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Denise Phua | |
|---|---|
潘丽萍 | |
 Official portrait, 2021 | |
| Mayor ofCentral Singapore District | |
| Assumed office 27 May 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong Lawrence Wong |
| Preceded by | Sam Tan |
| Member of Parliament forJalan Besar GRC | |
| Assumed office 11 September 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Majority |
|
| Member of Parliament forMoulmein–Kallang GRC | |
| In office 7 May 2011 – 24 August 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Majority | 13,107 (17.12%) |
| Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC | |
| In office 6 May 2006 – 7 May 2011 | |
| Preceded by | PAP held |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Majority | 32,762 (38.51%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Denise Phua Lay Peng (1959-12-09)9 December 1959 (age 65) |
| Political party | People's Action Party |
| Alma mater | National University of Singapore (BA) Golden Gate University (MBA) |
| Occupation | Politician |
Denise Phua Lay Peng[a][1] (born 9 December 1959)[2] is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Mayor ofCentral Singapore District since 2014. A member of the governingPeople's Action Party (PAP), she has been theMember of Parliament (MP) representing theKampong Glam division ofJalan Besar GRC since 2015.
Prior to entering politics, she is a full-time special needs volunteer after working in the private sector for two decades. She became the president of theAutism Resource Centre and co-foundedPathlight School.
As an MP, she has focused on developing programmes for disabled people and special needs communities in Singapore. She is a member of both theGovernment Parliamentary Committees (GPC) for Education and Social and Family Development.
Phua attended Balestier Girls' Primary School,[3]Raffles Girls' School andHwa Chong Junior College[1] before graduating from theNational University of Singapore (NUS) with aBachelor of Arts degree in English.
She went on to complete aMaster of Business Administration degree atGolden Gate University.[1][4]
In a career spanning two decades, she held management positions atHewlett-Packard and the Wuthelam Group. She then founded a regional leadership training firm, the Centre of Effective Leadership.[1]
Phua's son was diagnosed with autism at the age of three.[5][6] As Phua consulted professionals and did research on how to help him,[5][6] she thought about how she could help other autistic children.[7] She subsequently founded WeCAN, a charity which helps caregivers of autistic people and offers early intervention programmes for autistic preschoolers.[4][8]
In 2005, Phua left the corporate world to be a full-time special needs volunteer.[3][4] She and her partners sold the Centre of Effective Leadership to Right Management, aManpower Inc. subsidiary.[1] Phua then became president of theAutism Resource Centre.[3][9] She often wrote to newspapers and government agencies on issues affecting the special needs community.[6][10] She is one of the key architects behind three 5-year Enabling Masterplans for the Disabled in Singapore.[11]
Phua is also the co-founder[12] and former acting principal[9] ofPathlight School, the firstspecial school for autistic children in Singapore.[9] The school offers mainstream curriculum and life skills education to its students.[8][13] A believer in helping autistic people realise their potential and integrate into society,[8][14] Phua helped develop many of the school's programmes.[15] These include employability skills training through a student-run café,[16] specialisedvocational training,[14] and satellite classes where Pathlight students mix with mainstream students.[15] In four years, enrolment increased tenfold[17] and the school attracted media attention for its impact on students.[13][14]
Continuing her volunteer efforts, Phua continues to supervise two charities –Autism Resource Centre (Singapore) and Autism Association (Singapore), and two special schools –Pathlight School and Eden School.[11]
Phua joined the ruling PAP's Jalan Besar branch in 2004.[12] The following year, she was appointed to the Feedback Supervisory Panel, which leads the government's Feedback Unit.[10] In the2006 general election, she was fielded as a PAP candidate inJalan Besar GRC, which was contested by theSingapore Democratic Alliance.[18] During the election campaign, she promised to make Singapore a more inclusive society by representing disabled people and special needs communities.[7][19] The PAP team won Jalan Besar GRC with 69.26% of the vote.[18]
In July 2006, the PAP formed a workgroup, headed by Phua, to explore initiatives to improve the financial security of disabled and special needs children.[20] Phua also led a committee that drew up a five-year plan to improve services for special needs children.[21] The PAP studied their proposals and later implemented some, such as a National non-profit Special Needs Trust Fund.[22] Laws were also drafted to prohibit abuse of mentally disabled people and to allow parents to appoint someone to look after their disabled children after they die.[23]
Phua was appointed Mayor of Central Singapore District in 2014 for a three-year term,[24] and was reappointed for the following term in 2017.[25] As Mayor, Phua has initiated many projects to meet the needs of her residents. These include a suite of more than 50 community programmes by theCentral Singapore Community Development Council to help residents live a better life, and build a do-good district. Among them are:
| Parliament of Singapore | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC 2006 – 2011 Served alongside:Lee Boon Yang,Yaacob Ibrahim,Lily Neo,Heng Chee How | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Moulmein–Kallang GRC 2011 – 2015 Served alongside:Edwin Tong,Yaacob Ibrahim,Lui Tuck Yew | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC 2015 – present Served alongside: (2015 – 2020):Yaacob Ibrahim,Lily Neo,Heng Chee How (2020 – 2025):Wan Rizal,Josephine Teo, Heng Chee How (2025 – present): Wan Rizal, Josephine Teo,Shawn Loh | Incumbent |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Mayor of Central Singapore district 27 May 2014 – present | Incumbent |
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