Chan Choy Siong (; 1931 – 11 February 1981) was a Singaporean politician and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

activist. Chan was one of the first women to be elected to the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Biography

Chan grew up in

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

. She attended

Nanyang Girls' High School Nanyang Girls' High School (NYGH) is an independent girls' secondary school in Bukit Timah, Singapore. Founded in 1917, it is one of the oldest schools in the country. NYGH offers a six-year Integrated Programme, which allows students to skip the ...

, but was unable to complete her studies due to financial constraints. Her father supported her pursuit of an education. At the age of 20, Chan joined the

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...

(PAP), and was committed to securing equal rights for women in Singapore, including equality in pay and for an end to legal

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...

. In 1956, along with Ho Puay Choo and Oh Siew Chen, Chan created the Women's League within the PAP. She was subsequently co-opted into the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) in 1957. That same year, she was also elected to become a city councillor. Chan, and seven other women were elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1959. Chan served as Assemblywoman and later Member of Parliament between 1959 and 1970. She was one of the first few women to be active in Singapore politics. Chan pushed for the passage of the

Women's Charter The Women's Charter 1961 is an Act of the Singaporean Parliament passed in 1961. The Act was designed to improve and protect the rights of females in Singapore and to guarantee greater legal equality for women in legally sanctioned relationship ...

and a

monogamy Monogamy ( ) is a form of dyadic relationship in which an individual has only one partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (serial monogamy) — as compared to the various forms of non-monogamy (e.g., polyga ...

proposal. In 1961, she created and led the Women's Affairs Bureau of the PAP. The Women's Charter Chan had pushed for, was passed in that same year. Chan retired from politics in 1970.

Personal life

Chan was the wife of

Ong Pang Boon Ong Pang Boon ( zh, c=王邦文, p=Wáng Bāngwén; born 28 March 1929) is a Singaporean retired politician who served as Minister for Home Affairs between 1959 and 1963 and again for a short period of time in 1970, Minister for Education be ...

, a prominent first-generation member of the

(PAP). Her niece,

Cheryl Chan Cheryl Chan Wei Ling ( zh, s=陈慧玲, p=Chén Huìlíng; born 1976) is a Singaporean politician and businesswoman. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Fengshan div ...

, was elected in the

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

and 2020 general election.

Death

In 1981, Chan died in a car accident.

Legacy

In 2005, Chan was honored by the

Singapore Council of Women's Organisations The Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO) is an umbrella organisation founded in 1980 in order to coordinate the efforts of women's groups in Singapore. The organisation represents many diverse women's groups and advocates for women's r ...

(SCWO) by being added to the Wall of Fame. In 2014, Chan was inducted into the

Singapore Women's Hall of Fame The Singapore Women's Hall of Fame is a virtual hall of fame that honors and documents the lives of historically significant women in Singapore. The hall is the creation of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO), and grew out of an ...

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Media about Chan Choy Siong
at the

National Archives of Singapore The National Archives of Singapore (NAS) (Malay: ''Arkib Negara Singapura'', Mandarin: 新加坡国家档案馆, Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் தேசிய காப்பகம்) is the national archives of Singapore. It was for ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Choy Siong 1931 births 1981 deaths People's Action Party politicians Singaporean people of Cantonese descent Singaporean women's rights activists Singaporean women in politics Road incident deaths in Singapore Members of the Parliament of Singapore