Role Politician Preceded by new ward Spouse Michelle Jong | Parents Dominic Puthucheary Name Janil Puthucheary | |
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Born 6 November 1972 (age 51) ( 1972-11-06 ) Alma mater | ||
Janil puthucheary vs gerald giam on medishield 27may2014
Janil Puthucheary (Tamil: ஜனில் புதுசேரி, born 6 November 1972) is a Malaysian-born Singaporean politician and medical doctor. A member of the country's governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency since 2011.
Contents
- Janil puthucheary vs gerald giam on medishield 27may2014
- Gerald giam vs janil puthucheary on medishield life fund 08jul2014
- Career
- Political career
- National Service controversy
- Education
- Family
- References
Gerald giam vs janil puthucheary on medishield life fund 08jul2014
Career
Puthucheary was born in Malaysia and, after training as a doctor in the United Kingdom, worked at hospitals in London, Belfast and Sydney, before moving to Singapore in 2001 to work at KK Women's and Children's Hospital. In 2008, he became a Singapore citizen at the age of 35.
Puthucheary is currently a Senior Consultant in the children's intensive care unit at KK Women's and Children's Hospital. Since 2007, he has also been an Assistant Professor and Medical Director for Faculty Development at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School.
Political career
Puthucheary was a member of the PAP's team in the Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency at the 2011 general election. The PAP team, which was led by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, defeated the team from the Singapore Democratic Alliance by 100,493 votes (64.8%) to 54,601 (35.2%). Since the election, Puthucheary has represented the Punggol West ward within the constituency in Parliament.
National Service controversy
Dr Puthucheary did not serve national service in Singapore, as first-generation new citizens are not required to do so. Having been compared to Chen Show Mao, a foreign-born new candidate of the Workers' Party who volunteered for national service at naturalisation, he mentioned that he has instead spent the last 10 years saving kids' lives. Some commentators criticised his comment due to the advantages of a professional career compared with national service. His candidacy has led to Low Thia Khiang, the leader of the Workers' Party, to call for an amendment to the Singapore constitution to allow only male candidates who have served their national service to run for elections.
Education
Puthucheary attended primary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, before going on to Oundle School in the United Kingdom for his secondary education. He then trained as a doctor at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland and the Royal College of Physicians in London.
Family
Puthucheary is married and has three sons.
Puthucheary is the son of Dominic Puthucheary, a trade unionist and founding member of the PAP who subsequently left the party to join the Barisan Sosialis and was detained under Operation Coldstore in 1963. He was released 10 months later, but was barred from entering Singapore until 1990.
In 2011, speaking to The Straits Times, Dominic stated that he was "very proud of my son and his desire to serve the society he lives in", despite his own past opposition to the PAP government in Singapore.