Arumugam Ponnu Rajah (7 July 1911 – 28 September 1999) was a Singaporean judge, diplomat and politician. He served as

Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore The speaker of the Parliament of Singapore is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Singapore. The speaker is nominated by the prime minister before being appointed by the Parliament. The speaker is also second in the presidential line o ...

between 1964 and 1966 becoming the first speaker after independence, as Singapore High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and later Singapore High Commissioner to Australia, and thereafter on the Supreme Court. He was Singapore's first

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

judge to remain on the bench after turning 70. He is the only known individual to have served as a judge, diplomat and politician in the course of his life.

Education

Rajah received his early education at St. Paul's Institution and

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 ...

. In 1932, he attended

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

where he received a law degree. He was later conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws by the National University of Singapore (NUS) on 14 November 1984.

Career

In 1948, Rajah contested in the

Legislative Council of Singapore The Legislative Council of the Colony of Singapore was the legislative council of Singapore that assisted the governor in making laws in the colony. It officially came into existence in 1946, when the Straits Settlements (Repeal) Act 1946 ab ...

for

Rural West Constituency Rural West Constituency was a constituency represented in the Legislative Council of Singapore from 1948 until 1951. It elected one Legislative Council member. The constituency was formed in 1948 and cover the areas of Bajau, Bukit Batok, Bukit Pan ...

as a Progressive Party candidate but lost to independent candidate Srish Chandra Goho (S. C. Goho). In 1949, Rajah was elected a city councillor. In 1953, Rajah represented Singapore to attend the

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

. In 1959, Rajah re-entered politics as an independent candidate and was elected to the Legislative Assembly for

Farrer Park Farrer Park is a subzone of the Rochor planning area in the Central Region of Singapore, as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority bounded by Serangoon Road, Rangoon Road, Race Course Road, Northumberland Road, Tekka Lane and Bukit Timah ...

. He lost his seat in 1963, but was appointed the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore in 1964. 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. In 1966, Rajah was appointed as the High Commissioner to UK. Between 1971 and 1973, he was appointed as the High Commissioner to Australia and Fiji. Rajah returned to Singapore in 1973 to resume legal practice, and was later appointed as a Supreme Court judge on 1 October 1976. He held the appointment till he retired on 30 September 1990 at the age of 79. Rajah was the

Pro-Chancellor A pro-chancellor is an officer of some universities in Commonwealth countries. The pro-chancellor acts as a deputy to the chancellor and as practical chairman of the university council. In this role, a pro-chancellor may fulfil a number of for ...

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

from 1990 to 1999 and was also chairman of the Hindu Advisory Board in that time.

Family and death

Rajah died on 28 September 1999. His wife, Vijaya Lakshmi pre-deceased him in 1971. He was survived by his son Chelva Rajah, a senior counsel, and daughter Mala.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajah, Arumugam Ponnu 1911 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Singaporean judges 20th-century Singaporean lawyers Speakers of the Parliament of Singapore Singaporean politicians of Indian descent