Seow Peck Leng (''née'' Chua Seng Kim 17 September 1911 - 13 April 2007) was a Singaporean politician, educator and advocate for women's rights. She was one of the first women members of parliament in Singapore and the only woman of an opposition party at the time.

Biography

Peck Leng was born on 17 September 1911 under the name Chua Seng Kim. She grew up in a middle class

Peranakan The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, th ...

family. After her mother died, when she was three years old, Peck Leng was raised by her aunt. Peck Leng went first to the

Singapore Chinese Girls' School Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS) is an independent girls' school in Bukit Timah, Singapore, located opposite Stevens MRT station. Founded in 1899, it is one of the oldest institutions in Singapore. It offers a six-year primary education in ...

and then to

Raffles Girls' School Raffles Girls' School (RGS) is an independent girls' secondary school located in Braddell, Singapore. Established in 1879, it is one of the oldest schools in Singapore. RGS, together with its affiliated school Raffles Institution, offers a six- ...

. She started teaching in 1930, and was active in the

Singapore Teachers' Union The Singapore Teachers' Union (STU) is the largest teachers' organisation in Singapore. It is an affiliate of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), a member of the ASEAN Council of Teachers and the Education International. The STU was foun ...

. Peck Leng's experiences during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

changed her outlook in life and made her more confident. She went on to join the Singapore Council of Women led by Shirin Fozdar in 1952. In 1954, she was made the principal of the Cantonment School. Also in 1954, she created the Siglap Girls' Club, to help underprivileged girls in Singapore. In 1957, she expanded the mission of the club and renamed the group the Singapore Women's Association. She would lead the group until 1991. Peck Leng was voted into

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 ...

as a

Singapore People's Alliance The Singapore People's Alliance was a political coalition in Singapore founded in 1958, comprising the Labour Front and Liberal Socialist Party. It has never won any seats in the Parliament of Singapore. However, the party did win 4 seats to the ...

(SPA) candidate for

Mountbatten The Mountbatten family is a British dynasty that originated as an English branch of the German princely Battenberg family. The name was adopted on 14 July 1917, three days before the British royal family changed its name to “Windsor”, by ...

in 1959. She was the only opposition MP woman in Parliament at the time. Peck Leng was able to work with members of the other party, 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), work towards gender equality. She was involved with helping to pass 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 the 1962 provision for equal pay for equal work in the civil service sector. She lost her contest for

Joo Chiat Joo Chiat Road is an arterial road and a residential conservation area in the eastern part of Singapore, and is located between Geylang Serai and Marine Parade Road. It is mainly bounded by conserved shophouses that are colourfully painted on b ...

in 1963 and retired from politics in 1965. After politics, she focused on charity work. Peck Leng promoted the "Miss Singapore International"

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

shows for charity and to encourage women to help the less fortunate. In 1977, she was given a plaque of Life Patronage of the International Variety Club for raising the most charity funds. The

Ministry of Social Affairs A Ministry of Social Affairs or Department of Social Affairs is the common name for a government department found in Sovereign state, states where the government is divided into Ministry (government department), ministries or departments. While th ...

awarded her a Certificate of Appreciation for "valuable services rendered to others." Peck Leng died on 13 April 2007 in her home in

Keppel Bay Keppel Bay is a bay in Central Queensland, Australia at the mouth of the Fitzroy River on the coast of the Coral Sea. Extent Keppel Bay extends from Station Point on Curtis Island () in the Gladstone Region to Zilzie Point at Zilzie () i ...

Legacy

Peck Leng was honored on the Wall of Fame created 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) in 2005. In 2014, she was added to the Singapore Memory Project. Also in 2014, she was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seow, Peck Leng 1911 births 2007 deaths People from Singapore Singapore People's Alliance politicians Singaporean women in politics