Janil Puthucheary

Puthucheary attended primary school in Kuala Lumpur before going to Oundle School in Northamptonshire for his secondary education. He completed his training as a paediatrician at Queen's University Belfast and the Royal College of Physicians. == Career ==

Puthucheary worked at hospitals in Belfast, London and Sydney before he moved to Singapore in 2001 to work at KK Women's and Children's Hospital as a Senior Consultant at the children's intensive care unit. In 2007, he became an Assistant Professor and Medical Director for Faculty Development at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School. Political career Puthucheary made his political debut in the 2011 general election when he joined a six-member PAP team contesting in Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC. After his candidacy was announced, he attracted attention as he had not served national service as new citizens are not required to. He was also compared with Chen Show Mao, a foreign-born Workers' Party (WP) candidate who had served national service as a second generation Singapore Permanent Resident. In response, Puthucheary said that he had spent the past ten years saving children's lives. Low Thia Khiang, the WP chief, called for an amendment to the Constitution to require completion of national service from male political candidates. The PAP team in Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC won with 64.79% of the vote against the Singapore Democratic Alliance. Puthucheary thus became an MP representing the Punggol West ward of Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC. Puthucheary contested as part of a six-member PAP team in Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC in the 2015 general election and they won with 72.89% of the vote against the Singapore Democratic Alliance. On 1 January 2016, he was appointed Minister of State at the Ministry of Communications and Information and Ministry of Education. On 1 May 2017, he was promoted to Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Education and left the Ministry of Communications and Information. On 1 May 2018, his appointments were changed to Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Communications and Information and the Ministry of Transport. On 6 June 2019, he was appointed Government Whip. == Personal life ==

Puthucheary was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Dominic Puthucheary, a trade unionist and founding member of the People's Action Party. His father later left the PAP to join Barisan Sosialis, a party formed by expelled left-wing PAP members. Dominic Puthucheary was detained in February 1963 during Operation Coldstore but was released ten months later and barred from entering Singapore until 1990, when he was elected MP for Nibong Tebal in Penang, Malaysia. An older brother of Puthucheary's father, James Puthucheary, was also a founding member of the PAP who left to join Barisan Sosialis and was detained during Operation Coldstore. In 2008, Puthucheary became a Singapore citizen. When the Singapore Armed Forces Volunteer Corps was established on 13 October 2014, Puthucheary enlisted in the Corps' first batch of volunteers. Puthucheary is of Malayalee descent. He is married to Michelle Jong, a Senior Consultant in the Department of Endocrinology at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. They have three sons. == References ==