Leon Perera (born 1970)
is a Singaporean politician. A member of the opposition
Workers' Party (WP), he has been the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) representing the
Serangoon
Serangoon () is a planning area and residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore.
Serangoon is bordered by these planning areas – Sengkang to the north, Hougang to the east, Ang Mo Kio and Bishan to the west, as well as ...
division of
Aljunied GRC
The Aljunied Group Representation Constituency is a five-member group representation constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern and eastern region of Singapore. The GRC consists of five divisions: Eunos, Bedok Reservoir-Punggol, Kaki Bukit, Sera ...
since 2020.
Education
Perera was educated at the
Anglo-Chinese School
Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) is a family of Methodist schools in Singapore and Indonesia. It was founded in 1886 by Bishop William Fitzjames Oldham as an extension of the Methodist Church. Anglo-Chinese School is usually abbreviated as "ACS", wi ...
and
Hwa Chong Junior College
The Hwa Chong Junior College () was a junior college in Singapore offering pre-university education. The school merged with The Chinese High School on 1 January 2005 to form the integrated Hwa Chong Institution.
History
Founding
Hwa Chong Jun ...
before graduating from
Exeter College, Oxford
(Let Exeter Flourish)
, old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall''
, named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter
, established =
, sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge
, rector = Sir Richard Trainor
...
at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
with double first class honours (later promoted to
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...
by seniority) degree in
philosophy, politics and economics (PPE).
Career
Outside politics, Perera began his career as a senior officer at the
Economic Development Board
The Economic Development Board (EDB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore that plans and executes strategies to sustain Singapore as a leading global hub for business and investment.
Hi ...
's International Business Development Division, serving first in the policy planning function supporting Singapore's regional investments. He later served as Assistant Head in the Enterprise Development Division, assisting in the growth of large Singaporean companies in the service sector, from logistics, education and healthcare to information technology services, engineering and retail.
Perera was the co-founder and chief executive officer of Spire Research and Consulting, an international business research and consulting agency. He is also a member of the Economic Society of Singapore, the Economic Development Board Society and the Singapore Institute of Directors.
Political career
Before running as a candidate, Perera was a
Workers' Party grassroots activist in the
Paya Lebar
Paya Lebar is a planning area located in the East Region of Singapore, bordered by Hougang to the west, Sengkang to the northwest, Tampines to the east, Bedok to the south and Pasir Ris to the north.
As part of the Singapore Urban Redevelopmen ...
ward of
Aljunied GRC
The Aljunied Group Representation Constituency is a five-member group representation constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern and eastern region of Singapore. The GRC consists of five divisions: Eunos, Bedok Reservoir-Punggol, Kaki Bukit, Sera ...
.
During the
2015 general election, Perera contested in a four-member team of the
Worker's Party team in
East Coast Group Representation Constituency
The East Coast Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency in the eastern area of Singapore. The areas of the Group Representation Constituency consists of locations such as East Coast Park, Bedok, Chan ...
. His team received 39.27% of the votes cast, with the governing
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 ...
garnering 60.73% of votes to win the GRC. The Workers' Party team was the best performing opposition team, so one of the team members was eligible to take up a
Non-constituency Member of Parliament
A Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) is a member of an opposition political party in Singapore who, according to the Constitution and Parliamentary Elections Act, is declared to have been elected a Member of Parliament (MP) without c ...
(NCMP) seat. The Workers' Party thus nominated Perera to be a NCMP in the
13th Parliament.
NCMP term
Following the
Hepatitis C outbreak at
Singapore General Hospital
Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is an academic health science centre and tertiary referral hospital in Singapore. It is located next to the Bukit Merah and Chinatown districts of the Central Region, close to the Outram Community Hospital (OC ...
in October 2015 which led to the deaths of five patients, Perera called on the government to convene a Committee of Inquiry to help "restore confidence" in Singapore's public health institutions. He also requested that the names of Singapore General Hospital and
Ministry of Health staff responsible for the outbreak be released, and questioned what penalties or warnings were imposed on these staff.
In 2018, Perera apologised to
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
and withdrew an inaccurate example given in the House in response to a question of parliamentary footage access the previous year.
MP term
Perera joined the five-member Workers' Party team contesting in
Aljunied GRC
The Aljunied Group Representation Constituency is a five-member group representation constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern and eastern region of Singapore. The GRC consists of five divisions: Eunos, Bedok Reservoir-Punggol, Kaki Bukit, Sera ...
during the
2020 general election and they won with 59.95% of the vote, so Perera became an elected Member of Parliament representing the
Serangoon
Serangoon () is a planning area and residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore.
Serangoon is bordered by these planning areas – Sengkang to the north, Hougang to the east, Ang Mo Kio and Bishan to the west, as well as ...
ward of Aljunied GRC in the
14th Parliament.
Perera is the Media Team Head of the
Workers' Party. He is the Town Councillor of Finance and Investment Committee and a member of the Estate and Liaison Committee. He is the Vice-Chairman of the Aljuined-Hougang Town Council serving alongside
Gerald Giam
Gerald Giam Yean Song ( zh, s=严燕松, p=Yán Yànsōng; born 1977) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Bedok Reservoir– Punggol division of ...
.
Policies and Views
Perera's maiden speech as elected MP called for social safety nets to be strengthened, widened, and made easier to access. He highlighted the need to respect the role of civil society and for the government to be less resistant to a more plural political landscape, so as to foster a more
antifragile society. He also called for greater support for entrepreneurs.
In 2021, Perera raised a motion on gender equality
with Sengkang MP
He Ting Ru
He Ting Ru ( zh, c=何廷儒, p=Hé Tíngrú; born 16 June 1983) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer. A member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Buangkok division of Sengkang ...
.
In the same year, Perera filed an adjournment motion on hawker policy reform.
Perera also frequently focuses on public accountability issues in his speeches. In 2019, he participated in the debate on the
Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act
The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019, commonly abbreviated as POFMA and known colloquially as Fake News Law, is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore that enables authorities to tackle the spread of fake news or false ...
(POFMA), highlighting how the proposed tool "is a cure worse than the disease" as too much power is given to individual Ministers. Additionally, he highlighted the potential for the law to stifle free speech. The law was eventually passed on 8 May 2019.
During the debate on the
Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act 2021, he moved amendments he argued were needed to boost transparency and tackle the likelihood of elite capture resulting from the powers granted by the bill.
On healthcare, Perera raised an adjournment motion on preventive health reform in 2022, responding to Singapore's poor track record on chronic diseases such as diabetes, by calling on the Government to adopt a highly-targeted, outcome-based approach with regular reviews. Other proposals were to nudge target groups through subsidies and leverage the large amount of data available to flag health issues out to patients at visits to the doctor.
On climate change and the environment, Perera raised an adjournment motion in 2016 calling on the Government to boost support for new industries with non-economic benefits, including
renewable energy and
environmental technology
Environmental technology (envirotech) or green technology (greentech), also known as '' clean technology'' (''cleantech''), is the application of one or more of environmental science, green chemistry, environmental monitoring and electronic devi ...
.
During the 2022 debate on the Carbon Pricing (Amendment) Bill, Perera and
He Ting Ru
He Ting Ru ( zh, c=何廷儒, p=Hé Tíngrú; born 16 June 1983) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer. A member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Buangkok division of Sengkang ...
also filed amendments to the bill placing limitations on how allowances may be granted to taxable facilities, as well as the introduction of a registry requiring Ministers to disclose decisions to grant allowances and the use of international carbon credits.
Personal life
Perera is married with a daughter and a son.
He was active in civil society before joining party politics. He served on the committee of local human rights organisation Maruah, was the Vice President of migrant worker rights organisation
HOME, and was an adviser to alternative news website The Independent.
[https://news.smu.edu.sg/sites/news.smu.edu.sg/files/wwwsmu/news_room/smu_in_the_news/2014/sources/apr30/TODAY_20140430_3.pdf]
References
External links
Leon Pereraon
Parliament of Singapore
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera, Leon
Workers' Party (Singapore) politicians
Anglo-Chinese School alumni
Hwa Chong Junior College alumni
Members of the Parliament of Singapore
1970 births
Living people
Singaporean Non-constituency Members of Parliament