Indian-origin civil servant appointed Singapore's acting president

[thesolar65]

SINGAPORE: J Y Pillay, an Indian-origin veteran civil servant, was on Friday appointed Singapore's acting president until a new head of state is sworn in later this month.

Pillay, 83, took over from Tony Tan Keng Yam who completed a six-year term on Thursday.

Pillay, chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA), will act as the president until after polling day on September 23 - or after nomination day on September 13, if a candidate is elected unopposed.

When the office of president is vacant, the first in line to exercise its powers is the CPA chairman, followed by the Speaker of Parliament, The Straits Times said.

This is the first time the office has fallen vacant since the elected presidency was introduced in 1991, according to the report.

Pillay is no stranger to exercising the powers of the president. He has been the acting president every time the president goes on an overseas trip.


He acted as president in May, when Tan made state visits to Europe.

Pillay has served for more than 60 such "stints" - the longest of which was 16 days in April and May of 2007, when then president S R Nathan visited Africa.

Mr. Pillai was a great citizen of singapore he was a founder of singapore airlines . He was once metion by then Prine minister Mr. Lee kuan yew as a best brain in the world . I am so proud to being

Three candidates of Malay origins are expected to stand for election for the president's post is reserved this time for a minority group representation at the highest office of the land.


Though its temporary, I want to attention of
@SingaporeGuy for his reaction

 

[Mista]

Please. He's a Singapore citizen. What Indian-origin?

 

[manlion]

SINGAPORE: J Y Pillay, an Indian-origin veteran civil servant, was on Friday appointed Singapore's acting president until a new head of state is sworn in later this month.


Pillay has served for more than 60 such "stints" - the longest of which was 16 days in April and May of 2007, when then president S R Nathan visited Africa.

Mr. Pillai was a great citizen of singapore he was a founder of singapore airlines . He was once metion by then Prine minister Mr. Lee kuan yew as a best brain in the world . I am so proud to being

Three candidates of Malay origins are expected to stand for election for the president's post is reserved this time for a minority group representation at the highest office of the land.


Though its temporary, I want to attention of
@SingaporeGuy for his reaction

Corrections

1) Joseph Yuvaraj Pillay is not Indian , his ancestral roots are in Jaffna, Tamil Eelam (Sri Lanka )

2) And he was born in Port Klang, Malaysia to Christian parents

Indian media should do serious back ground research before spewing its nationalistic propaganda

 

[SingaporeGuy]

SINGAPORE: J Y Pillay, an Indian-origin veteran civil servant, was on Friday appointed Singapore's acting president until a new head of state is sworn in later this month.

Pillay, 83, took over from Tony Tan Keng Yam who completed a six-year term on Thursday.

Pillay, chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA), will act as the president until after polling day on September 23 - or after nomination day on September 13, if a candidate is elected unopposed.

When the office of president is vacant, the first in line to exercise its powers is the CPA chairman, followed by the Speaker of Parliament, The Straits Times said.

This is the first time the office has fallen vacant since the elected presidency was introduced in 1991, according to the report.

Pillay is no stranger to exercising the powers of the president. He has been the acting president every time the president goes on an overseas trip.


He acted as president in May, when Tan made state visits to Europe.

Pillay has served for more than 60 such "stints" - the longest of which was 16 days in April and May of 2007, when then president S R Nathan visited Africa.

Mr. Pillai was a great citizen of singapore he was a founder of singapore airlines . He was once metion by then Prine minister Mr. Lee kuan yew as a best brain in the world . I am so proud to being

Three candidates of Malay origins are expected to stand for election for the president's post is reserved this time for a minority group representation at the highest office of the land.


Though its temporary, I want to attention of
@SingaporeGuy for his reaction

I have nothing against Singaporean Indians.

I despise the inefficiency of india Indians to manage their country well for all india people

 

[Kal Muah]

Corrections

1) Joseph Yuvaraj Pillay is not Indian , his ancestral roots are in Jaffna, Tamil Eelam (Sri Lanka )

2) And he was born in Port Klang, Malaysia to Christian parents

Indian media should do serious back ground research before spewing its nationalistic propaganda

Why lie?
Pillay married Beatrice Mary Rasammah in 1963 and they have one daughter. He is an Indian Catholic, but reveres the Bhagavad-Gita, a Hindu scripture written more than 2,000 years ago, as a great management tool

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_659_2005-01-06.html

@thesolar65

 

[Nan Yang]

SINGAPORE: J Y Pillay, an Indian-origin veteran civil servant, was on Friday appointed Singapore's acting president until a new head of state is sworn in later this month.

Pillay, 83, took over from Tony Tan Keng Yam who completed a six-year term on Thursday.

Pillay, chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA), will act as the president until after polling day on September 23 - or after nomination day on September 13, if a candidate is elected unopposed.

When the office of president is vacant, the first in line to exercise its powers is the CPA chairman, followed by the Speaker of Parliament, The Straits Times said.

This is the first time the office has fallen vacant since the elected presidency was introduced in 1991, according to the report.

Pillay is no stranger to exercising the powers of the president. He has been the acting president every time the president goes on an overseas trip.


He acted as president in May, when Tan made state visits to Europe.

Pillay has served for more than 60 such "stints" - the longest of which was 16 days in April and May of 2007, when then president S R Nathan visited Africa.

Mr. Pillai was a great citizen of singapore he was a founder of singapore airlines . He was once metion by then Prine minister Mr. Lee kuan yew as a best brain in the world . I am so proud to being

Three candidates of Malay origins are expected to stand for election for the president's post is reserved this time for a minority group representation at the highest office of the land.


Though its temporary, I want to attention of
@SingaporeGuy for his reaction

The position of President of Singapore is so unimportant that most of the time I don't even know who is the President of Singapore.

"representation at the highest office of the land."......

 

[manlion]

Why lie?
Pillay married Beatrice Mary Rasammah in 1963 and they have one daughter. He is an Indian Catholic, but reveres the Bhagavad-Gita, a Hindu scripture written more than 2,000 years ago, as a great management tool

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_659_2005-01-06.html

@thesolar65

you mean Indian and NLB sources are more accurate than the "Ceylonese" sources

Ceylon Tamils' 100 years here

However the most memorable moment had arrived and that was the award ceremony. The Honourable Minister was invited on stage and he gave an impressive message to the guests and members of the community present. He was presented with the special commemorative historical book ‘Celebrating 100 Years’ that was published by the Association to mark the occasion. The book carried pages filled with history of the Ceylon Tamils journey here. Many articles of nostalgia and memories were featured for the association members that remembered the past history; the members present snapped up copies of the book quickly.

The Honourable Minister remained on stage to present the special awards given to seven men who served the community and nation during their lifetime. Dr. Theyvendran then read each of the citations. The first to receive the award was Prof. K. Shanmugaratnam a Histo-Pathologist. Many a tear filled eye was seen as a father received an award from his son. Mr. J.Y. Pillay and Dr. Arumugam Vijiaratnam were two men of true substance and they prided our community by making an indelible mark in their service to the nation.

http://www.senpaga.org.sg/100.asp

How the “Ceylon” Tamils From Sri Lanka Contributed to Singapore Over The Years

In administration, the most prominent example was J Y M Pillay, who was the first Chairman of SIA, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, Chairman of DBS and Managing Director of MAS, holding many of these posts simultaneously! He was later the High Commissioner in London. LKY referred to him as his most efficient and outstanding public servant – rare praise from a man who expected nothing less than superior performance from all his subordinates.

BTW its immaterial what he reads as he serves the Catholic Vatican

J.Y. Pillay appointed to Vatican's financial watchdog

http://www.asiaone.com/singapore/jy-pillay-appointed-vaticans-financial-watchdog

 

[Kal Muah]

you mean Indian and NLB sources are more accurate than the "Ceylonese" sources

listen @ 13:46 to know whether J Y Pillay roots is Indian or Sri Lankan

How the “Ceylon” Tamils From Sri Lanka Contributed to Singapore Over The Years

In administration, the most prominent example was J Y M Pillay, who was the first Chairman of SIA, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, Chairman of DBS and Managing Director of MAS, holding many of these posts simultaneously! He was later the High Commissioner in London. LKY referred to him as his most efficient and outstanding public servant – rare praise from a man who expected nothing less than superior performance from all his subordinates.
/

LOL so now some random srilankan association is more authentic than SINGAPORE GOVERNMENT itself? The link is singaporean government link http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_659_2005-01-06.html any discrepancies would have got corrected by the man himself. Now go and lick your own spit, as I give you authentic sources.

 

[manlion]

LOL so now some random srilankan association is more authentic than SINGAPORE GOVERNMENT itself? The link is singaporean government link http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_659_2005-01-06.html any discrepancies would have got corrected by the man himself. Now go and lick your own spit, as I give you authentic sources.

to the Singapore govt any one from the sub continent is Indian, which is inclusive of Pakistanis/BDs/SriLankans etc thats how dumb Singapore govt is, perhaps serves its administrative purpose as a former British colony

The Singapore Department of Statistics defines 'Indians' as a 'race' (or 'ethnic group'), comprising "persons of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Sri Lankan origin such as Tamils, Malayalis, Punjabis, Bengalis, Sinhalese etc."[4][5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Singaporeans

 

[Kal Muah]

to the Singapore govt any one from the sub continent is Indian, which is inclusive of Pakistanis/BDs/SriLankans etc thats how dumb Singapore govt is, perhaps serves its administrative purpose as a former British colony

The Singapore Department of Statistics defines 'Indians' as a 'race' (or 'ethnic group'), comprising "persons of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Sri Lankan origin such as Tamils, Malayalis, Punjabis, Bengalis, Sinhalese etc."[4][5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Singaporeans

But singapore govt website seems to specfically mention that
Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam "An Anglican Christian of Sri Lankan Tamil descent" | http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infope..._2008-11-21.html?s=Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam

 

[Grevion]

Hehe. The Butthurt on this thread is real.

 

[manlion]

But singapore govt website seems to specfically mention that
Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam "An Anglican Christian of Sri Lankan Tamil descent" | http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1379_2008-11-21.html?s=Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam

NLB is a library source not govt , btw the clip is from a function organised by the Ceylon Tamil Community (not a random association attended by the Deputy PM, Tharman Shanmugaratnam , who is from the Ceylon Tamil community) to honour its community's contribution to the nation

Ceylon Tamils' 100 years here

The dates are well chronicled hence the members gathered together to make it a day to remember... 31st July 2010...the 100th birthday of Singapore Ceylon Tamils Association. It was noted that the Association was formed in 1909 and finally registered on 26th July 1910.

Citations and Awards

The Honourable Minister remained on stage to present the special awards given to seven men who served the community and nation during their lifetime. Dr. Theyvendran then read each of the citations. The first to receive the award was Prof. K. Shanmugaratnam a Histo-Pathologist. Many a tear filled eye was seen as a father received an award from his son. Mr. J.Y. Pillay and Dr. Arumugam Vijiaratnam were two men of true substance and they prided our community by making an indelible mark in their service to the nation. Wheelchair bound and yet determined to be there in person to receive this prestigious award was Mr. C. Thirchelvarayan a Chartered Surveyor... he was another of those men that had a hand in the growing years of Singapore. In Thiru as we all know him fondly we saw a true spirit of a Ceylon Tamil man... even under the most taxing challenging circumstances he would walk that extra mile and never give up; they had the spirit and fought with courage and determination to preserve their dignity and pride. Along came three more doctors... Dr. N. Kunaratnam an E&T Surgeon, Dr. S.T. Kasinathan an Orthopaedic Surgeon and Dr. S. Lavan Iswaran a Gynaecologist and Obstetrician.

http://www.senpaga.org.sg/100.asp

Singapore preceded all these countries by being open from the inception to foreign talent as it knew that they were required for it to meet its ambition to become a regional and then global hub for trade, manufacturing and finance. Lee Kwan Yew openly alluded to the fact that he depended on Jaffna Tamils as a resource to build up Singapore in the early years. This article will try and describe their significant and unique contributions spanning the five decades of Singapore’s existence as an independent nation.

The Jaffna Tamils hail from the arid North of Sri Lanka and the only advantages they had was their native intelligence and an excellent education system set up by American missionaries. The Jaffna Tamils valued education above all else and the education system the missionaries set up emphasized the English Language and mathematics.The British valued this education and The Jaffna Tamil propensity for hard work and recruited them for the minor government positions such as clerks and station master both in colonial Ceylon and in the Federated States of Malaysia and Singapore.

It was said that in the 1930s you could travel by train from Singapore to the Thailand border and every station master enroute would be a Jaffna Tamil! It was their descendants who were to play such a significant role in the history of Singapore as an independent nation. The contribution of the Ceylon Tamils were in four main areas – politics and government, law, medicine and sports and I will describe each separately.

In politics,the first major Ceylonese participant was S.Rajaratnam, who was Lee Kwan Yew’s comrade-in- arms in the struggle for independence and closest confidante. He was Foreign Minister for many years, one of the founders of ASEAN and wrote the National Pledge which is still recited in schools today. In later years when he was suffering from Alzheimer’s, LKY visited him at his home and despite being normally undemonstrative, came away in tears. Today the descendants of Ceylon Tamils in politics are Tharman Shanmugaratnam the Deputy PM in overall charge of the economy, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and Mrs Indranee Rajah.

No account of Singapore politicians howeveris complete without a reference to J B Jayartanam, the first opposition MP in parliament. He was a thorn in theside of the government and ended as a bankrupt because of the law cases he lost. Though a failed politician, when he died the Economist wrote a special obituary about him praising his courage and steadfastness to his principles – a rare tribute accorded usually to major statesmen.

In administration, the most prominent example was J Y M Pillay, who was the first Chairman of SIA, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, Chairman of DBS and Managing Director of MAS, holding many of these posts simultaneously! He was later the High Commissioner in London. LKY referred to him as his most efficient and outstanding public servant – rare praise from a man who expected nothing less than superior performance from all his subordinates. He is now in the Presidential Council of Advisors and a special advisor to the Pope on financial matters

http://www.timeslanka.com/2017/08/0...anka-contributed-to-singapore-over-the-years/

 

[Kal Muah]

NLB is a library source not govt , btw the clip is from a function organised by the Ceylonese Community (not a random association ) to honour its community's contribution to the nation

Ceylon Tamils' 100 years here

The dates are well chronicled hence the members gathered together to make it a day to remember... 31st July 2010...the 100th birthday of Singapore Ceylon Tamils Association. It was noted that the Association was formed in 1909 and finally registered on 26th July 1910.

Citations and Awards

The Honourable Minister remained on stage to present the special awards given to seven men who served the community and nation during their lifetime. Dr. Theyvendran then read each of the citations. The first to receive the award was Prof. K. Shanmugaratnam a Histo-Pathologist. Many a tear filled eye was seen as a father received an award from his son. Mr. J.Y. Pillay and Dr. Arumugam Vijiaratnam were two men of true substance and they prided our community by making an indelible mark in their service to the nation. Wheelchair bound and yet determined to be there in person to receive this prestigious award was Mr. C. Thirchelvarayan a Chartered Surveyor... he was another of those men that had a hand in the growing years of Singapore. In Thiru as we all know him fondly we saw a true spirit of a Ceylon Tamil man... even under the most taxing challenging circumstances he would walk that extra mile and never give up; they had the spirit and fought with courage and determination to preserve their dignity and pride. Along came three more doctors... Dr. N. Kunaratnam an E&T Surgeon, Dr. S.T. Kasinathan an Orthopaedic Surgeon and Dr. S. Lavan Iswaran a Gynaecologist and Obstetrician.

http://www.senpaga.org.sg/100.asp

Singapore preceded all these countries by being open from the inception to foreign talent as it knew that they were required for it to meet its ambition to become a regional and then global hub for trade, manufacturing and finance. Lee Kwan Yew openly alluded to the fact that he depended on Jaffna Tamils as a resource to build up Singapore in the early years. This article will try and describe their significant and unique contributions spanning the five decades of Singapore’s existence as an independent nation.

The Jaffna Tamils hail from the arid North of Sri Lanka and the only advantages they had was their native intelligence and an excellent education system set up by American missionaries. The Jaffna Tamils valued education above all else and the education system the missionaries set up emphasized the English Language and mathematics.The British valued this education and The Jaffna Tamil propensity for hard work and recruited them for the minor government positions such as clerks and station master both in colonial Ceylon and in the Federated States of Malaysia and Singapore.

It was said that in the 1930s you could travel by train from Singapore to the Thailand border and every station master enroute would be a Jaffna Tamil! It was their descendants who were to play such a significant role in the history of Singapore as an independent nation. The contribution of the Ceylon Tamils were in four main areas – politics and government, law, medicine and sports and I will describe each separately.

In politics,the first major Ceylonese participant was S.Rajaratnam, who was Lee Kwan Yew’s comrade-in- arms in the struggle for independence and closest confidante. He was Foreign Minister for many years, one of the founders of ASEAN and wrote the National Pledge which is still recited in schools today. In later years when he was suffering from Alzheimer’s, LKY visited him at his home and despite being normally undemonstrative, came away in tears. Today the descendants of Ceylon Tamils in politics are Tharman Shanmugaratnam the Deputy PM in overall charge of the economy, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and Mrs Indranee Rajah.

No account of Singapore politicians howeveris complete without a reference to J B Jayartanam, the first opposition MP in parliament. He was a thorn in theside of the government and ended as a bankrupt because of the law cases he lost. Though a failed politician, when he died the Economist wrote a special obituary about him praising his courage and steadfastness to his principles – a rare tribute accorded usually to major statesmen.

In administration, the most prominent example was J Y M Pillay, who was the first Chairman of SIA, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, Chairman of DBS and Managing Director of MAS, holding many of these posts simultaneously! He was later the High Commissioner in London. LKY referred to him as his most efficient and outstanding public servant – rare praise from a man who expected nothing less than superior performance from all his subordinates. He is now in the Presidential Council of Advisors and a special advisor to the Pope on financial matters

http://www.timeslanka.com/2017/08/0...anka-contributed-to-singapore-over-the-years/

Instead of posting Sri-Lankan links give me authentic sources from singapore government itself. Sri-Lanka can claim even obama for all it wants and still i wouldn't care
NLB is a national library maintained by Singaporean Government. Stop lying from your teeth. Not a single source you have provided where it is said JY Pillay belongs to sri-lankan origin. here's CNN also confirming the same
"And, in some ways, that is how Pillay is. A Malaya-born Indian Catholic,"
http://edition.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/98/1016/cs8c.html

 

[manlion]

Instead of posting Sri-Lankan links give me authentic sources from singapore government itself. Sri-Lanka can claim even obama for all it wants and still i wouldn't care
NLB is a national library maintained by Singaporean Government. Stop lying from your teeth. Not a single source you have provided where it is said JY Pillay belongs to sri-lankan origin. here's CNN also confirming the same
"And, in some ways, that is how Pillay is. A Malaya-born Indian Catholic,"
http://edition.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/98/1016/cs8c.html

If J Y Pillay was of Indian origin as claimed by CNN or Singapore govt - why would he be honored by the Ceylon Tamil Community ?

J Y Pillay (Bottom right) receiving his award from the Singapore's Deputy PM

Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister has openly stated J Y Pillay belongs to his Ceylon Tamil Community, whats there to dispute or worry on what CNN news has to report ?

How could you deliberately miss it, which I had highlighted to you in my post , listen from 13:00 on wards and pause @ 13:46 ,

DPM 's words " Ceylon Tamils in Singapore are a small community. They are a minority within a minority.
They have done well. In the judiciary and legal profession, in academic medicine and clinical practice, and in engineering, their contributions have been greatly disproportionate to the size of the community. There were also, historically, well represented in the senior levels of the civil service on both sides of the Causeway. My J Y Pillay who is here this evening was the foremost example during his time in the Service in Singapore. "

How is he Indian ? Is he an Indian national ? were his parents from India ? Do the media and Singapore govt known the difference between nationality and race ?

J Y Pillay's nationality is Singaporean , race Tamil , country of birth or origin - Malaysia, religion - Catholic , he has nothing to do with India

 

[manlion]

Singapore Presidential hopefully, Farid Khan of Pakistani origin