Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam

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Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam (b. 5 January 1926, Jaffna, Sri Lanka - d. 30 September 2008, Singapore), better known as J. B. Jeyaretnam or JBJ, was Singapore's first opposition Member of Parliament (MP) since independence. He broke the People's Action Party's (PAP) monopoly of parliament in 1981 when he won the by-election at Anson. However, he lost his seat in parliament twice - in 1986 and 2001. He made a comeback in early 2008, forming a new political party and announcing plans to contest the next general election (GE).

Early Life
An Anglican Christian of Sri Lankan Tamil descent, Jeyaretnam was born in the village of Chankanai in Jaffna, Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka) while his parents were on home leave from Malaya.

He began schooling at a French convent in Muar, Malaya. After graduating from the convent, he entered the Government English School in Muar. When his father was transferred to work in Johor Bahru, Malaya, he enrolled in the English College there. After the Japanese Occupation, he moved to Singapore to study at St Andrew's School. It was around this time that he became interested in politics.

In 1948, he left for England to study law at the University College, London. There, he met the woman who would later be his wife, Margaret Cynthia Walker, who was also a law student. He graduated with an LLB (Hons) in 1951 and sat for the Bar finals the same year. He was called to the Bar by the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn in London on 27 November 1951 and left for Singapore the next day. In 1952, he joined the Singapore Legal Service. Walker, who had remained in England, joined him in Singapore in 1956. They married in February 1957.

Legal Career
While in the legal service, Jeyaretnam served in various posts, including magistrate, district judge, crown counsel, deputy public prosecutor and registrar of the Supreme Court. He left the service in 1963 and entered private practice, eventually setting up his own law firm in 1968.

He stopped practising law in 2000. In the following year, he was declared bankrupt, which barred him from practising as a lawyer. However, soon after he was discharged as a bankrupt in May 2007, he obtained a practising certificate and resumed his law practice.

Political Career
Jeyaretnam made his political debut in 1971. That year, he joined the Workers' Party (WP) and was elected as its secretary-general. After the departure of its founder David Marshall in 1962, the party had been dormant. Jeyaretnam rejuvenated the party and led it to a historic victory in the 1981 Anson by-election.

Jeyaretnam contested in his first election in 1972. He lost, and it was to be the first of five consecutive failed attempts to gain entry into parliament. However, by the late 1970s, he had proven himself to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest, opposition candidate. In the 1980 GE, he lost to the PAP candidate by just 1,046 votes or 6% of the valid votes. Finally, in 1981, he won the by-election in Anson with 51.9% of the valid votes. With this victory, he became the first opposition candidate to be elected as an MP in the history of independent Singapore. In the 1984 GE, he won in Anson again and by a higher majority of 56.8%, thus retaining his parliamentary seat.

In 1986, he was jailed and fined S$5,000 for making a false declaration in WP's accounts. As a result, he had to vacate his parliamentary seat and was disqualified from parliament until 1991. He stood for elections again only in 1997, this time in the Cheng San GRC. He was part of a five-member team fielded by WP. The team lost to PAP, but obtained 45.2% of the votes. As this was the highest percentage of votes among all the election losers, the party was asked to nominate a candidate for the post of Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP). Jeyaretnam was chosen to take up the seat.

Known for his fiery speeches at rallies, which earned him the nickname The Tiger, and his scathing attacks on the PAP and its system of government, Jeyaretnam was the subject of several defamation suits. The most high-profile cases were those brought against him by PAP leaders. In the late 1990s, to pay off some of the damages arising from the suits that he lost, Jeyaretnam was often seen selling his books outside MRT stations and shopping centres.

However, in 2001, he was declared bankrupt for failing to pay his creditors and consequently lost his NCMP seat. He was also not eligible to take part in an election until he had cleared all his debts. In October the same year, he resigned from WP, upset that the party leaders did not help him pay off his debts. Discharged from bankruptcy in 2007, he set up the Reform Party in 2008 and expressed hopes of fielding candidates in the 2011 GE.

Despite experiencing multiple setbacks, Jeyaretnam refused to give up politics. His tenacity and perseverance have won him praise, by both his supporters and his critics.

Timeline
Jun 1971 : Joined WP and became its secretary-general.
Sep 1972 : Contested in the GE in Farrer Park but lost.
Dec 1976 : Contested in the GE in Kampong Chai Chee but lost.
May 1977 : Contested in the Radin Mas by-election but lost.
Feb 1979 : Contested in the Telok Blangah by-election but lost.
Dec 1980 : Contested in the GE in Telok Blangah but lost.
Oct 1981 : Contested in the Anson by-election and won.
Dec 1984 : Contested in the GE in Anson and won.
Dec 1986 : Lost his Anson seat after being convicted of making a false declaration on WP's accounts.
Aug 1993 : Applied for a certificate of eligibility to run for the post of president but was rejected.
Jan 1997 : The WP team he led contested in the GE in Cheng San GRC and obtained the highest percentage of votes among the opposition losers. He returned to parliament as an NCMP.
May 2001 : Stepped down as secretary-general of WP.
Jul 2001 : Lost his NCMP seat after being declared bankrupt.
Oct 2001 : Resigned from WP.
May 2007 : Discharged as a bankrupt and announced plans to form a new political party.
Jun 2008 : Registered the Reform Party.

Death
Jeyaretnam died of heart failure at the age of 82. His death was covered by local as well as international news agencies, including The New York Times, The Times and the International Herald Tribune. People from all walks of life, including PAP and opposition politicians, attended his wake. Over 1,000 people were present for the funeral service held at St Andrew's Cathedral on 4 October 2008.

Family
Wife: Margaret Cynthia Walker (died of cancer in April 1980)
Sons: Kenneth and Philip
Grandchildren: Jared, Tristan, Quentin and Miranda



Author
Valerie Chew



References
Au Yong, J. (2008, June 19). JBJ's Reform Party registered. The Straits Times. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from Factiva database.

Au Yong, J. (2008, October 1). His integrity and passion praised. The Straits Times. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from Factiva database.

Back to law. (2008, January 26). The Straits Times. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from Factiva database.

Chuang, P. M. (2008, October 1). JBJ, 82, dies of heart failure. The Business Times. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from Factiva database.

Elections Department of Singapore. (2006, September 11). 1980 parliamentary general election results. Retrieved October 7, 2008, from http://www.elections.gov.sg/past_parliamentary1980.htm

Elections Department of Singapore. (2006, September 11). 1981 parliamentary by-election results. Retrieved October 7, 2008, from http://www.elections.gov.sg/past_byelection1981.htm

Elections Department of Singapore. (2006, September 11). 1984 parliamentary general election results. Retrieved October 7, 2008, from http://www.elections.gov.sg/past_parliamentary1984.htm

Hwang, T. F,.& Davidson, B. (1978, November 24). 'Never my intention to impute dishonesty or corrupt motives' [Microfilm: NL 9865]. The Straits Times, p. 14.

Jeya loses NCMP seat, Speaker declares. (2001, July 26). The Straits Times. Retrieved on February 28, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

Jeyaretnam, J. B. (2000). Make it right for Singapore: Speeches in parliament 1997-1999. Singapore: Jeya Publishers.
(Call no.: RSING 320.092 JEY)

Jeyaretnam, J. B. (2003). The hatchet man of Singapore. Singapore: Jeya Publishers.
(Call no.: RSING 345.59570256 JEY)

Jeyaretnam says yes to offer of NCMP seat. (1997, January 11). The Straits Times. Retrieved on February 28, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

Jeyaretnam seeks certificate of eligibility to run for president. (1993, August 8). The Straits Times. Retrieved on February 28, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam [Obituary]. (2008, October 2). The Straits Times, p. B13.

Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam 1926-2008. (2008, October 1). The Straits Times. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from Factiva database.

Koh, T., Auger, T., Yap, J., et al. (Eds.). (2006). Singapore: The encyclopedia (p. 266). Singapore: Editions Didier Millet; National Heritage Board.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57003 SIN-[HIS])

Kor, K. B. (2008, October 1). JBJ dies from heart failure. The Straits Times. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from Factiva database.

Kor, K. B. (2008, October 2). Outpouring of love and respect for JBJ. The Straits Times. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from Factiva database.

Lee, L. (2007, May 21). JBJ looking to set up new political party. The Straits Times. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from Factiva database.

Lum, S. (2007, September 20). JBJ gets cert to practise law again. The Straits Times. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from Factiva database.

Osman, A. (2001, May 1). JBJ to give up post of Workers' Party chief. The Straits Times. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from Factiva database.

Osman, A. and Henson, B. (2001, October 24). JBJ resigns from Workers' Party, 10 more to leave. The Straits Times. Retrieved on February 28, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

Over 1,000 people turned up at JB Jeyaretnam's funeral. (2008, October 4). Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from Factiva database.

Philip Jeyaretnam's eulogy for his father - JBJ. (2008, October 4). Retrieved October 7, 2008, from http://www.xtralicious.com/2008/10/07/philip-jeyaretnams-eulogy-for-his-father-jbj/

PM, 10 others file suits. (1997, February 6). The Straits Times. Retrieved on February 28, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

Singaporeans pay last respects to JB Jeyaretnam. (2008, October 1). Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from Factiva database.

Tan, O. (2000, May 6). High Court declares JBJ a bankrupt. The Straits Times. Retrieved on February 28, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

Teng Cheong, Chua can run for president; Jeya rejected. (1993, August 17). The Straits Times. Retrieved on February 28, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

WP's leader Jeya declared NCMP. (1997, January 16). The Straits Times. Retrieved on February 28, 2011, from NewspaperSG.


Further Readings
The Workers' Party. (n.d.). Our history. Retrieved October 6, 2008, from http://www.wp.sg/wp/history/index.php

The Workers' Party. (2007). The Workers' Party: 50th anniversary commemorative book, 1957-2007. Singapore: Author.
(Call no.: RSING 324.25957 WOR)



The information in this article is valid as at 2008 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Personalities>>Biographies>>Political Leaders
Jeyaretnam, J. B., 1926-2008
Politicians--Singapore--Biography
Lawyers--Singapore--Biography
Law and government