Leon Perera
Leon Perera | |
|---|---|
| 贝理安 | |
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| Member of the Singapore Parliament for Aljunied GRC (Serangoon) | |
| Assumed office 10 July 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Sylvia Lim Swee Lian (WP) |
| Constituency | Aljunied GRC |
| Majority | 28,485 (19.90%) |
| Non-constituency Member of the 13th Parliament of Singapore | |
| In office 16 September 2015 – 22 June 2020 Serving with Daniel Goh & Dennis Tan Lip Fong | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Leon Perera 1970 (age 53–54) |
| Political party | Workers' Party |
| Spouse |
Carol Perera (m. 2003) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Double First Class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics |
| Alma mater | Anglo-Chinese School Hwa Chong Junior College Exeter College, Oxford |
| Occupation | CEO of Spire Group |
Leon Perera (born 1970) is a Singaporean politician and a member of the Workers' Party (WP). He is currently a Member of Parliament (MP) for Aljunied GRC for Serangoon Division. He was elected as the Workers’ Party Central Executive Committee member as Media Team Head. [1]
Perera co-founded and was the CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, an international business research and consulting agency. He is a member of the Economic Society of Singapore, the EDB Society and the Singapore Institute of Directors.[2]
Education and early career
Perera studied at Anglo-Chinese School, Hwa Chong Junior College, and obtained a Double First Class Honours degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University.[3]
Perera began his career as a Senior Officer with the Singapore Economic Development Board’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 EDB’s Enterprise Development Division, assisting in the growth of large Singaporean companies in the service sector spanning logistics, education and health care, to information technology (IT) services, engineering and retail.[4]
Political career
Prior to contesting in elections, Perera was a WP grassroots activist at Aljunied Group Representation Constituency's (GRC) Paya Lebar division.[5]
At the 2015 Singapore general election, Perera contested as a member of the WP team for the East Coast GRC alongside A/Prof Daniel Goh, Gerald Giam, and Mohamed Fairoz Bin Shariff. His team received 39.27% of the votes cast, with the People's Action Party garnering 60.73% of votes to win the GRC. The WP East Coast GRC team was the best performing opposition team among and one of the team members was thus eligible to take up the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seat. The Workers' Party nominated Perera to be an NCMP for Singapore's 13th Parliament.[6]
NCMP term
Following the Hepatitis C outbreak at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) in October 2015 which contributed to the deaths of five patients, Perera called on the government to convene a Committee of Inquiry (COI) to help "restore confidence" in Singapore's public health institutions.[7] He also requested that the names of SGH and Ministry of Health staff responsible for the outbreak be released, and questioned what penalties or warnings were imposed on these staff.
On the debate over the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), Perera highlighted how the proposed tool "is a cure worse than the disease" as too much power is given to individual Ministers and the potential for the law to stifle free speech.[8] The law was eventually passed on 8 May 2019.
He was elected as a Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) of the 13th Parliament of Singapore from 16 September 2015 to 22 June 2020.
2020 General Election
Perera contested in Aljunied GRC (Serangoon Division) during the 2020 Singapore general election, taking over from Sylvia Lim, who would take the Paya Lebar division from Chen Show Mao.[9][10]
The WP retained Aljunied GRC with an increased majority in the 2020 election, resulting in Perera being elected MP, together with Sylvia Lim, Pritam Singh, Gerald Giam and Muhamad Faisal Manap, all in Aljunied GRC.
Perera is the Town Councillor chairman of Finance and Investment Committee in Aljuined-Hougang Town Council.
Personal life
Perera is married, and has a daughter and a son.[11]
References
- ^ "MP | Parliament Of Singapore - Mr Leon Perera". www.parliament.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- ^ "WP potential candidates make appearance at public event". Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ "Leon Perera CV - Parliament of Singapore". Parliament of Singapore. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
- ^ "Leon Perera | Spire Research and Consulting". www.spireresearch.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ "Leon Perera CV - Parliament of Singapore" (PDF). Parliament of Singapore. Retrieved 2 April 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Chong, Zi Liang (16 September 2015). "GE2015: WP's Lee Li Lian, Dennis Tan and Leon Perera declared Non-Constituency MPs". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ "SGH Hep C cluster: WP reiterates call for COI to be formed". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
- ^ "Fake news law is 'a cure worse than the disease' - WP NCMP Leon Perera". The Online Citizen. 9 May 2019. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ Tan, Audrey; Kurohi, Rei (26 June 2020). "Singapore GE2020: Workers' Party confirms Aljunied GRC slate, introduces second batch of candidates". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "GE2020: Workers' Party says it's reaching out to existing town councils for handover in Sengkang GRC". cna. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ "Leon Perera | The Workers' Party". www.wp.sg. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
