Sushilan Vasoo (born 1941), commonly known as S. Vasoo, is a Singaporean former politician and social worker. A former member of the
People's Action Party (PAP), he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing
Bo Wen Constituency from 1984 to 1988, the MP of
Tiong Bahru Group Representation Constituency representing the Henderson division from 1988 to 1991, and the MP of
Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency representing the Radin Mas division from 1991 to 2001.
Early life
Vasoo grew up in a village in Nee Soon, his father was a sub-contractor. The village was largely populated by
Chinese residents, which led him to learn
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
.
After he finished secondary school in 1959, he worked in
Kluang, Malaysia as a trainee factory supervisor at a
rubber plantation. Vasoo later moved back to Singapore and worked in psychiatric nursing at the
Ministry of Health Ministry of Health may refer to:
Note: Italics indicate now-defunct ministries.
* Ministry of Health (Argentina)
* Ministry of Health (Armenia)
* Australia:
** Ministry of Health (New South Wales)
* Ministry of Health (The Bahamas)
* Ministry of ...
(MOH), he was posted to Woodbridge Hospital (now the
Institute of Mental Health).
He later went and got a diploma at the
University of Singapore after he obtained a
bursary from the
Children's Society
The Children's Society, formally the Church of England Children's Society, is a United Kingdom national children's charity (registered No. 221124) allied to the Church of England.
The charity's two governing objectives are to:
# directly improv ...
and from 1971 to 1972, he worked as a tutor at the University of Singapore. In 1973, he joined the Council of Society Services as a deputy director and was later given an educational grant to go to
Hong Kong to get a master's degree in
social work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
at the
University of Hong Kong.
Before getting into politics, Vasoo worked as a university lecturer at the Social Work department of the
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...
.
Career
In 1984, Vasoo was invited to join the
People's Action Party (PAP) by then-Member of Parliament (MP) for
Toa Payoh Constituency Eric Cheong. In the
1984 Singaporean general election
General elections were held in Singapore on 22 December 1984. President of Singapore, President Devan Nair dissolved parliament on 4 December 1984 on the advice of Prime Minister of Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The result was a victory ...
, he contested for
Bo Wen Constituency. During his rally speech, he spoke in English, Malay, Tamil, Mandarin, and Hokkien. He became the
MP for Bo Wen Constituency after beating Sh Ahmad Salim of United People's Front's 25.30% with his 74.70%.
During the
1988 Singaporean general election
General elections were held in Singapore on 3 September 1988. President of Singapore, President Wee Kim Wee dissolved parliament on 17 August 1988 on the advice of Prime Minister of Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The result was a victory ...
, after the dissolution of Bo Wen Constituency, Vasoo contested for the Henderson division of the
Tiong Bahru Group Representation Constituency along with
Ch'ng Jit Koon and
Chng Hee Kok against the
Workers' Party (WP) group of
Low Thia Khiang, Lim Lye Soon, and Gopalan Nair.
Vasoo and his team won with 57.84% of the vote against the WP's 42.16%.
In the
1991 Singaporean general election
General elections were held in Singapore on 31 August 1991. President Wee Kim Wee dissolved parliament on 14 August 1991 on the advice of Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won 77 of th ...
, Vasoo contested for the Radin Mas division of
Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency with his team of
Koo Tsai Kee,
Lee Kuan Yew, and
Lim Hng Kiang and were elected unopposed.
In 1993, Vasoo held a
defamation suit against
Singapore Democratic Party's
Chee Soon Juan
Chee Soon Juan is a Singaporean politician, activist and former lecturer who has been serving as Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party since 1993.
Prior to entering politics in 1992, upon Chiam See Tong's invitation to join the ...
over allegedly defamatory remarks made about him and was paid
S$210,000 in damages.
In the
next general election
This is a list of the next general elections around the world in democratic polities. The general elections listed are for the government of each jurisdiction. These elections determine the Prime Minister and makeup of the legislature in a parli ...
, Vasoo contested for the Radin Mas division of Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency again with his team of
Lim Swee Say,
Ow Chin Hock,
Chay Wai Chuen, Koo Tsai Kee, and Lee Kuan Yew. They were elected unopposed again. In 2001, Vasoo retired from politics.
In 2024, Vasoo was awarded the Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer Award by
Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasoo, S.
20th-century Singaporean politicians
21st-century Singaporean politicians
1941 births
Singaporean social workers
University of Singapore alumni
People's Action Party politicians
Singaporean people of Tamil descent
Singaporean politicians of Indian descent
Living people
Members of the Parliament of Singapore
Singaporean Tamil politicians