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Philip Jeyaretnam

Philip Anthony Jeyaretnam, a.k.a. Philip Jeyaretnam (b. 1964, Singapore - ), youngest son of veteran opposition and lawyer J.B. Jeyaretnam, is a Senior Counsel and an award-winning writer. Best known for his best sellers, First Loves and Raffles Place Ragtime, he has won prestigious local and international awards for his writing, including the Airey Neave Award, Southeast Asia Write Award, and the National Book Development Council Highly Commended Book Award. He is the recipient of the Cultural Medallion Young Artist Award in 1993.

Early Life and literary influence
Philip Anthony Jeyaretnam, a.k.a. Philip Jeyaretnam (b. 1964, Singapore -), was born to a middle-class family. His parents, both lawyers, were late mother, Margaret, English, and father, well-known opposition leader J.B. Jeyaretnam, Sinhalese-Tamil. He was sent to United World College, a private school in Singapore, for his early education. He received his tertiary education in The Charterhouse, a public school in Surrey, United Kingdom. He then returned to Singapore to undertake the mandatory National Service. He completed National Service as one of the top officers in the Officer Cadet School. He spent his undergraduate days in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, United Kingdom, where he read law.

Jeyaretnam considers his parents as having the greatest influence his life. Having watched his father in action as a lawyer, it inspired him to take up law. His late mother, who could quote poetry from memory, inspired in him his love for books. He learnt from his parents not to have fear in expressing his own opinions and to work hard to achieve what he wants.

Apart from his late mother, his literary influences include Thomas Paine, an 18th century English-American writer of  The Rights of Man, French writer and film-maker Marguerite Duras for her ability to describe the emotional dilemmas, and Kuo Pao Kun for his perseverance and willingness to try new things. He enjoys reading literature in French, Latin and Malay. He has also read works by other Singapore writers such as Gopal Baratham, Goh Poh Seng, Catherine Lim and Lim Thean Soo.

He is a regular follower of local plays and films presented by the Singapore Film Society and a keen listener of Western opera and music, especially Indian classical music.

His writings
Jeyaretnam always has a passion and fascination for words. He is taken by the idea of how a world of ideas could be communicated through books. He started writing when during his National Service days, with his first short story Campfire winning second prize in a short story competition.

He continued writing on and off during his undergraduate and pupilage days. Subsequently, the material for his first collection of short stories appeared in his first book, First Loves. It topped the Singapore Times Book International best-sellers list as soon as it was released in September 1987. It stayed on the best-seller list for 18 months, a record for a Singaporean book. First Loves is a collection of short stories linked by the theme of first love and a quest for maturity and identity, both at individual and national levels, as told by the protagonist Ah Leong.

In 1988, his novel Raffles Place Ragtime was published. It is primarily a novel about the unscrupulous, materialistic life of Singapore yuppies. Both First Loves and Raffles Place Ragtime were nominated for the Commonwealth Writers Prize (South-east Asia and the South Pacific). In 1994, his second novel, Abraham's Promise, was released. Set in Singapore, the story is about the reminiscences of an elderly teacher of Latin.

Jeyaretnam's aim is mainly to write about Singaporeans for Singaporean readers. He aims to seek and express truth regardless of personal and social circumstances. He wants his reader to come away feeling the importance of engaging in Singapore, thinking about what they are doing, their jobs and the effects of these on Singapore. To him, writing is not a choice, rather it is something inevitable.

Accomplishments
1982 : One of top cadets graduating from the Officer Cadet School
1986 : B.A. First Class Honours (in law), Cambridge University, United Kingdom
1987 : Admitted to English Bar
1988 : Admitted to Singapore Bar
1992 : University of Iowa International Writers' Programme; Harvard Law School (Fulbright fellowship)
Jan 2003 : Appointed Senior Counsel; one of only 37 senior counsels in Singapore
Nov 2003 : President of Law Society, Singapore, the youngest ever

Membership
Jun 1998 - Jun 2001 : Appointed member of Film Appeals Committee
Sep 2001 - Sep 2003 : Appointed to National Arts Council (NAC)
2003 : Member, Law Reform Committee of the Singapore Academy of Law
2003 : Member, Beyond Credit Card sub-committee of Remaking Singapore
2003 : Member, the Censorship Review Committee
2003 : Equity partner and general commercial litigator in Singapore law firm Rodyk & Davidson.

Awards
1983 : Second prize, National Short Story Competition for Campfire
1985 : First prize, National Short Story Competition for Evening Under Frangipani
1988 : Airey Neave Award, Ireland.
1993 : Cultural Medallion Award Winner for Young Artist
1996 : Highly Commended book award (National Book Development Council of Singapore) for Abraham's Promise
1997 : Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award
2003 : Southeast Asia Write Award

Works
1987 : First Loves (Short stories)
1988 : Raffles Place Ragtime (Novel)
1994 : Abraham's Promise (Novel)
2004 : Tigers in Paradise

Family
Wife : Cindy Sim
Children : Tristan, Quentin and Miranda.
Father : Lawyer J.B. Jeyaretnam, former leader of opposition party, Workers' Party.
Mother : Margaret, deceased.
Brother : Kenneth.
Uncle : Harold Walker, former chairman of English Football League club, Bournemouth.



Author
Nureza Ahmad



References
Klein, R. D. (Ed.). (2001). Interlogue: Studies in Singapore Literature (Vol. 4, pp. 286-309). Singapore: Ethos books.
(Call no.: SING 809.895957)

Siding with the underdog. (1991, January 21). Asiaweek, 33.

Hubbard, A. (1988, April 27). Philip Jeyaretnam accepts Airey Neave Scholarship. The Straits Times.

Hubbard, A. (1988, February 7). Philip Jeyaretnam wins prestigious British award. The Straits Times.

Johan. (1988, January 8). Philip Jeyaretnams first loves is still for the Law. The New Straits Times, p. 4.

Khor, C. (1987, September 5). Always something Singaporean. The Straits Times, p. 1.

Khor, C. (1987, September 5). First effort shows realism and promise. The Straits Times, p. 1.

Wick, P.C. (1992, December 31). Images of Singapore reflected in local fiction writing. Business Times, Trends, p. 2.

Book him! 20 questions. (1990, September 25). The Straits Times, Life, p. 3.

Top Cambridge honours for four Singaporeans. (1986, July 26). The Straits Times. 


Further Readings
Low, K. T. (Ed.). (2003). Who's who in Singapore (2nd ed., p. 171). Singapore: WhosWho Publishing.

Cheong, S.W. (2003, November 16). The law is fun. The Straits Times.

Cheong, S.W. (1999, September 14). Four artists appointed to NAC. The Straits Times.

Ho, A. L. (2003, August 30). He delivers again after Promise. The Straits Times.

Koh, B. S. (1994, September 3). Pages of Spores history given an emotional twist. The Straits Times, Life, p. 30.

Ong, S. F. (1997, October 29). No money for five, but award is symbol of recognition. The Straits Times.

Phang, M.Y. (1994, August 30). Cultural Medallion Award winner sets high standards for Chinese Orchestra. The Straits Times, Life, p. 2.

S. Tsering, B. (1994, September 18). Philip Jeyaretnam - an admiration for courageous struggle in art. The Sunday Times, Sunday Plus, p. 7.

What future for the past? (1997, July 13). The Straits Times.

Fulbright programme turns 50 next year. (1995, November 17). The Straits Times. 

The information in this article is valid as at 2004 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Personalities>>Biographies>>Authors
Jeyaretnam, Philip--Biography
Award winners--Singapore--Biography
Authors, Singaporean--Biography
Language and literature>>Literatures>>East and Southeast Asian literature>>Singapore literature

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