Chew Kheng Chuan
Encyclopedia
CHEW Kheng Chuan or ‘KC’ Chew, is Chief University Advancement Officer at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore
. He oversees the Development and Alumni Affairs functions at NTU.
Since his appointment at NTU in June 2009, the University has received its single largest gift ever – S$150 million from the Lee Foundation
, towards the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine to be jointly established with Imperial College London. The enhanced matching programme from the Singapore Government will boost the sum to S$400 million, the largest private gift ever recorded in Singapore.
Prior to joining NTU, he was the Vice-President of Endowment and Institutional Development at the National University of Singapore (NUS) (2007–2008). He was also the Founding Director of NUS’s Development Office (2003–2006). During his time at NUS, KC Chew provided leadership to the Development Office which saw NUS raising S$1.5 billion, more than four times what it had raised in the previous 12 years.
Acknowledged as one of the most successful fundraisers in Asia, KC Chew is Chairman of The Substation Ltd and a Board Member of the Intercultural Theatre Institute (formerly the Theatre Training & Research (Singapore) Ltd). He also sits on the Steering Committee of the National Art Gallery of Singapore, which is slated to open in 2015.
In 2002, KC Chew co-authored and edited Chew Boon Lay: A Family Traces its History, a multifaceted work that combines a biography of the noted immigrant pioneer Chew Boon Lay, with an exploration of the contributions made by his family to the region.
In 1985, he founded Wordmaker Design Pte Ltd, a communications and branding firm, and served as its Managing Director until 2000.
KC Chew is also a former Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience
. He was one of a group of 22 persons arrested under Singapore’s Internal Security Act, on the grounds that they were members of a clandestine communist-front network. The head of the group was said to be Vincent Cheng, a Catholic
lay worker.
Operation Spectrum
, popularly referred to as the ‘Marxist conspiracy’, was accused by Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs of planning to “subvert the existing social and political system in Singapore through communist united front tactics to establish a communist state.” By the end of 1987, all but one of the detainees had been released, subject to restrictions on their freedom of movement.
In April 1988, eight were re-arrested, following their publication of a signed public statement denying the accusations against them and alleging mistreatment in detention. KC Chew, who was not among the signatories but had allegedly helped edit, print and distribute the statement, was also re-arrested separately. Most of the detainees were subsequently released in stages in late 1988 and throughout 1989, after signing statutory declarations (while in custody) recanting earlier allegations.
KC Chew has steadfastly denied being a Marxist, and refuted all allegations that he was involved in a conspiracy against the government.
In his testimony before the United States
House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations on 7 July 1998, Eric Schwartz, Program Director of Asia Watch, observed: “In the absence of any credible evidence of a conspiracy to promote subversion, what emerges from accusations such as these is an exceptional government hostility towards vigorous non-governmental organization involvement in public affairs.”
KC Chew, in a statement before the Internal Security Act Advisory Board after 12 weeks of detention, declared: “I am a democrat, a believer in an open and democratic polity and in the virtues of an open and accountable government ... A citizen of a democracy, to be worthy of that society, has not just the right, but indeed the duty to participate in the political life of his or her society.”
KC Chew was the first Singaporean to be admitted to Harvard College, where he graduated with an AB cum laude in Social Studies in 1982. He has served as Chairman of the Harvard Alumni Interviewing Committee in Singapore since 1983. In recognition of his longstanding service as an alumni interviewer, he received the Hiram Hunn Memorial Schools & Scholarships Award from Harvard College in 2005.
He has three children, the eldest of whom is currently an undergraduate at Harvard.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. He oversees the Development and Alumni Affairs functions at NTU.
Since his appointment at NTU in June 2009, the University has received its single largest gift ever – S$150 million from the Lee Foundation
Lee Foundation
Lee Foundation is a charitable foundation in Singapore created to aid "the advancement of education, medicine and cultural activities; helping the poor; and assisting victims of fire, flood and famine", It also funded other philanthropic work...
, towards the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine to be jointly established with Imperial College London. The enhanced matching programme from the Singapore Government will boost the sum to S$400 million, the largest private gift ever recorded in Singapore.
Prior to joining NTU, he was the Vice-President of Endowment and Institutional Development at the National University of Singapore (NUS) (2007–2008). He was also the Founding Director of NUS’s Development Office (2003–2006). During his time at NUS, KC Chew provided leadership to the Development Office which saw NUS raising S$1.5 billion, more than four times what it had raised in the previous 12 years.
Acknowledged as one of the most successful fundraisers in Asia, KC Chew is Chairman of The Substation Ltd and a Board Member of the Intercultural Theatre Institute (formerly the Theatre Training & Research (Singapore) Ltd). He also sits on the Steering Committee of the National Art Gallery of Singapore, which is slated to open in 2015.
In 2002, KC Chew co-authored and edited Chew Boon Lay: A Family Traces its History, a multifaceted work that combines a biography of the noted immigrant pioneer Chew Boon Lay, with an exploration of the contributions made by his family to the region.
In 1985, he founded Wordmaker Design Pte Ltd, a communications and branding firm, and served as its Managing Director until 2000.
KC Chew is also a former Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience
Prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...
. He was one of a group of 22 persons arrested under Singapore’s Internal Security Act, on the grounds that they were members of a clandestine communist-front network. The head of the group was said to be Vincent Cheng, a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
lay worker.
Operation Spectrum
Operation Spectrum
Operation Spectrum was launched on May 21, 1987 by Singapore's Internal Security Department using the Internal Security Act . 16 people were arrested for their involvement in what was described as a "Marxist conspiracy". On June 20, 1987, four of the original 16 were released and six more were...
, popularly referred to as the ‘Marxist conspiracy’, was accused by Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs of planning to “subvert the existing social and political system in Singapore through communist united front tactics to establish a communist state.” By the end of 1987, all but one of the detainees had been released, subject to restrictions on their freedom of movement.
In April 1988, eight were re-arrested, following their publication of a signed public statement denying the accusations against them and alleging mistreatment in detention. KC Chew, who was not among the signatories but had allegedly helped edit, print and distribute the statement, was also re-arrested separately. Most of the detainees were subsequently released in stages in late 1988 and throughout 1989, after signing statutory declarations (while in custody) recanting earlier allegations.
KC Chew has steadfastly denied being a Marxist, and refuted all allegations that he was involved in a conspiracy against the government.
In his testimony before the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations on 7 July 1998, Eric Schwartz, Program Director of Asia Watch, observed: “In the absence of any credible evidence of a conspiracy to promote subversion, what emerges from accusations such as these is an exceptional government hostility towards vigorous non-governmental organization involvement in public affairs.”
KC Chew, in a statement before the Internal Security Act Advisory Board after 12 weeks of detention, declared: “I am a democrat, a believer in an open and democratic polity and in the virtues of an open and accountable government ... A citizen of a democracy, to be worthy of that society, has not just the right, but indeed the duty to participate in the political life of his or her society.”
KC Chew was the first Singaporean to be admitted to Harvard College, where he graduated with an AB cum laude in Social Studies in 1982. He has served as Chairman of the Harvard Alumni Interviewing Committee in Singapore since 1983. In recognition of his longstanding service as an alumni interviewer, he received the Hiram Hunn Memorial Schools & Scholarships Award from Harvard College in 2005.
He has three children, the eldest of whom is currently an undergraduate at Harvard.
External links
- Nanyang Technological University
- National University of Singapore
- The Substation Ltd
- Theatre Training & Research (Singapore) Ltd
- National Art Gallery of Singapore
- Amnesty International
- Internal Security Act
- ‘Marxist conspiracy’
- House of Representatives Foreign Affairs
- Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations
- Asia Watch
- Harvard College