Sat Pal Khattar

Sat Pal Khattar (b. 22 November 1942, Bhera, India–) is a prominent lawyer, businessman and Indian community leader. He founded Khattar Wong & Partners, one of the largest law firms in Singapore, and is the chairman of Khattar Holdings, a private investment firm. Among the many portfolios that he holds, Khattar is a life trustee of the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA), co-chairman of the Singapore-India Partnership Foundation and a board member of Haw Par Corporation. Khattar has been honoured at the May Day Awards on a number of occasions, and was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Silver) at the National Day Awards in 1972.¹

Early life
Sal Pal Khattar was born in Bhera, India, in 1942 to a Punjabi sporting-goods salesman and his wife. He grew up under difficult circumstances when his family was separated during the partition of India in 1947. The family later reunited and moved to Singapore in the 1950s.²

When Khattar was a teen, he often helped his father with his sporting goods business at Collyer Quay. He continued to do so even when he was in university.³ He completed his studies at Raffles Institution, and sat for his ‘A’ Levels as a private candidate. He went on to read law at the University of Singapore, graduating with an honours degree in 1966, and then attained a master’s in 1970.⁴

Career
After graduating in 1966, Khattar entered the civil service as a deputy public prosecutor and state counsel in the Attorney-General’s Chamber. Later that year, he joined the Inland Revenue Department as a legal officer and rose to become a senior legal officer in 1971 – one of the youngest then to attain the Superscale Grade F within the civil service. For his contributions to the civil service, he was awarded the Public Administrative Medal (Silver) at the National Day Awards in 1972.⁵

Khattar left the civil service in 1974 and set up his own law firm Sat Pal Khattar Co., which was later renamed Khattar Wong & Partners and is one of the largest law firms in Singapore today.⁶

Although Khattar retired from the law firm in 2000, he remains as chairman of his private investment firm, Khattar Holdings.⁷ In addition to that, Khattar also has chairmanship or directorship of a number of organisations. He was formerly chairman of GuocoLand Ltd⁸ and director of Gateway Distriparks Ltd, India.⁹

Since the early 1990s, Khattar has been investing in India, and this experience has helped him promote and support bilateral trade and investments between Singapore and India. He is the former chairman of Network India¹⁰ and remains co-chairman of the Singapore-India Partnership Foundation. In addition, Khattar is also the director of Haw Par Corporation.¹¹ He was also chairman of the Raffles Institution Board of Governors,¹² director of the Singapore Labour Foundation, chairman of the Professional Indemnity Insurance Sub-Committee of the Law Society, chairman of the Hindu Advisory Board, member of the Public Service Commission,¹³ member of the Securities Industry Council,¹⁴ chairman of the Singapore Business Federation,¹⁵ member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights¹⁶ and board member of the Institute of South Asian Studies.¹⁷

He is presently a life trustee of SINDA,¹⁸ vice-president of the Singapore Indian Education Trust,¹⁹ chairman of the International Management Action Award Awards Council²⁰ and director of the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship.²¹

Awards
In recognition of his contributions to the labour movement, Khattar has been honoured on a number of occasions at the May Day Awards, receiving the NTUC Friend of Labour Award (1979), Meritorious Service Award (1987), Distinguished Service Award (1994)²² and the Distinguished Service (Star) Award (2001).²³ In 2002, he was conferred the Overseas Indian Award by the Priyadarshni Academy.²⁴ The Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI) awarded Khattar the SICCI-DBS Singapore-India Business Award in 2009 his efforts in fostering Singapore-India business and investment.²⁵ Khattar also received the Padma Shri (Lotus Award) in 2011 during the Annual Republic Day awards in India. It is the fourth-highest civilian honour bestowed by the Indian government.²⁶

Family²⁷
Wife: Reeta
Daughter: Shareen
Sons: Navin and Arvind



Author
Isabel Ong

References
1. Low Kar Tiang, ed., Who’s Who in Singapore 2006 (Singapore: Who’s Who Publications, 2006), 210 (Call no. RSING 920.05957 WHO); “Lawyer Khattar Appointed A Member of PSC,” Straits Times, 29 September 1980, 25; “Lawyer Wins High Honours for 20 Years Service,” Straits Times, 1 May 1994, 23 (From NewspaperSG); Madhu Madan, Singapore Indian Entrepreneurs: Dreams To Reality (Singapore: Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, 2004), 132–35. (Call no. RSING 338.0409225957 MAD)
2. “Who’s Afraid of the India Market?” Straits Times, 15 February 2004, 27 (From NewspaperSG); People at the Peak: The Who's Who of Singapore (Singapore: Magazines Incorporated, 2003), 319. (Call no. RSING 920.05957 PEO)
3. “Who’s Afraid of the India Market?”
4. “Lawyer Khattar Appointed A Member of PSC.” 
5. “Lawyer Khattar Appointed A Member of PSC.” 
6. Madan, Singapore Indian Entrepreneurs, 132–35.
7. Narendra Aggarwal, “S’pore Group Sinks $28M Into Indian Complex and Township,” Straits Times, 2 October 1996, 39. (From NewspaperSG)
8. Tanya Chua, “Sat Pal Khattar Steps Down As GuocoLand’s Chairman,” Singapore Business Review, accessed 22 March 2016; GuocoLeisure Limited, Annual Report 2012 (Singapore: GuocoLeisure Limited, 2011), 6.
9. Gateway Distriparks Ltd., Annual Report 2014–15 (Singapore: Gateway Distriparks Ltd., 2015), 8–10; “Gateway Distriparks’ Director Sat Pal Khattar Resigns,” Moneycontrol.com, accessed 22 March 2016.
10. “Who’s Afraid of the India Market?”
11. “About Us: Board,” Haw Par Corporation Limited, Haw Par Corp, accessed 5 February 2016.
12. Sandra Davie, “Old Boy Returns To Head RI,” Straits Times, 29 October 1998, 31. (From NewspaperSG)
13.  “Lawyer Khattar Appointed A Member of PSC.” 
14. “Securities Industry Council Has More Teeth,” Business Times, 19 March 1986, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
15. Ministry of Trade and Industry, “Appointment to the Singapore Business Federation Board of Trustees,” press release, 27 April 2012
16. President’s Office, “Appointments to Presidential Council for Minority Rights,” press release 16 April 2012.
17. Institute of South Asian Studies National University of Singapore, Annual Report 2014/2015 (Singapore: Institute of South Asian Studies National University of Singapore, 2015)
18. “Board of Trustees,” Singapore Indian Development Association, accessed 22 March 2016.  
19. Singapore Indian Education Trust, Annual Report 2009 (Singapore: Singapore Indian Education Trust, 2009), 12.  
20. “8th IMAA,” International Management Action Award, accessed 22 March 2016.  
21. Institute of South Asian Studies & Confederation of Indian Industry, Singapore Symposium 2015 (Singapore: Institute of South Asian Studies & Confederation of Indian Industry, 2015), 11; “Sat Pal Khattar,” Bloomberg, accessed 22 March 2016.
22. “Lawyer Wins High Honours for 20 Years Service,” Straits Times, 1 May 1994, 23. (From NewspaperSG)
23. Low, Who’s Who in Singapore 2006, 210.
24. 18th Anniversary Global Awards: Photo Gallery,” Priyadarshni Academy, accessed 16 April 2009.
25. Emilyn Yap, “Sat Pal Khattar Wins SICCI-DBS Singapore-India Business Award,” Business Times, 7 October 2009, 10. (From NewspaperSG)
26. Ravi Velloor, “Lawyer Khattar Receives Award,” Straits Times, 28 January 2011, 12; Akshita Nanda, “Fatherly Figure,” Straits Times, 21 February 2011, 4. (From NewspaperSG)
27. Low, Who’s Who in Singapore 2006, 210; Nanda, “Fatherly Figure.” 

The information in this article is valid as at 2016 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.