Ravindran R

Ramasamy Ravindran (b. 1960), a lawyer and politician, served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1997 to 2006, representing Bukit Timah and Marine Parade constituencies.

Born in Singapore, Ravindran received his education at Commonwealth Secondary School and National Junior College. He earned his Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1985, followed by a Master’s degree in 1991, also from NUS. His exposure to public service began when he served as Chairman of the Boon Lay Community Club Youth Group Executive Committee from 1987 to 1991. Before entering politics in 1997, he had held various positions within the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA), including those in its Youth Development Wing and the Indian Anti-Drug Task Force Committee. He had also served as a member of the Service Improvement Unit’s Political Supervisory Committee and the Hindu Endowments Board.

In the 1997 general elections, Ravindran was fielded by the People’s Action Party (PAP) as one of the candidates in the Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency (GRC), and he returned unopposed. In 2001, he was a candidate in Marine Parade GRC, and once again returned unopposed. During his time in parliament, he held appointments including Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Defence and Foreign Affairs, and Deputy Chairman of the GPC for Home Affairs and Law.

He was appointed Chairman of the Tamil Internet Steering Committee (TISC) in 2000. Under his leadership, TISC organised the biggest international Tamil internet conference till then.  It also helped form the International Forum for Information Technology in Tamil (INFITT), a global body representing Tamil internet concerns in international technology forums.  INFITT headquarters was established in Singapore, and a Singaporean was appointed as its first Executive Director.

Over his decade-long tenure as MP, Ravindran actively addressed various issues, emphasising the relevance of the Tamil curriculum to Tamil community life, cautioning lawmakers about the ills of gambling, and explaining the necessity of a deterrent sentence for national service defaulters.

In 2006, Ravindran left politics, citing the need to spend more time with his family. Since then, he has continued his private practice as a lawyer, specialising in dispute resolution. He remains involved in community affairs and in 2025, chaired the organising committee to pay tribute to Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong for his services to the Indian community.



For more information
CNPLaw LLP. “Ravindran Ramasamy – Litigation, Arbitration, Criminal.” CNPLaw LLP. Accessed 1 June 2025. https://www.cnplaw.com/lawyer/ravindran-ramasamy/
Parliament of Singapore, Election of President of Republic of Singapore, vol. 80 of Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 19 April 2005, cols. 121.
Parliament of Singapore, Election of President of Republic of Singapore, vol. 80 of Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 16 January 2006.
Parliament of Singapore, Election of President of Republic of Singapore, vol. 78 of Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 26 November 2004, cols. 1489.
“R. Ravindran,” The Straits Times, 1 October 1996, 24. (From Newspaper SG)

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The information in this article is valid as of August 2025 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. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit here.