Chew Swee Kee ( zh, c=周瑞麒, p=Zhōu Ruìqí; 15 May 1918 December 1985) was a Singaporean politician. A member of the political party, the
Labour Front
The Labour Front is a defunct political party in Singapore that operated from 1955 to 1960.
History
The Labour Front was founded to contest the 1955 legislative elections by David Saul Marshall, Singapore's first chief minister and Lim Yew Hoc ...
, Chew served as Minister of Education from 1955 to 1959.
Early life
Chew was born 15 May 1918, in
Gopeng
Gopeng is a town located in Mukim Teja, Kampar District, Perak, Malaysia. It is situated approximately south of Ipoh, the state capital.
History
Gopeng was the most important town in the Kinta Valley until 1890, when Ipoh became more promin ...
, Malaya. He attended Chung Wah Chinese School and Anglo-Chinese School.
Career
Chew was a member of the
Labour Front
The Labour Front is a defunct political party in Singapore that operated from 1955 to 1960.
History
The Labour Front was founded to contest the 1955 legislative elections by David Saul Marshall, Singapore's first chief minister and Lim Yew Hoc ...
, a Singapore-based political party. He was given the role of Minister of Education following the victory of the Labour Front in the 1955 Legislative Elections. He was also acting Chief Minister and chairman of the All-Party Committee of the Singapore Legislative Assembly.
He became the Labour Front's president in around 1957. In 1958, the Labour Front joined with the Liberal Socialist Party to form the
Singapore People's Alliance
The Singapore People's Alliance was a political coalition in Singapore founded in 1958, comprising the Labour Front and Liberal Socialist Party. It has never won any seats in the Parliament of Singapore. However, the party did win 4 seats to ...
.
Early in 1959, Organizing Secretary of the Labour Front, Gerald de Cruz, was told that Chew Swee Kee had bought a tin mine in Ipoh, Malaya, for $350,000. de Cruz alerted Communications and Works Minister and Secretary General of the Labour Front, Francis Thomas. de Cruz described Thomas as "the only honest man as far as I knew in the Labour Front".
Thomas consulted Arthur Lim, Assistant Secretary General, and then reported Chew's sudden wealth to Chief Minister
Lim Yew Hock
Lim Yew Hock ( zh, c=林有福, p=Lín Yǒufú; 15 October 1914 – 30 November 1984) was a Malaysian Lim dismissed the issue, saying that he personally had received only $15,000. Disgruntled, Thomas passed the information to
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...
, Secretary General of the opposition
People's Action Party
The People's Action Party ( abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) a ...
(PAP). On 15 February 1959, at a pre-election rally, PAP Chairman, Toh Chin Chye, said that "the Americans" had given $500,000 to the Singapore's People's Alliance.
Two days later, on 17 February, Lee tabled a motion in the Legislative Assembly naming Chew as receiving foreign money and calling for a Commission of Inquiry. Chew resigned on 4 March. Chief Minister Lim appointed Justice Murray Buttrose as Commissioner to investigate. Buttrose held hearings from 6 April to 18 May, and concluded that Chew had received $519,000 in October 1957 and $182,000 in April 1958 from the main office of First National City Bank of New York. Chew spent $280,000 on investments in Malayan mines and $51,000 to buy a house in Ipoh. Buttrose cleared Chew of violating income tax laws. At the inquiry, Lee said that he had received the information about Chew's receipt of foreign funds from K.M. Byrne, formerly Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. In turn, Byrne testified that he had received the information from an official of the Income Tax Department.
The incident is credited with causing the downfall of the Singapore People's Alliance, and paving the way for the PAP to dominate Singapore politics. Subsequent research revealed that the funds were from Taiwan (Chew had met Republic of China Foreign Minister George Yeh in September 1957 to solicit funds).
Personal life
Chew became a Singapore citizen in November 1957. He was married and had four daughters and one son. He headed the Ipoh ACS Alumni Association from 1962 to 1964.
Death
Chew died of
myocardial infarction
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ...