Leon Perera

Leon Perera (born 1970)[1] is a Singaporean politician. A member of the opposition Workers' Party, he is the Media Chiar of the Workers' Party. He was previously a Non-constituency Member of Parliament between 2015 and 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Serangoon division of Aljunied GRC since 2020.

The Honourable
Leon Perera
Perera in 2021
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Aljunied GRC
(Serangoon)
Assumed office
10 July 2020
Preceded bySylvia Lim (WP)
ConstituencyAljunied GRC
Majority28,485 (19.90%) (2020)
Non-constituency Member
of the 13th Parliament of Singapore
In office
16 September 2015 – 22 June 2020
Serving with Daniel Goh and Dennis Tan
Preceded byYee Jenn Jong (WP)
Gerald Giam (WP)
Lina Chiam (SPP)
Succeeded byLeong Mun Wai (PSP)
Hazel Poa (PSP)
Personal details
Born
Leon Anil Perera

1970 (age 51–52)[1]
Singapore
Political partyWorkers' Party
Spouse(s)
Carol Perera
​
(m. 2003)​
Children2
Alma materExeter College, Oxford
Occupation
  • Politician
  • consultant

Education and early career

Perera studied at Anglo-Chinese School and Hwa Chong Junior College before he completed a Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) degree with double first-class honours at Exeter College of the University of Oxford.[2]

Perera began his career as a senior officer at the Economic Development Board's International Business Development Division, serving first in the policy planning function supporting Singapore's regional investments. He later served as Assistant Head in the Enterprise Development Division, assisting in the growth of large Singaporean companies in the service sector, from logistics, education and healthcare to information technology services, engineering and retail.[3]

Perera was the co-founder and chief executive officer of Spire Research and Consulting, an international business research and consulting agency. He is also a member of the Economic Society of Singapore, the Economic Development Board Society and the Singapore Institute of Directors.[4]

Political career
Perera on a walkabout

Prior to entering politics, Perera was a Workers' Party grassroots activist in the Paya Lebar ward of Aljunied GRC.[5]

During the 2015 general election, Perera contested in a four-member team of the Worker's Party team in East Coast Group Representation Constituency. His team received 39.27% of the votes cast, with the governing People's Action Party garnering 60.73% of votes to win the GRC. The Workers' Party team was the best performing opposition team, so one of the team members was eligible to take up a Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seat. The Workers' Party thus nominated Perera to be a NCMP in the 13th Parliament.[6]

NCMP term

Following the Hepatitis C outbreak at Singapore General Hospital in October 2015 which led to the deaths of five patients, Perera called on the government to convene a Committee of Inquiry to help "restore confidence" in Singapore's public health institutions.[7] He also requested that the names of Singapore General Hospital and Ministry of Health staff responsible for the outbreak be released, and questioned what penalties or warnings were imposed on these staff.

Perera raised an adjournment motion in 2016 calling on the Government to boost support for new industries with non-economic benefits, including renewable energy and environmental technology.[8]

In 2018, Perera apologised to Parliament and withdrew for an inaccurate example given in the House in response to a question of parliamentary footage access the previous year. This comes after then Leader of the House Grace Fu called for him to do so.[9][10][11][12]

On the debate over the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), Perera highlighted how the proposed tool "is a cure worse than the disease" as too much power is given to individual Ministers and the potential for the law to stifle free speech.[13] The law was eventually passed on 8 May 2019.

MP term

Perera joined the five-member Workers' Party team contesting in Aljunied GRC during the 2020 general election[14][15] and they won with 59.95% of the vote, so Perera became an elected Member of Parliament representing the Serangoon ward of Aljunied GRC in the 14th Parliament.

His maiden speech as elected MP called for social safety nets to be strengthened, widened, and made easier to access. He highlighted the need to respect the role of civil society and for the government to be less resistant to a more plural political landscape, which could promote antifragility in society. He also called for greater support for entrepreneurs.[16]

Perera has since raised a motion on gender equality[17] with Sengkang MP He Ting Ru, and filed an adjournment motion on hawker policy reform.[18]

He has also raised an adjournment motion on preventive health reform, responding to Singapore's poor track record on chronic diseases such as diabetes, by calling on the Government to adopt a highly-targeted, outcome-based approach with regular reviews. Other proposals were to nudge target groups through subsidies and leverage the large amount of data available to flag health issues out to patients at visits to the doctor.[19]

During the debate on the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act 2021, he moved amendments he argued were needed to boost transparency and reduce the likelihood of elite capture in the usage of powers granted by the bill.[20]

Perera is the Media Team Head of the Worker's Party and the Town Council chairman of Finance and Investment Committee in the Aljuined-Hougang Town Council.

Personal life

Perera is married and he has a daughter and a son.[21]

References
  1. "MP | Parliament of Singapore".
  2. "Leon Perera CV - Parliament of Singapore". Parliament of Singapore. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  3. "Leon Perera | Spire Research and Consulting". www.spireresearch.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  4. "WP potential candidates make appearance at public event". Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  5. "Leon Perera" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. Chong, Zi Liang (16 September 2015). "GE2015: WP's Lee Li Lian, Dennis Tan and Leon Perera declared Non-Constituency MPs". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  7. "SGH Hep C cluster: WP reiterates call for COI to be formed". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  8. "Adjournment Motion on 'Growing New Industries that Promise Economic and Non-Economic Benefits' - Speech by Leon Perera". 1 March 2016.
  9. Ng, Jun Sen (3 January 2018). "House Leader Grace Fu asks WP's Leon Perera to apologise for misleading Parliament over Mediacorp's footage". The Straits Times. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  10. Ng, Jun Sen (8 January 2018). "Parliament: WP's Leon Perera apologises, withdraws statements on Mediacorp's editing of parliamentary footage". The Straits Times. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  11. "MCI's response to PQ on copyright of parliamentary video recordings". MCI. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  12. "Leon Perera's accusations against Mediacorp were false and unfair, says Chee Hong Tat". The Straits Times. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  13. "Fake news law is 'a cure worse than the disease' - WP NCMP Leon Perera". The Online Citizen. 9 May 2019. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  14. Tan, Audrey; Kurohi, Rei (26 June 2020). "Singapore GE2020: Workers' Party confirms Aljunied GRC slate, introduces second batch of candidates". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  15. "GE2020: Workers' Party says it's reaching out to existing town councils for handover in Sengkang GRC". cna. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  16. https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic?reportid=president-address-1454
  17. "Workers' Party motion on gender equality passed in Parliament with amendment from PAP MP". CNA.
  18. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/wp-mp-leon-perera-calls-for-lower-rents-for-hawkers-creation-of-hawker-academy
  19. Auto, Hermes (14 February 2022). "Cash incentives, subsidies for MediShield Life among suggestions by MP to improve preventive health efforts | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com.
  20. "Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (FICA) - Speech by Leon Perera". 6 October 2021.
  21. "Leon Perera | The Workers' Party". www.wp.sg. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
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