Poh Soo Kai ( zh, c=傅樹介, p=Fù Shùjiè, s=, t=; born February 5, 1930) is a Singaporean medical doctor, politician,

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

. He was a founding member of the University Socialist Club and the

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...

(PAP).

Biography

Poh was born in Singapore on February 5, 1930. He is the maternal grandson of prominent businessman

Tan Kah Kee Tan Kah Kee (; also spelled as Chen Jiageng; 21 October 1874 – 12 August 1961) was a Chinese businessman, investor, and philanthropist active in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Chinese cities of Shanghai, Xiamen, and Guangzhou. A prominent fig ...

. His family fled Singapore before the Japanese invasion and landed in Mumbai, he studied at a Catholic mission school for four years. Poh and his family returned to Singapore after the Japanese surrender in 1945, continued his studies at

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both b ...

and entered the

University of Malaya The Universiti Malaya (lit 'University of Malaya'; abbreviated UM) is a public university, public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest Malaysian institution of higher education, and was the only university in ...

in 1950. He was a founding member of the Socialist Club in 1953 and became its second President from August that year till the following year. Poh was one of the eight members of the Fajar editorial board charged with

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

in 1954. He graduated three years later with a degree in medicine. Poh became acquainted with

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is widely recognised ...

, who was the honorary legal advisor to Fajar, during his time in university. He subsequently became a founding member of the PAP in 1954. When the party split in 1961, he left to join the

Barisan Sosialis Barisan Sosialis (BS), also known as the Socialist Front, is a defunct left-wing political party in Singapore. It was formed on 29 July 1961 and was officially registered on 13 August 1961 by the leftist faction of the People's Action Party (PA ...

as its Assistant Secretary-General. He was arrested and detained without trial under the Preservation of Public Service Security Ordinance during

Operation Coldstore Operation Coldstore was the code name for a covert anti-communist security operation that took place in Singapore on 2 February 1963, which was then an internally self-governing state within the British Empire. It led to the arrest of 113 peop ...

in 1963. He was arrested again without trial under the Internal Security Act in 1976 and 1982. He co-edited the book, The Fajar Generation: The University Socialist Club and the Politics of Postwar Malaya and Singapore (2009). Poh published his memoir titled Living in a Time of Deception in 2016. Based on his own recollection and records of the UK government, he provided a new perspective on key events in the political development of Singapore. His thesis is that Lee Kuan Yew's main purpose in seeking independence in conjunction with the merger with the Federation of Malaysia was to leverage the Malaysian government to immobilize his left-wing opponents. Lee feared that the left wing led by

Lim Chin Siong Lim Chin Siong (; 28 February 1933 – 5 February 1996) was a Singaporean politician and union leader active in Singapore in the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the founders of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), which has governed the ...

would have defeated him in free elections.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poh, Soo Kai 1930 births Living people Singaporean people of Hokkien descent People's Action Party politicians Prisoners and detainees of Singapore Singaporean prisoners and detainees Raffles Institution alumni 20th-century Singaporean physicians