Lee Chiaw Meng

Lee Chiaw Meng was a former Singaporean politician and member of the People's Action Party (PAP). He served as the Minister of Education from 1972 to 1975, then as Minister of Science and Technology from 1975 to 1976.[1] He was also the member of Parliament for Farrer Park Single Member Constituency (SMC) from 1968 to 1980, Tanah Merah SMC from 1980 to 1984.

Lee Chiaw Meng
李昭铭
MP for Farrer Park
In office
1968–1980
MP for Tanah Merah
In office
1980–1984
Parliamentary Secretary for Education
In office
1968–1970
Minister of State for Education
In office
1970–1972
Minister for Education
In office
1972–1975
Minister for Science and Technology
In office
1975–1976
Personal details
Born(1937-02-28)28 February 1937
Died23 May 2001(2001-05-23) (aged 64)
Cause of deathduodenum cancer
CitizenshipSingapore
NationalitySingaporean
Political partyPeople's Action Party
Spouse(s)Lynn Lee
Children5
EducationBachelor of Engineering
Alma materUniversity of Malaya
OccupationFounder of Dr. Lee Chiaw Meng & Associates

Education and early career

Lee studied in Catholic High School[2] and Chung Cheng High School. He went on to study at the University of Malaya in 1960 and obtained his bachelor's degree in engineering.

Until 1961, Lee was working in the Public Works Department as an engineer before he went to University of London and obtained a doctorate in engineering in 1965. After his return to Singapore, Lee joined Singapore Polytechnic as a lecturer in civil engineering.[3]

Political career

Lee contested the Farrer Park SMC in the 1968 Singapore general election. He defeated independent candidate, M. P. D. Nair, by 7,826 votes (84.91%) to 1,391 (15.09%).[4] Lee continued to contest Farrer Park SMC in 1972 elections, winning with 8,521 votes (73.8%), defeating J. B. Jeyaretnam of the Workers' Party 2,668 votes (23.1%) and independent candidate S. A. Latiff 354 votes (3.1%).[5] In the 1976 general elections, Lee was uncontested in Farrer Park SMC and won with a walkover.[6] In the 1980 general elections, Farrer Park SMC was abolished[7] and Lee contested Tanah Merah SMC where he won with a walkover also.[8]

In 1972, Lee was appointed as the Minister of Education and was tasked to overhaul the school and university system. In 1975, in a bid to clear political and cultural obstacles, then Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, appointed Lee as Nanyang University’s vice chancellor, taking over from the then vice chancellor, Hsueh Shou Sheng.[9] Lee was only vice chancellor from March 1975 to August 1976 as he failed to convert the Chinese-medium Nanyang University into an English-language university, as required by Lee Kuan Yew. In 1980, Nanyang University merged with the University of Singapore to form the National University of Singapore.[10] From 1975 to 1976, Lee served briefly as Minister for Science and Technology.

In 1984, Lee left politics and started his own engineering firm, Dr. Lee Chiaw Meng & Associates.[7]

Personal life

Lee was married to Lyn Lee and had three sons and two daughters. He was diagnosed with duodenum cancer in 1999 and died from it on 23 May 2001 at the age of 64.[7]

References
  1. "Chiaw Meng dropped". The Straits Times. 31 December 1976. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  2. "Past Presidents". Archived from the original on 28 July 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  3. "envoy to U.S. is among the new". The Straits Times. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  4. "1968 PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS". Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  5. "FARRER PARK". Archived from the original on 22 May 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  6. "FARRER PARK". Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  7. "Dr Lee dies". Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  8. "TANAH MERAH". Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  9. Lysa Hong; Jianli Huang (2008). The Scripting of a National History: Singapore and Its Pasts. NUS Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-9971-69-433-3.
  10. Liu Fook Thim (2012). One Degree, Many Choices: A Glimpse Into the Career Choices of the NTI Pioneer Engineering Class of 85. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 8. ISBN 978-981-4379-76-2.
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