Arumugam Ponnu Rajah

Arumugam Ponnu Rajah (7 July 1911 – 28 September 1999) known also as A P Rajah, was Singapore's High Commissioner to UK and later Australia.[2][3] He was Singapore's first Supreme Court judge to remain on the Bench after turning 70.[3][4]

Arumugam Ponnu Rajah
Photo of A P Rajah as Speaker of Singapore Parliament in 1964 to 1966
Supreme Court Judge of Singapore
In office
1 October 1976 – 30 September 1990
3rd Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
In office
1964–1966
Deputy
Preceded byEdmund W Barker
Succeeded byPunch Coomaraswamy
Personal details
Born7 July 1911
Port Dickson, British Malaya
Died28 September 1999(1999-09-28) (aged 88)
Singapore
Resting placeBidadari Cemetery, Singapore
Spouse(s)
Vijaya Lakshmi
​
(died 1971)​
ChildrenChelva R. Rajah (son)
Mala (daughter)
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
Raffles Institution
St. Paul's Institution
OccupationJudge, Diplomat

Education

Rajah received his early education at St. Paul's Institution and Raffles Institution.[5] In 1932, he attended University of Oxford where he received a law degree.[5] He was later conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws by the National University of Singapore (NUS) on 14 November 1984.[6]

Career

In 1949, Rajah was elected a city councillor.[7] In 1953, Rajah represented Singapore to attend the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[8] In 1959, Rajah re-entered politics as an independent candidate[9] and was elected to the Legislative Assembly for Farrer Park.[10] He lost his seat in 1963,[11] but was appointed the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore in 1964.[3] In 1965, after Singapore gained independence, the Legislative Assembly of Singapore was renamed the Parliament of Singapore and he became the first Speaker of the Parliament.[3]

In 1966, Rajah was appointed as the High Commissioner to UK.[12] Between 1971 and 1973, he was appointed as the High Commissioner to Australia and Fiji.[12]

Rajah returned to Singapore in 1973 to resume legal practice, and was later appointed as a Supreme Court judge on 1 October 1976.[12] He held the appointment till he retired on 30 September 1990 at the age of 79.[4]

Rajah was the Pro-Chancellor of National University of Singapore from 1990 to 1999.[13]

Family and death

Rajah died on 28 September 1999.[5][14] His wife, Vijaya Lakshmi had died before him in 1971.[5] He was survived by his son Chelva and daughter Mala.[5]

References
  1. "Speakers of Parliament". Parliament of Singapore. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Scroll to bottom and expand the list of former Deputy Speaker
  2. "My first task—by Mr. Rajah". The Straits Times. 7 August 1966. p. 6.
  3. "Justice Rajah re-appointed". The Straits Times. 11 October 1987. p. 15.
  4. "Justice A.P. Rajah retires after 14 years on the Bench". The Straits Times. 29 September 1990. p. 26.
  5. "Former Supreme Court judge and envoy dies". The Straits Times. 30 September 1999. p. 28.
  6. "President for NUS convocation". The Straits Times. 13 November 1984. p. 11.
  7. Who's who in Malaysia and guide to Singapore. J. V. Morais. p. 112.
  8. "Coming home". The Straits Times. 7 July 1953. p. 7.
  9. "Now a whole Lib-Soc committee resigns". The Straits Times. 23 April 1959. p. 6.
  10. "THE RESULTS: ALL YOU". The Straits Times. 31 May 1959. p. 4.
  11. "THIS IS THE WAY THE VOTING WENT". The Straits Times. 22 September 1963. p. 2.
  12. "RAJAH MADE A HIGH COURT JUDGE". The Straits Times. 5 September 1976. p. 1.
  13. "President Wee Kim Wee with Pro-Chancellors of National University of Singapore at NUS convocation, 1990". BookSG. Retrieved 20 April 2020 – via NLB.
  14. Chia, Joshua Yeong Jia (2016). "Arumugam Ponnu Rajah". infopedia – via NLB.
Parliament of Singapore
Preceded by
Edmund W Barker		 Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
1964 – 1966		 Succeeded by
Punch Coomaraswamy
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