James Joseph Puthucheary

James Joseph Puthucheary (b. circa 1922, Kerala, India–d. 3 April 2000, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia) was an economist, trade unionist and lawyer.¹ He supported the People’s Action Party (PAP) in the 1955 Legislative Assembly general election but later broke away from them to join the Barisan Sosialis in 1961.² He was detained during the security crackdown against pro-communists known as Operation Coldstore in 1963 and was subsequently banned from entering Singapore until 1990.³

Early life
Puthucheary was born in Kerala, India, in 1922 to a well-respected Indian family.⁴ His family later moved to Malaya. He was the eldest of 10 children. His father was a court interpreter and later a police officer.⁵

He studied at the elite Johor English College in Malaysia and could speak Malayalam, Malay, Tamil and Hindi.⁶

Indian National Army
In 1943, Puthucheary enlisted in the Indian National Army in response to a call for volunteers to fight for Indian independence. He was posted to the Azad Guerrilla Regiment, fighting in the Burmese jungle and surviving the disastrous Battle of Imphal.⁷

Detained in 1951
In 1947, Puthucheary enrolled for tertiary education at the Raffles College (later known as University of Malaya) in Singapore.⁸ He formed the Malayan Students’ Party with other students. The party’s agenda focused on the development of a Malayan consciousness, a Malayan culture and a Malayan nation.⁹ The party argued that Malayans should abandon their narrow racial identities and embrace a larger Malayan identity for the sake of national unity.¹⁰

In January 1951, Puthucheary, along several others, were arrested by the Singapore Special Branch.¹¹ They were the first large group of English-speaking intellectuals to be arrested under the Emergency Regulations.¹² Puthucheary was detained without trial for one-and-a-half years.¹³

Puthucheary returned to the university after his release in 1952.¹⁴ On 23 February 1953, together with other students, he established the University of Malaya Socialist Club.¹⁵ He graduated in 1954 with an honours degree in economics.¹⁶

Imprisonment in Changi in 1956
In 1956, following a student riot, the Middle Road unionists were arrested for supporting the students, and Puthucheary was detained along with them under the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance (precursor of present-day Internal Security Act).¹⁷ During his time in Changi Prison, he wrote a book analysing Malaya’s political economy entitled Ownership and Control in the Malayan Economy. In the foreword of the book, he credited his future wife, Mavis Scharenguivel, for motivating him and bringing him the books that he needed while imprisoned.¹⁸ He also acknowledged the assistance of the prison and the Special Branch in allowing him to work on the book during detention.¹⁹ In addition to writing, Puthucheary studied for his law degree, taking and passing the London University law exam while under detention.²⁰

Prior to the Legislative Assembly general election of 1959, PAP chairman Toh Chin Chye held a press conference during which he reiterated the PAP’s position that the party would not take office “unless former members of the party who were intimately connected with the central committee” were released from detention.²¹ On 30 May 1959, the PAP won the election, taking 43 of the 51 seats in the Legislative Assembly.²² Among the eight detainees subsequently released were Puthucheary, Devan Nair and Lim Chin Siong.²³

After his release, Puthucheary was appointed manager of the Industrial Promotion Board (replaced by the Economic Development Board in 1961) and chairman of the Central Provident Fund Board.²⁴

Operation Coldstore
However, he found himself increasingly at odds with the PAP’s policies. When left-wing PAP members formed Barisan Sosialis in July 1961, Puthucheary joined them. No longer holding positions in the government bodies, he began working for the University of Malaya as an economics lecturer.²⁵ As part of the “Big Six” trade unionists, Puthucheary campaigned for the abolition of the Internal Security Council. This group of unionists felt that the abolition was a more important issue than the pending merger with Malaya.²⁶

On 2 February 1963, Puthucheary was again arrested by the Special Branch, this time in an anti-communist security raid known as Operation Coldstore.²⁷ He was among more than 100 persons detained.²⁸ He was released after six months of detention.²⁹ Puthucheary was banned from entering Singapore, and settled down in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to practise law.³⁰ He eventually became a partner of the law firm, Skrine & Company.³¹ His ban on entry into Singapore was lifted in November 1990.³²

Death
A stroke left Puthucheary speechless for the last five years of his life.³³ In 2000, he suffered another stroke and passed away in his home in Petaling Jaya in Kuala Lumpur.³⁴ A memorial was held for him.³⁵

Ownership and Control in the Malayan Economy
Puthucheary had long been interested in the link between the economy and the various races in Malaya and how this link constrained political cohesion in the country. He believed that labour organised under colonial rule inhibited racial cooperation and argued against the notion that the Chinese controlled much of Malaya’s wealth. He also warned that creating a group of capitalists would not automatically alleviate the poverty of most of the population. Examining why the majority of ordinary Malaysians remained poor despite living in a country that is rich in resources, his book, Ownership and Control in the Malayan Economy, was published in 1960.³⁶



Author
Lee Hwee Hoon



References
1. S. L. Chok, “James Puthucheary Dies At 77, Fondly Remembered for an Eventful Life,” New Straits Times, 4 April 2000. (From Factiva via NLB’s eResources website); Zubaidah Nazeer, “She Earns Her PhD at 69… And It’s All Thanks to Him,” New Paper, 11 July 2006, 4 (From NewspaperSG); James Joseph Puthucheary, oral history interview by Lim How Seng, 15 June 1985, transcript and MP3 audio, 29:07, Reel/Disc 1 of 10, National Archives of Singapore (accession no. 000570), 1, 3.
2. “Marshall, Lee Unite To Back Alliance,” Straits Times, 31 March 1955, 2; “Ex-Detainee Quites Govt. for Varsity,” Straits Times, 1 August 1961, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
3. Felix Abisheganaden, “107 Held in Singapore Dawn Drive,” Straits Times, 3 February 1963, 1; “Govt Lifts Entry Ban on Nine Malaysians,” Straits Times, 1 December 1990, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
4. Chok, “James Puthucheary Dies At 77, Fondly Remembered for an Eventful Life,”; Dennis Bloodworth, “Key Players in the Party in Its Early Days,” Straits Times, 11 May 1986, 2 (From NewspaperSG); Dominic J. Puthucheary, “James Puthucheary, His Friends and His Times,” in No Cowardly Past: James Puthucheary: Writings, Poems, Commentaries, ed. Dominic J. Puthucheary and K.S. Jomo (Petaling Jaya: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, 2010), 22. (Call no. RSEA 959.504 NO)
5. Zubaidah Nazeer, “She Earns Her PhD at 69.”
6. M. Fernandez, “Puthucheary – A Brilliant Man Who Was Also A Radical,” New Straits Times, 29 April 2000. (From Factiva via NLB’s eResources website)
7. Puthucheary, “James Puthucheary, His Friends and His Times,” 23–25
8. Puthucheary, “James Puthucheary, His Friends and His Times,” 6; James Joseph Puthucheary, interview, 15 June 1985, Reel/Disc 1 of 10, 3.
9. “Students Party To Be Formed,” Straits Times, 20 January 1950, 7. (From NewspaperSG)
10. Puthucheary, “James Puthucheary, His Friends and His Times,” 7.
11. “Lawyer, 4 Teachers Detained,” Straits Times, 9 January 1951, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
12. Yeo Kim Wah, “Student Politics in University of Malaya, 1949–51,” Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 23, no. 2 (September 1992): 364–65 (From JSTOR via NLB’s eResources website); Virginia Matheson Hooker, A Short History of Malaysia: Linking East and West (New South Wales: Allen & Unwin, 2003), 201. (Call no. RSEA 959.5 HOO)
13. “3 Student Detainees Released,” Straits Times, 25 June 1952, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
14. “3 Student Detainees Released.”
15. Poh Soon Kai, “Genesis of the University Socialist Club,” in The Fajar Generation: The University Socialist Club and the Politics of Postwar Malaya and Singapore, ed. Poh Soon Kai, Tan Jing Quee and Koh Kay Yew (Petaling Jaya: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, 2010), 14–16. (Call no. RSING 378.5957 FAJ)
16. “University Arts Results,” Singapore Standard, 7 July 1954, 5. (From NewspaperSG)
17. “Seven Dead, 70 Hurt,” Straits Times, 27 October 1956, 1; “All-Day Curfew,” Straits Times, 28 October 1956, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
18. James Joseph Puthucheary, Ownership and Control in the Malayan Economy (Singapore: Eastern Universities Press, 1960), vii–viii (Call no. RCLOS 330.9595 PUT); “Released Detainee Weds at Registry,” Straits Times, 10 June 1959, 16. (From NewspaperSG)
19. Puthucheary, Ownership and Control in the Malayan Economy, viii–x.
20. A. Mahadeva, “Man in Jail Passes Law Exam,” Straits Times, 11 September 1958, 7. (From NewspaperSG)
21. “Toh: Free Detainees or We Won’t Take Office,” Straits Times, 22 May 1959, 9. (From NewspaperSG)
22. Ong Chit Chung, “The 1959 Singapore General Election,” Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 6, no. 1 (March 1975): 73, 80. (From JSTOR via NLB’s eResources website)
23. “Unlocking the Gates,” Straits Times, 3 June 1959, 8. (Fom Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
24. “Puthucheary Gets Key Job,” Straits Times, 17 June 1959, 1; “Provident Fund Job for Mr. P.,” Straits Times, 18 July 1959, 4. (From NewspaperSG)
25. “Ex-Detainee Quits Govt. for Varsity,” Straits Times, 1 August 1961, 1; “New C.P.F. Chief Is Named,” Straits Times, 1 October 1961, 5. (From NewspaperSG)
26. Hussin Mutalib, Parties and Politics: A Study of Opposition Parties and the PAP in Singapore (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Academic, 2004), 75, 88 (Call no. RSING 324.25957 HUS); “Barisan Denies Hostile Claim,” (1961, November 6). Straits Times, 6 November 1961, 11; “Merger Issue: Dr. Toh Hits Out at Six Top Unionists,” Straits Times, 10 July 1961, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
27. Abisheganaden, “107 Held in Singapore Dawn Drive.”
28. Ee Boon Lee and Lim Beng Tee, “Who’s Who in the Big Round-Up,” Straits Times, 6 February 1963, 10. (From NewspaperSG)
29. Puthucheary, “James Puthucheary, His Friends and His Times,” 29.
30. Chok, “James Puthucheary Dies At 77, Fondly Remembered for an Eventful Life”; Tan Tock Saik, “Quiet Life of Law Is Former Detainee’s Ambition,” Straits Times, 30 November 1963, 7; “S’pore Bans entry of 19 People,” Straits Times, 22 October 1966, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
31. Chok, “James Puthucheary Dies At 77, Fondly Remembered for an Eventful Life.”
32. “Govt Lifts Entry Ban on Nine Malaysians.”
33. P. C. Shivadas, “Puthucheary Took the Road Less Travelled,” New Straits Times, 19 June 2000. (From Factiva via NLB’s eResources website)
34. Chua Wei Ying, “PAP Rival Dies in M’sia,” New Paper, 4 April 2000, 2 (From NewspapeSG); Zubaidah Nazeer, “She Earns Her PhD at 69.”
35. “Dr Mahathir Attends Memorial Service in Honour of Puthucheary,” (2000, May 7). New Sunday Times, 7 May 2000). (From Factiva via NLB’s eResources website)
36. K. S. Jomo, “James Puthucheary: A Committed Scholar,” in No Cowardly Past: James Puthucheary: Writings, Poems, Commentaries, ed. Dominic J. Puthucheary and K.S. Jomo (Petaling Jaya: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, 2010), 93–102 (Call no. RSEA 959.504 NO); Puthucheary, Ownership and Control in the Malayan Economy.

The information in this article is valid as at 2009 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.