Age, Biography, and Wiki
Chee Soon Juan was born on July 20, 1962, in Singapore. He rose to prominence in Singaporean politics due to his outspoken advocacy for civil liberties and democratic reforms. Despite facing legal challenges and arrests, Chee has remained a figurehead in opposition politics.
| Occupation | Politician |
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| Date of Birth | 20 July 1962 |
| Age | 62 Years |
| Birth Place | State of Singapore |
| Horoscope | Cancer |
| Country | Singapore |
Height, Weight & Measurements
There is limited public information available about Chee's physical measurements such as height and weight.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Chee is married and has three children. He and his wife have been involved in entrepreneurial ventures, including opening a café to foster community engagement.
In 1993, a few months after Chee joined the SDP, he was dismissed from NUS by the Head of the Psychology Department, S. Vasoo, who was also a PAP MP at the time, for allegedly using research funds to send his wife's doctoral thesis to the United States and making false transport claims. Chee denied that he had misused university funds and claimed that he was the victim of a political vendetta. On 5 April, Chee staged a hunger strike to protest his sacking. On the second day of his hunger strike, Chee was advised by a doctor, who was checking on his health daily, to consume glucose water instead of just water which Chee did. On 14 April, the tenth day of the hunger strike, Chee ended his hunger strike.
At a PAP rally on 7 September 2015, Vivian Balakrishnan also called to attention Chee's role in ousting Chiam as secretary-general of SDP in 1993, saying that the PAP "did not have a tradition of "backstabbing" its mentors". In response, Chee, as well as the SDP's Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC candidate Bryan Lim, provided an account of the incidents that led to Chiam's resignation on the party's website, saying that Chiam resigned on his own accord. Lina Chiam, Chiam's wife and the chairperson of Singapore People's Party (SPP), confirmed that the two sides had held "friendly talk" on the issue. At the same PAP rally, Sim Ann accused Chee of being adept at "chut pattern", a Singlish phrase meaning being full of antics. Chee responded the following day at a SDP rally by stating that he would not respond to personal attacks and would stay focused on policy issues during the election season, saying, "If you attack, you attack the policy, not the person... In football terms, you play the ball, not the man." Chee also addressed the different target population figures cited by government officials in the past, including the much debated 6.9 million figure in the Population White Paper, asking if the PAP would consider the SDP's proposal to base the optimal population on the happiness of residents, and a point system when bringing in foreigners for skilled jobs.
Chee’s mother died on the morning of 21 August 2020. On 25 June 2021, Chee and Huang's cafe Orange & Teal was officially opened at Rochester Mall in Buona Vista. One year later on 20 August 2022, their second cafe was opened at Marina Square. However, their second cafe was closed on 11 October 2024 due to rising costs.
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| Husband | Huang Chih-Mei (m. 1992) |
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Net Worth and Salary
Chee's net worth and salary are not publicly disclosed. However, his political career and legal battles have significantly impacted his financial status. He was declared bankrupt in 2006 following defamation suits but was later able to annul this status.
Chee has been arrested and jailed several times for his political activities, mainly for making unauthorised public speeches as well as staging demonstrations without a police permit. He has also neem found liable for defamation on multiple occasions for comments he has made about members of the country's governing People's Action Party (PAP). He was previously barred from standing in parliamentary elections because he was declared bankrupt in 2006, after failing to pay damages from a lawsuit owed to Prime Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong.
After the election, Chee was sued for defamation by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Chee lost the lawsuits and was ordered to pay damages of $300,000 to Goh and $200,000 to Lee.
On 10 February 2006, Chee was declared bankrupt by the High Court after failing to pay the damages owed to Goh and Lee. As an undischarged bankrupt, Chee became ineligible to stand in general elections and was required to seek a court-appointed Official Assignee's permission before making any trips abroad. In April, Chee was stopped at Changi Airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Istanbul as he had not obtained his Official Assignee's approval.
On 11 September 2012, former prime ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong said they had no objection to accepting Chee's offer to pay the reduced sum of $30,000 to annul his bankruptcy. On 24 September, Chee announced that he has raised the $30,000 from the sale of his latest book, Democratically Speaking, and will be making payment to the Official Assignee in the course of that week. On 23 November, Chee was formally cleared of bankruptcy upon being issued a Certificate of Annulment by the Official Assignee. This allowed him to travel freely outside of Singapore, as well as stand in future General Elections.
Chee contested as a candidate of Singapore Democratic Party along with Paul Tambyah, Sidek Mallek, and Chong Wai Fung for the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC in the 2015 general elections. He began his campaign by raising the issue of the high cost of living in Singapore, stressing that there was a need for Singaporeans to have an alternative voice in Parliament. In subsequent election rallies, Chee unveiled the SDP's proposals, which included the raising of personal income taxes on the top 1% of taxpayers to the year-2000 level, the introduction of a minimum wage, as well as the creation of a national healthcare plan to be funded by cutting the defence budget by 40%. In response, the PAP team described the proposals as "unrealistic", saying that the SDP's policies involved "tax-and-spend" programmes that would set Singapore "on the road to (debt-stricken) Greece". Chee responded by saying the PAP had previously criticised the SDP's ideas, only to adopt them later. According to Chee, the SDP had in the past proposed pooling individual healthcare risks, an idea that has been adopted by the Government, through the implementation of the MediShield Life universal healthcare insurance scheme, as well as the Government's Fair Consideration Framework, which he stated was an adoption of the SDP's proposal that employers must try hiring Singaporeans first before considering foreigners.
At a rally at UOB Plaza, Chee spoke about income inequality and said that the SDP was "not against wealth, but wealth inequality as the widening income gap harms the common good, erodes cohesiveness and corrodes the values that fosters social cohesiveness." Chee also called for checks on the Government and raised what he described as "failed or questionable decisions" by sovereign wealth fund GIC and investment company Temasek Holdings, implying that the money would have been better used on healthcare as "our hospitals face repeated shortage of beds and have to put patients along hospital corridors and makeshift tents." Chee also explained his decision to stand in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, which includes wealthy private housing estates, saying that "the wealthy segment of our society cares - and cares deeply - about what is happening around them. I believe that compassion is innate in all of us."
On 24 February 2006, Chan Sek Keong, the Attorney-General, filed contempt of court charges against Chee for refusing to answer the court's questions and scandalising the Singapore judiciary during the bankruptcy petition hearing on 10 February 2006. As a result, Chee was sentenced to one day in jail and a fine of $6,000, but he failed to pay the fine and was thus jailed for an additional seven days. He was released on 24 March 2006.
On 22 August 2006, Chee announced that he was planning to hold protests in Singapore during 61st Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in September 2006 (as part of Singapore 2006) to protest against the rising income gap and raise awareness of the hardships of working-class people in Singapore. His application for a police permit for the protest was rejected on 30 August 2006. Chee used the SDP website to continue urging people to participate in the protest.
Despite a rule in Singapore that bans podcasting during elections, Chee released a political podcast on 23 April 2006. However, on the order of the Elections Department, it was taken down by 25 April 2006. Another defamation lawsuit was brought against Chee following an article published in the SDP's party newspaper, The New Democrat, which questioned the role of the Singapore government in the 2005 National Kidney Foundation scandal. Chee was ordered to pay damages to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew as a result of this.
Chee was fined $5,000. On 23 November 2006, he was jailed for five weeks for failing to pay the fine. Two other SDP members, Gandhi Ambalam and Yap Keng Ho, were also imprisoned.
On September 18, 2024, Chee argued for prioritizing citizens' welfare over corporate profits. He critiques the sale of NTUC income and highlights the stark disparities between ministerial salaries and the struggles of many Singaporeans. Through personal reflections, Chee calls for a compassionate and equitable society, urging citizens to advocate for governance that truly serves their needs.
Career, Business, and Investments
Chee began his career as a lecturer in psychology but transitioned into politics in the early 1990s. He has been the Secretary-General of the SDP since 1993, advocating for transparency and civil liberties. Beyond politics, he has ventured into business, opening a café called Orange & Teal in 2021.
In 1990, he went on to complete a PhD at the University of Georgia. Upon graduation, Chee returned to Singapore to take up a teaching position in the Department of Psychology at the National University of Singapore.
In 1992, Chee was recruited to join the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) by the party's founder and secretary-general, Chiam See Tong. Chee was first introduced to the public as a member of the SDP's team to stand in the 1992 Marine Parade by-election in the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC). His candidacy attracted considerable public interest as it was the first time that an academic from a state-run university had stood against the governing People's Action Party in an election. The SDP team was unsuccessful in the election, with the PAP winning 72.94% of the votes, the SDP 24.50%, and other parties 2.56%.
Social Network
Chee is active in promoting his political and social views through various platforms. However, specific details about his social media presence are not extensively documented.
Local media reported the popularity Chee had garnered during the election, stating that Chee's "more moderate image" and "articulate speeches proved to be a big draw," adding that "If the buzz on social media and the queues of people that have formed after the Singapore Democratic Party's (SDP) rallies to have their books signed are any indication, there is considerable interest in SDP chief Chee Soon Juan this General Election." Observers attributed Chee's improved public image to a greater level of transparency and accessibility to information than in the past, as a result of technology like social media.
Chee was released on 16 December 2006, two weeks short of his full sentence as a result of good behaviour in jail. Two days later, he published a statement on what happened during his stint in prison. He claimed that his food tray was marked, and that the light in his cell had remained on during the night, causing sleep deprivation. Two days later, the MHA replied to this, claiming "Chee's insinuations about being the victim of a food conspiracy are ridiculous and a product of his own mischief...", and that "Chee's purported 'ailment' in prison served only to provide an expedient story for his associates and foreign supporters to faithfully distort and exploit for political mileage". Chee immediately released another statement rebutting this, claiming "the MHA's statement is riddled with inconsistencies, contradictions and outright lies".
Education
Chee holds a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Mansfield University and a PhD in neuropsychology from the University of Georgia.
Prior to entering politics in 1992, Chee was a lecturer at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He was invited by Chiam See Tong to join the SDP, and was a member of the SDP's team that stood in the 1992 Marine Parade by-election. Chee subsequently succeeded Chiam as the party's secretary-general after Chiam, whom Chee and the rest of the party's leadership have had a number of disagreements with, left the party. The party had three Members of Parliament (MPs) when Chee took over as secretary-general, but lost all its seats at the 1997 general election and has not had any elected members since.
Chee attended Anglo-Chinese School and National Junior College before graduating from Mansfield University with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology.
Chee has since served as a research fellow at the Monash Asia Institute (1997), the University of Chicago (2001), the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Program at the National Endowment for Democracy (2004), and as a visiting fellow at the University of Sydney (2014).
On September 23, 2024, Dr. Chee Soon Juan published an article addressing the significant sale of Minister K Shanmugam's Good Class Bungalow for $88 million. The piece critiques the lack of transparency surrounding the transaction and calls for accountability from government officials. Dr. Chee raises essential questions regarding the implications of such dealings in Singapore's housing market and the broader context of governance. The article highlights the ongoing public discourse about integrity and transparency in political leadership.
Conclusion
Chee Soon Juan's career is marked by his unwavering commitment to democratic ideals and human rights. While his financial status may not be well-documented, his influence in Singaporean politics and his efforts to promote social justice are significant.
