J. Y. Pillay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

J. Y. Pillay

DUNU (First Class), DUT (with Distinction)
Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers
In office
September 2005 – 2 January 2019
President
Preceded bySim Kee Boon
Succeeded byEddie Teo
President of Singapore
(Acting)
In office
01 September 2017 – 13 September 2017
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byTony Tan Keng Yam
Succeeded byHalimah Yacob
Personal details
Born (1934-03-30) 30 March 1934 (age 87)
Klang, Malay States (now Malaysia)
Spouse(s)
Beatrice Rasammah
​
(m. 1963)​
Alma materImperial College London

Joseph Yuvaraj Pillay, DUNU (First Class), DUT (with Distinction), (born 30 March 1934), also known as J. Y. Pillay, was the chairman of the Singapore Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) from 2005 to 2019.

He served 34 years (until 1995) as a top-ranking civil servant and an entrepreneur. He is one of the pioneers who helped build the Singapore economy after its separation from Malaysia in 1965.

Life and career[]

Few can match his record of public service in the Ministry of Finance, Temasek, GIC, MAS, MND and not to speak of SIA and SGX.

Temasek chairman and former top civil servant S.Dhanabalan[1]

Pillay was born at Klang in Selangor, British Malaya in 1934. He studied at Imperial College London and was awarded Bachelor of Engineering from University of London in 1956.[2]

His most significant contribution was building Singapore Airlines into a world-class carrier.[2][3] He served as Chairman of Singapore Airlines from 1972 until 1996. He is one of the few Civil Service officers to reach Staff Grade III.[4] In 1978, his bold and calculated move to purchase 19 Boeing aircraft at the cost of US$900 million made headlines worldwide as "the sale of the century".[5]

He was managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore from 1985 to 1989.[5] In the 1990s, he headed the advisory panel that reviewed the merger of the Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES) and the Singapore International Monetary Exchange (SIMEX).[5] The resultant Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) was established on 1 December 1999 and he was the first Chairman of the Singapore Exchange between 1999 and 2010.[6][5]

Pillay retired from civil service in March 1995 and subsequently served as the high commissioner to Britain and the ambassador to Ireland until 1999.[5]

He was the Chairman of Tiger Airways Holdings[7] from 2011 until 2014. He was the Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers from 2005 until 2019.[8] Pillay was the longest serving chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisors (CPA).[9] He stood down as Chairman of the CPA on 2 January 2019 which was handed over to Eddie Teo.[10]

Pillay took over from former Chief Justice of Singapore Mr Yong Pung How as Chancellor of Singapore Management University (SMU) from 1 September 2015.[11][12] Pillay was then succeeded by Mr Lim Chee Onn as the next Chancellor of SMU with effect from 1 August 2019.[13]

Pillay was the Acting President from 1 September 2017 when President Tony Tan's term expired on 31 August 2017, until the next president Halimah Yacob, was sworn into office on 14 September 2017.[14]

He is currently Rector of National University of Singapore (NUS) University Town's College of Alice and Peter Tan and Adjunct Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.[15][16]

Awards[]

In 2012, the National University of Singapore (NUS) set up two professorships in his honour, for his contributions.[17][18]

For his public service, Pillay was awarded the Order of Nila Utama (First Class), one of Singapore's most prestigious National Day Awards on 9 August 2012.[19][20]

In August 2019, Pillay was awarded the Order of Temasek (With Distinction), Singapore's highest civilian honour.[21][22]

In the same year, he received the Special Lifetime Achievement Award at the 4th South Asian Diaspora Convention organised by the NUS Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS).[23]

References[]

  1. ^ "J. Y. Pillay a pioneer in public, private sectors". The Straits Times. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "J Y Pillay Profile". National University Singapore. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  3. ^ Lee, S.H. (10 April 1998). "Ex-SIA chiefs honoured as "legends'". The Straits Times.
  4. ^ Ibrahim, Zuraidah (26 March 1995). "J. Y. Pillay: Visionary with a clear focus". The Straits Times. p. 1.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Arunasalam, Sitragandi. "J. Y. Pillay". Singapore Infopedia. Singapore Government Agency. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. ^ "J Y Pillay to step down as SGX chairman at year-end". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  7. ^ "Tiger Airways: Appointed Mr. J Y Pillay As Non-Executive Chairman". ShareInvestor. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Istana — Council of Presidential Advisers". Istana, Singapore. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  9. ^ Goh, Melissa (9 August 2019). "J Y Pillay heads list of National Day Award recipients". CNA. CNA. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  10. ^ "J Y Pillay retires as Council of Presidential Advisors chairman, Eddie Teo to succeed". CNA. 17 December 2018. Archived from the original on 18 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Former top-ranking civil servant appointed as Chancellor of SMU". Singapore Management University (SMU). Singapore Management University (SMU). 3 September 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  12. ^ Huiwen, Ng (3 September 2015). "JY Pillay appointed SMU chancellor". The Straits Times. The Straits Times. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Great national honour for SMU Chancellor Mr Lim Chee Onn". Singapore Management University (SMU). Singapore Management University (SMU). 6 August 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Pillay takes on role of acting president". The Straits Times. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  15. ^ "J Y Pillay Global-Asia Programme and Study Award". Yale NUS College. Yale NUS College. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Faculty". NUS College of Alice and Peter Tan. National University of Singapore. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  17. ^ "NUS honours Prof J Y Pillay". National University of Singapore. 17 January 2012. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  18. ^ "NUS honours J Y Pillay". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  19. ^ "J Y Pillay awarded highest public service honour". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  20. ^ "Recipients". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. 2012.
  21. ^ "Top honours for J.Y. Pillay who built up SIA, led GIC, MAS". The Straits Times. 9 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Recipients". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. 2019.
  23. ^ Min Zhang, Lim (15 November 2019). "NGO founder, veteran civil servant J. Y. Pillay among South Asian diaspora lauded for their contributions to society". The Straits Times. The Straits Times. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
Retrieved from ""