Denise Phua

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Denise Phua Lay Peng ( Chinese 潘丽萍 Pinyin Pān Lìpíng , born December 9, 1959 ) is a Singaporean politician and human rights activist. After a successful corporate career spanning two decades, she gave up her original job to become a full-time special needs volunteer. She became President of the Autism Resource Center (Singapore) and co-founder of the Pathlight School .

She is currently a member of the ruling People's Party ( PAP ) in Jalan Besar GRC (former Moulmein-Kallang GRC from its establishment on May 7, 2011 to its dissolution on August 24, 2015). As a MP, she has focused on developing programs for people with disabilities and special needs in Singapore. She currently chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) on Education and is a member of the GPC on Social and Family Development. She is also the Mayor of the Central Singapore District.

Early career

Phua studied at Balestier Girls Primary School , Raffles Girls' School, and Hwa Chong Junior College . She graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts in English and earned a Master of Business Administration from Golden Gate University . In a career spanning two decades, she held executive positions at Hewlett-Packard and the Wuthelam Group. She then founded a regional leadership training company, the Center of Effective Leadership.

Volunteers

Her son was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old . When Phua consulted professionals and researched how she could help him, she thought about how she could help other autistic children. She then founded WeCAN, a charity that helps caregivers for people with autism and provides early intervention programs for preschoolers with autism.

In 2005, Phua left the corporate world to be a full-time special needs volunteer. She and her partners sold the Center of Effective Leadership to Right Management, a subsidiary of Manpower Inc. Phua then became president of the Autism Resource Center. She often wrote to newspapers and government agencies on issues affecting the community of people with special needs. Best known for advocating those at risk of being left behind in Singapore, Phua often advocates the disabled and Singaporeans with low-skilled and low-income backgrounds. She is one of the key architects behind three 5 year enabling master plans for the disabled in Singapore.

Phua is also the co-founder and former headmaster of the Pathlight School, the first special school for autistic children in Singapore. The school provides general education in curriculum and life skills to its students. Phua believed in helping autistic people reach their potential and integrate into society. Phua helped develop many school programs. These include training employability skills in a student-run coffee shop, specialized professional training, and satellite classes where pathlight students meet mainstream students. In four years, the number of enrollments increased tenfold and the school attracted media attention for its impact on students.

Phua continues in her volunteer efforts and continues to oversee two charities -  Autism Resource Center (Singapore) and Autism Association (Singapore), and two special schools - Pathlight School and Eden School .

politics

Phua joined the ruling PAP branch Jalan Besar in 2004. The following year she was appointed to the feedback monitoring body that runs the government's feedback department. In the 2006 general election, she ran as a PAP candidate for Jalan Besar GRC , which was challenged by the Singapore Democratic Alliance. During the election campaign, she promised to make Singapore a more inclusive society by representing people with disabilities and special needs. The PAP team won Jalan Besar GRC with 69.26% of the vote.

In July 2006, the PAP established a working group, led by Phua, to examine initiatives to improve the financial security of children with disabilities and special needs. Phua also chaired a committee that developed a five-year plan to improve services for children with special needs. The PAP examined their proposals and later introduced some, such as a national charitable trust fund for special needs. Laws have also been drawn up to ban abuse of the mentally disabled and to allow parents to appoint someone to look after children with special needs after death.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Small Victories are Sweet . ( Memento of March 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Family.sg, March 23, 2008, accessed October 28, 2008.
  2. ↑ Chi Yin: An advocate for kids with special needs . In: The Straits Times , March 24, 2006.
  3. ↑ Chuah Yii Wen: Lighting new path for autistic children . In: The Straits Times , February 10, 2007.
  4. ↑ Denise Phua . Singapore Tatler; accessed on March 4, 2019.
  5. ^ Ansley Ng: Ready to disagree, ready to serve . In: Today , March 24, 2006.
  6. ↑ MCYS studies proposal on enhancing financial security of special needs persons . Channel NewsAsia, October 25, 2006.
  7. ↑ Radha Basu: Parents of special-needs kids applaud draft law . In: The Straits Times , August 15, 2007.
personal data
SURNAME Phua, Denise
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Phua, Denise Lay Peng; Pān, Lìpíng
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Singaporean politician and human rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH December 9, 1959