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In this Indian name, the name Sushilan is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Vasoo.

S. Vasoo
Member of Parliament
for Bo Wen Constituency
In office
22 December 1984 – 17 August 1988
Preceded byconstituency established
Succeeded byconstituency abolished
Member of Parliament
for Tiong Bahru Group Representation Constituency (Henderson)
In office
4 September 1988 – 31 August 1991
Preceded byconstituency established
Succeeded byconstituency abolished
Member of Parliament
for Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency (Radin Mas)
In office
21 August 1991 – 3 November 2001
Preceded byconstituency established
Succeeded bydivision abolished
Personal details
Born
Sushilan Vasoo

1941 (age 82–83)
Nee Soon, Singapore
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Singapore
University of Hong Kong
AwardsOutstanding Lifetime Volunteer Award, 2024

Sushilan Vasoo (born 1941), commonly known as S. Vasoo, is a Singaporean former politician and social worker. A former member of the People's Action Party (PAP), he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Bo Wen Constituency from 1984 to 1988, the MP of Tiong Bahru Group Representation Constituency representing the Henderson division from 1988 to 1991, and the MP of Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency representing the Radin Mas division from 1991 to 2001.

Early life

[edit]

Vasoo grew up in a village in Nee Soon, his father was a sub-contractor. The village was largely populated by Chinese residents, which led him to learn Mandarin.[1]

After he finished secondary school in 1959, he worked in Kluang, Malaysia as a trainee factory supervisor at a rubber plantation. Vasoo later moved back to Singapore and worked in psychiatric nursing at the Ministry of Health (MOH), he was posted to Woodbridge Hospital (now the Institute of Mental Health).[2]

He later went and got a diploma at the University of Singapore after he obtained a bursary from the Children's Society and from 1971 to 1972, he worked as a tutor at the University of Singapore. In 1973, he joined the Council of Society Services as a deputy director and was later given an educational grant to go to Hong Kong to get a master's degree in social work at the University of Hong Kong.[1]

Before getting into politics, Vasoo worked as a university lecturer at the Social Work department of the National University of Singapore.[3]

Career

[edit]

In 1984, Vasoo was invited to join the People's Action Party (PAP) by then-Member of Parliament (MP) for Toa Payoh Constituency Eric Cheong.[4] In the 1984 Singaporean general election, he contested for Bo Wen Constituency. During his rally speech, he spoke in English, Malay, Tamil, Mandarin, and Hokkien.[5] He became the MP for Bo Wen Constituency after beating Sh Ahmad Salim of United People's Front's 25.30% with his 74.70%.[6]

During the 1988 Singaporean general election, after the dissolution of Bo Wen Constituency,[7] Vasoo contested for the Henderson division of the Tiong Bahru Group Representation Constituency along with Ch'ng Jit Koon and Chng Hee Kok against the Workers' Party (WP) group of Low Thia Khiang, Lim Lye Soon, and Gopalan Nair.[8] Vasoo and his team won with 57.84% of the vote against the WP's 42.16%.[8]

In the 1991 Singaporean general election, Vasoo contested for the Radin Mas division of Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency with his team of Koo Tsai Kee, Lee Kuan Yew, and Lim Hng Kiang and were elected unopposed.[9]

In 1993, Vasoo held a defamation suit against Singapore Democratic Party's Chee Soon Juan over allegedly defamatory remarks made about him and was paid S$210,000 in damages.[10][11]

In the next general election, Vasoo contested for the Radin Mas division of Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency again with his team of Lim Swee Say, Ow Chin Hock, Chay Wai Chuen, Koo Tsai Kee, and Lee Kuan Yew. They were elected unopposed again.[12] In 2001, Vasoo retired from politics.[13]

In 2024, Vasoo was awarded the Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer Award by Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b Ee, Boon Lee (19 February 1984). "OUR MEN IN TOA PAYOH". Singapore Monitor. p. 20. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  2. ^ "Multi- lingual man of the people". The Straits Times. 10 April 1984. p. 9. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  3. ^ "New man at council helm". The Straits Times. 14 May 1984. p. 8. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  4. ^ "Kampung days again". The Straits Times. 10 June 1984. p. 18. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  5. ^ "Vasoo makes an impact at rally". The Straits Times. 14 December 1984. p. 14. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  6. ^ John, Alan (30 December 1984). "Night the winners felt like losers". The Straits Times. p. 14. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  7. ^ Loong, Swee Yin (26 June 1988). "Scrapping of Bo Wen will cost town council $1.14 m". The Straits Times. p. 18. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  8. ^ a b "TIONG BAHRU". The Straits Times. 4 September 1988. p. 9. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  9. ^ "Who's standing where". The New Paper. 21 August 1991. p. 10. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  10. ^ "Dr Vasoo wins suit". The New Paper. 16 April 1994. p. 4. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  11. ^ "Vasoo seeks damages". The New Paper. 24 April 1993. p. 4. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  12. ^ "Walkovers". The Straits Times. 4 January 1997. p. 4. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  13. ^ "Stepping down, fading out". TODAY. 26 October 2001. p. 6. Retrieved 22 March 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  14. ^ Shafeeq, Syarafana (2 February 2024). "Social service pioneer S. Vasoo receives lifetime volunteer award for contributions to sector". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
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