Jump to content

Fok Tai Loy

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fok Tai Loy c. 1985

Fok Tai Loy (Chinese: 霍泰来; March 1933 – 28 June 1984) was a Singaporean politician, engineer and part-time lecturer who served as the chairman of the executive committee of the Singapore Democratic Party from its founding in 1980 to 1984. He unsuccessfully contested the Cairnhill Single Member Constituency in the 1980 Singaporean general election.

Early life and education

[edit]

Fok was born in March 1933 and studied at the Saint Andrew's Secondary School.[1] He received the Colombo Plan scholarship and he left for Australia to study at the University of Melbourne in February 1954.[2] He graduated from the university with a Bachelor of Engineering degree.[3]

Career

[edit]

After university, Fok began working at the Public Utilies Board, where he remained for 11 years. From 1961 to 1967, he served as a part-time lecturer at the Singapore Polytechnic.[3] In October 1969, Fok was elected the president of the Employees' Co-operative Thrift and Loan Society of the City Council of Singapore.[4] From 1969 to 1974, he served as the captain of the First Company of the Boys' Brigade in Singapore.[5] In December 1970, he was elected to the executive council of the Boys' Brigade for the year of 1971.[6] He was elected the organisation's vice president in 1972.[7] He then served as the president Boys' Brigade from 1976 to 1978.[5]

In August 1980, it was announced that Chiam See Tong was to found a new political party, to be known as the Singapore Democratic Party, with Chiam serving as the protem secretary-general and Fok, then a consulting engineer, serving as the protem chairman. The claimed objectives of the party included the "elimination of colonialism and feudalism, the safeguarding of parliamentary democracy and upholding the principles of democracy, socialism and the Constitution." Fok opined that Singaporeans had been "indoctrinated" by the incumbent People's Action Party for the past decade such that "only men with university degrees" could run for parliament.[8] It was announced that Fok would be one of three party members contesting in the upcoming 1980 Singaporean general election, along with Chiam and Earnest Chew Tian Earn.[9] However, Chew withdrew from the election in October on account of ill health.[10] Fok stated later that month that the party would stand for "progress towards democracy and socialism" and that it would "go against the government where it erred and agree where it thinks the ruling party is right."[11] It was announced in December that Fok was to contest the Cairnhill Single Member Constituency seat, against Dr. Wong Kwei Cheong of the People's Action Party.[12] He lost the election, receiving only 28.21% of the total valid votes.[13]

Fok was officially sworn in as the chairman of the executive committee of the Singapore Democratic Party in September 1981.[14] In October, he announced that the party would be contesting in the upcoming 1981 Anson by-election.[15] However, the party withdrew on nomination day, as there were already three parties contesting, deciding to "leave the fight" to J.B. Jeyaretnam of the Workers' Party instead.[16] Fok was among the opposition leaders who attended a Workers' Party rally for the by-election in on 22 October, though Chiam was "notably absent".[17] Fok was again elected the chairman of the Singapore Democratic Party in November 1983.[18] He reportedly planned to contest in the upcoming 1984 Singaporean general election.[19]

Personal life and death

[edit]

Fok was married with two children and served as the chairman of the St. Andrew's School Parent Teacher Association.[3] He was also elected to the committee of the St. Andrew's Old Boys' Association.[20] He died of cancer on 28 June 1984, having been suffering from the disease for five years.[19][21][22]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Who's who in Malaysia & Singapore: Volume 2. Who's Who Publications. 1983. p. 104.
  2. ^ "Australia to train 22 engineers for S'pore". The Straits Times. Singapore. 30 January 1954. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Chairman of SDP ex-co, Fok Tai Loy, dies at 51". Singapore Monitor. Singapore. 29 June 1984. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  4. ^ "ELECTED". Eastern Sun. Singapore. 5 October 1959. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Close-up of Mr. Fok Tai Loy, President of Boys' Brigade". nlb.gov.sg. National Library Board. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  6. ^ "Boys' Brigade officials". Eastern Sun. Singapore. 31 December 1970. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Boys' Brigade officials". New Nation. Singapore. 19 January 1972. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Lawyer to form new party". The Business Times. Singapore. 7 August 1980. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  9. ^ "Chiam gets registrar's approval to form party". The Straits Times. Singapore. 17 September 1980. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  10. ^ "SDP candidate pulls out for 'health reasons'". The Straits Times. Singapore. 5 October 1980. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  11. ^ "SDP vows to carry on the struggle". The Straits Times. Singapore. 19 October 1980. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  12. ^ "WHO FIGHTS WHOM AND WHERE ..." The Straits Times. Singapore. 14 December 1980. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  13. ^ "PAP captures 77 per cent of vote". The Business Times. Singapore. 24 December 1980. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  14. ^ "SDP's problem in finding office premises". The Straits Times. Singapore. 15 September 1981. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  15. ^ "PAP man for Anson sure he can do the job". The Straits Times. Singapore. 18 October 1981. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  16. ^ "3-cornered fight after SDP drops out". The Straits Times. Singapore. 22 October 1981. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  17. ^ Khalik, Salma (23 October 1981). "Opposition leaders at WP rally". The Business Times. Singapore. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  18. ^ "New SDP leaders elected at party meeting". The Straits Times. Singapore. 24 November 1983. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  19. ^ a b "SDP chief dies of cancer". The Straits Times. Singapore. 30 January 1984. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  20. ^ "St Andrew's 'old boys'". New Nation. Singapore. 29 March 1979. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  21. ^ "民主党主席霍泰来逝世". Lianhe Zaobao. Singapore. 30 June 1984. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  22. ^ "民主党主席 霍泰来癌症去世". Shin Min Daily News. Singapore. 1 July 1984. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fok_Tai_Loy&oldid=1297726165"