breakaway faction of Barisan Sosialis (BS) in 1961. After the BS merged with the Workers' Party (WP) in 1988, Lee stood as a WP candidate in the 1988 election and became Singapore's first Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) due to his best performance among the opposition candidates. He served as the NCMP from September 1988 to August 1991.

Biography

Lee was born in Kuala Lumpur and was educated at Victoria Institution. He came to Singapore in 1934 and was trained as a medical doctor at King Edward VII College of Medicine. After graduating in 1942, he joined Kandang Kerbau Hospital as a doctor. He married a volunteer nurse Kathleen Fam Yin Oi (1919 –⁠ 20 April 2018) in 1943 during the Japanese occupation of Singapore, he was later sent to work as a medical officer at the Thai-Burmese border for two years, where the Death Railway was constructed.

Political career

Lee served in Singapore's Legislative Assembly as a representative of the PAP following the 1959 election. In 1960 he served as the Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs. In 1961, Lee and 13 other members of the assembly broke away from the PAP and formed the Socialist Front. Lee was noted for his pro-leftist stance and oratory skills. In 1961, he made the longest speech in the history of Singapore's Legislative Assembly which lasted seven hours on the subject of Singapore's proposed merger with Malaya. Lee led the party in the 1963 elections, in which they won 13 of the 51 seats.

In 1988, Socialist Front merged with the Workers' Party and Lee stood as a Workers' Party candidate in the Eunos Group Representation Constituency at the 1988 Singaporean general election, along with Francis Seow and Mohd Khalit bin Mohd Baboo. They lost to the PAP's team in the constituency by 49.1% of the votes to 50.9%. As the Workers' Party's team in Eunos had garnered a higher percentage of the vote than any other opposition losing candidates, the party was eligible to nominate two members of its team from Eunos to become Non-constituency MPs. The party had refused to nominate NCMPs in the past, but this time they nominated Lee and Seow to become NCMPs. Seow was subsequently accused of espionage and fled to the United States before he could take up his NCMP seat. Lee became Singapore's first-ever NCMP, serving until the 1991 general election. In Parliament, he raised several issues, including the Internal Security Act, living costs and welfare.

Lee again stood in Eunos GRC at the 1991 Singaporean general election. He and fellow party members Jufrie Mahmood, Neo Choon Aik and Wee Han Kim again lost narrowly to the PAP's team by 47.6% of the votes to 52.4%. However no NCMP seats were offered following that election as the opposition parties won a combined total of four elected seats.

Lee left the Workers' Party in 1996, citing differences with the party's leader, Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam.

Personal life

Lee married Kathleen Fam and had three sons, Victor Lee Yew Kwong, Peter Lee Yew Chung and David Lee Yew Keong, and a daughter, Lee Yu Lian.

His eldest son, Victor Lee Yew Kwong, died in 1992.

Lee died of lung cancer on 18 July 2002.

See also

References

  1. "He's trying to rewrite history". Singapore Press Holdings. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  2. "Lee Siew Choh, Dr". GOVERNMENT OF SINGAPORE. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  3. "Dr. Lee Siew Choh has left us". Think Centre. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  4. Singapore, National Library Board. "Lee Siew Choh | Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  5. "Lee Siew Choh". National Library Board. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  6. Seow, Francis T. "Tribute to Dr Lee Siew Choh 1917-2002". Retrieved 8 January 2015.
Political offices
Parliament of Singapore
Preceded byLee Choon Eng Member of Parliament for Queenstown
1959 – 1963 		Succeeded byJek Yeun Thong
First
New office 		Non-Constituency Member of Parliament
1988 – 1997 		VacantTitle next held byJ.B. Jeyaretnam (1997 – 2001)
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