Benjamin Pwee

Benjamin Pwee Yek Kwan (Chinese: 方月光; pinyin: Fāng Yuè Guāng; born 1968) is a Singaporean politician. He has been the Secretary-General of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) since 31 March 2013.

Pwee was a member of the Singapore People's Party (SPP) from 2011 to 2012, and stood as a candidate for the party at the 2011 general election in the Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency (GRC).

Career

Pwee was a recipient of a Singapore government Overseas Merit Scholarship and attended University of Cambridge. Upon returning from his studies, he served in Administrative Service of the Singapore Civil Service for eight years, holding various posts in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1995 to 1998, he was the First Secretary (Political and Economic Affairs) at the Singapore Embassy in Beijing, where he acted as interpreter and note-taker during Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's visits to China. He was also involved in key projects like the Singapore-Suzhou Industrial Park and the PSA-Dalian Port Development projects. In both ministries, Pwee served under then-Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng.

Pwee left the civil service to become an Executive Director of Medical Services International, a regional non-governmental organisation doing social welfare work in China. He subsequently became the Managing Director of E-deo Asia, a business consultancy firm.^[1]

Political career

In his youth, Pwee was the chairman of the youth wing of Singapore's governing People's Action Party (PAP) in the Thomson area.

However, in 2011, Pwee joined the opposition Singapore People's Party. He stood as candidate for the party in the 2011 general election in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. The party's five-member team in the GRC also included the party leader, Chiam See Tong. In the end, the SPP's team was defeated by the PAP team (which included Singapore's then-Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen) by 62,385 votes (56.9%) to 47,205 (43.1%).^[2] Shortly after the general election, Pwee became the SPP's Second Assistant Secretary-General.^[3][4] However Pwee left the SPP in January 2012.^[5]

In January 2013, Pwee joined the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) following an invitation from the party's founder Seow Khee Leng in December 2012 for its leadership renewal and was appointed as the party's Acting Secretary-General. He was confirmed as the party's Secretary-General at an Ordinary Party Congress meeting on 31 March 2013.^[6]

Early life and education

Pwee grew up living in the Bishan area of Singapore and is the son of active PAP grassroots leader Robert Pwee Kong Joo.

Pwee was educated at The Chinese High School (Singapore) (1981–82), Raffles Institution (1983–84) and Raffles Junior College (1985–86). He then received a Singapore government Overseas Merit Scholarship to study at University of Cambridge, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Literature and Music, and proceeded as Master of Arts. Pwee also obtained a Master's degree in Christian Studies from the China Graduate School of Theology in Hong Kong.^[7] In 2015, he completed a Master in Public Administration at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

References