Arumugam Ponnu Rajah

Arumugam Ponnu Rajah
Official portrait, 1964
Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore
In office
1 October 1976 – 30 September 1990
1st Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
In office
1964–1966
DeputyFong Kim Heng
Punch Coomaraswamy[1]
Preceded byEdmund W. Barker
Succeeded byPunch Coomaraswamy
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Farrer Park SMC
In office
1959–1963
Preceded byAnthony Rebeiro Lazarous
Succeeded byS. R. Dharmarajoo
Personal details
Born7 July 1911
Port Dickson, British Malaya
Died28 September 1999(1999-09-28) (aged 88)
Singapore
Resting placeBidadari Cemetery, Singapore
Spouse
Vijaya Lakshmi
​
(died 1971)​
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
Occupation
  • Judge
  • diplomat
  • politician

Arumugam Ponnu Rajah (7 July 1911 – 28 September 1999), also known as A. P. Rajah, was a Singaporean judge, diplomat and politician. He served as Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore between 1964 and 1966 becoming the first speaker after independence, as Singapore High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and later Singapore High Commissioner to Australia,[2][3] and thereafter on the Supreme Court. He was Singapore's first Supreme Court judge to remain on the bench after turning 70.[3][4]

He is the only known individual to have served as a judge, diplomat and politician in the course of his life.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dspeaker was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ST19660807 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference reappoint was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference retire was invoked but never defined (see the help page).