He was a radical for nearly half a century. Since after his release from Changi prison in November 1963, as he was banned from politics, he concentrated mostly on his legal practice for nearly a quarter century. A stroke rendered him speechless for a few years before mother earth claimed his ashes. He lived a full and exciting life. James lived and studied in the elite Johore English College .He was the eldest of five boys & five girls. The father was a senior Govt. officer and mother was a devout catholic housewife. James could speak Malayalam, Malay, Tamil & Hindi. The influences that radicalized him were the Indian Independence movement.During the war, he joined the Indian National Army to fight the British, (in Burmah), military wing of the Indian National Congress Party led by Nethaji Subhas Chandra Bose, because he believed that the Indians should govern themselves.. After he escaped from thr Burmese jungle, he toured India for 2 years. (1) He was influenced by the Indian Communist Party.
On his return to Malaya he joined the Raffles College in 1947. He found some of his fellow students were equally radicalized by the Japanese occupation, the British Military Administration and more importantly, the successful liberation movements that were sweeping across Asia, particularly, China, India, Indonesia and Philippines, Vietnam & others. A small group of idealist firebrands were members of the Anti-British League, (2) an underground clandestine group which provided a fertile ground for the recruitment of carders for the Malayan Communist Party. They had a definite political agenda: to create a truly united Malayan nation, a Malayan society and culture. They also championed the cause the cause of the University and not only its as well as the students’
In 1949, John Eber, former Malayan Democratic Union (dissolved in June 1948), vice chairman in a talk in 1949 "future trends in Malaya" declared that Malay as a living language, could develop and act as an effective medium of communication in the world of commerce, science and technology. (3) James Puthucheary was more specific. Writing in the medical college union magazine 1949-50, he explained as the non-Malays formed an economically important community "were here to stay and could not be absorbed by the Malay community. The Malays should therefore accept the non-Malays as an integral part of the nation. The concept of the Malay nation...is essentially racial and would result in suppressing the non-Malays" who have contributed extensively to the wealth and progress of the country. He also advised the non-Malays should stop drawing political and cultural inspiration from their countries of origin and regarding Malaya as an economic cow for investment and remittances. They should cut off all their overseas ties and merge themselves into the emerging Malayan nation.The students in the University of Malaya were divided on ideological lines than on race.
This nationalistic political agenda was formulated by their former MDU leaders such as P.V Sharma, Eu Chooi Yip, Joseph K.M Tan, Lim Chan Yong and Lim Kean Chye. Those formulations were enthusiastically accepted by James and his supporters --- Abdullah Majid, Wan Sulaiman (both former editors of Malayan undergrad), Aminuddin Baki, President, the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students, Syed Mahadza, a student councillor of UMSU and others such as George, his brother, Sidney Woodhull, Jamit Singh, Beda Lim, Low Wah Lian, J.T Christie. To underscore their commitment, the Raffles College Debating Society organized a debate entitled " The Inter Marriage Between The Different Races of Malaya Are Essential In Order To Produce True Malayans". James, Christie and Hedwig Aroozoo (Anuar) spoke fervently but lost the motion to the East West Society by 77 to 94 votes. How many votes the same motion would attain in a crowd of 500 participants now, I wonder.
The radicals in the Medical College as well as the Raffles College, strategically did not try to capture the top leadership of the student bodies but were successful in controlling their propaganda organs- the UNDEGRAD, the MALAYAN ORCHID medical students mouth-piece, the COULDRON, the Debating Union's magazine & the official organ of the Medial College Union magazine.
These students lambasted the European academics, the University authorities for their double standards. They also highlighted the undesirable features of campus life in the Undergrad "Fear stalks those who express opinions which do not find favour in the influential quarters. Apprehensions of this nature are very real and are no figment's imagination" (The undergrad, 18/1/1950). The left-wing students campaigned for better hostel conditions, University autonomy, student autonomy, freedom of expression, action, political clubs and even wanted a student political party called Malayan Students Party, as well as student seats in the Student Welfare Board. The authorities threw out this demand.
The radical student leaders & the University found themselves united on one issue... to ban "ragging" which the general body of students overwhelmingly voted for it at the general meeting on 9th May. 1950. The pro-ragging faction was led by two conservative medical students-K.Kanagaratnam & Chee Phui Hung. The President, Geoffrey Leembruggen & Gen.Secretary James Puthucheary opposed the motion & staged a walk-out. The meeting then passed a vote of no confidence. Another debacle that annihilated the radicals was when the ABL group overplayed their hands by condemning, in a leaflet, the salary scales & the service benefits between the European & the Asian civil servants. The Special Branch (now, the ISD) pounced on the group and detained them in Jan.1951. The leaders, James Puthucheary, Abdullah Majid, Lim Chan Yong, Joseph Tan had the first taste of prison life.
After his release a year later, James Puthucheary rejoined the University where there was a change of Vice Chancellor: Sir Sidney Caine. James managed to convince Sidney Caine that it would be politically expedient to allow the students to set up Political Clubs so that they would not be tempted to join the communists, as has happened to him (interview with James by Dr. Yeo Kim Wah 12th March 1991) James along with Poh Soo Kai, Sidney Woodhull, Wong Gungwu, M.K. Rajkumar, Philomen Oorjitham, Arud Sodhy, Thomas Varkey and others formed the University Social Club and the Pan-Malayan Students Federation in early 1953. Though there was bitter rivalry between the Medical and the Arts grads on the field and on the stage at forums & debates but when it came to national issues like Malayan Nationalism, jobs & service conditions for local graduates, the medicals joined the arts grads. They too wanted to have a say on the policies of the University education. The University Ordinance provided for two graduate representatives from the Guild of Graduates. The Medical college alumni & the Stamford Club wanted more seats on the University Council. In order to speak in one voice both groups managed, after 5 years of talking, to form the University of Malaya Society in July, 1954, with K.M. Byrne as president, Dr. Tay Teck Eng, vice president, Dr. Toh Chin Chye, secretary, Dr. Goh Keng Swee, treasurer, Yong Nyuk Lin, James Puthucheary. Hedwig Anuar, Prof. Kiang Ai Kim, Mrs. Minnie Knight & Philip Liau.
During a Dialogue Session of the Founder Members of the NUS Society in preparation for the book, NUSS Story (The Heart is Where It Is) in April 1992, Dr. Toh Chin Chye disagreed with James on the political aim for the formation of the Society. James said, "The Society was a polyglot, but the core of it was PAP. In fact the Society was set up as the core of the Party that was going to be formed". Harry Chan, another founder member, added "There was a political agenda readymade....in the beginning, the Society was politically driven.... It changed its character naturally when Paul Abisheganaden took over it became culturally driven.” The NUS Society members can be proud of the fact that its Founder Members also became the founder members of PAP and its top leadership in the first fully elected PAP Govt: Dr. Goh Keng Swee, Finance Minister: Dr. Toh Chin Chye, Dy.Prime Minister: K.M. Byrne, Minister for Labour & Law: Yong Nyuk Lin, Education Minister.
James Puthucheary was appointed manager Singapore Industrial Promotion Board in June 1959 by Dr. Goh Keng Swee. Along with Albert Lim Shee Peng an honours economics graduate, and others, the Industrial Promotion Board laid a foundation for the development of Jurong as an Industrial estate. Factories, roads, utilities and other amenities where provided to attract foreign investors by giving pioneer status ----- tax holidays and other financial incentives. The Industrial Promotion was the forerunner to the present Economic Development Board. James was also appointed as the first chairman of the CPF Board.
In early 1954, the eight-member, editorial board of the Journal of the University Socialist Club, FAJAR, was arrested by the police for sedition for an article entitled "Aggression In Asia" --- condemned the formation of anti-China, anti-communist, anti-liberation movement of Asia, the treaty called SEATO by the US, Britain, Australia, New-Zealand & Pakistan.
The eight students were: Poh Soo Kai, James Puthucheary, Kwa Boo Sun, M.K. Raj Kumar, Lam Khuan Kit, P. Arud Sodhy, Thomas Varkey & Edwin Thumboo. Sir Sidney Caine, the Vice Chancellor, bailed out the students. The Chancellor of the University & the Commissioner General for South East Asia, Malcolm MacDonald, was unhappy over the arrest and advised the Governor Sir John Nicoll to release the students but Nicoll informed the Colonial office that it would be unwise to do so. In the end the students were acquitted by Justice F.A. Chua and they were defended by the Queen's Counsel, D.N. Pritt & assisted by Lee Kuan Yew.
Soon after the case, James having graduated in Economics, (with honours) worked hard for the formation of the PAP in Nov.1954. He then joined Lim Chin Siong and Fong Swee Suan in the Trade Union Movement along with Jamit Singh & Sidney Woodhull. After his secopnd arrest in 1956 & during his long incarceration in Changi Prison, he wrote his major work, apart from writing some poetry, economics called: The Ownership & Control of the Malayan Economy", mainly with the assistance of his fiancée, Mavis Scharnivel. It detailed the information about who controlled the Malayan economy; exploded the myth that the Chinese commercial interests dominated the Malayan economy to the detriment of the Malay Rayaat. The myth was a political ploy invented by the British & propagated by the British media so that they could divide & rule the Malayan people ; it was the first serious economic study of its kind undertaken by a Malayan National. The book was used by the University for the First Year students in the early sixties.
In the split that took place in 1961, within the PAP which led to the formation of the Barisan Sosialis, James, though too busy with his two jobs & law studies was persuaded by Lim Chin Siong, Dr. Poh Soo Kai, S. Woodhull & Dr. Lim Hock Siew to become an advisor to the Party. Thus he lost his two jobs in the PAP Govt. During the Operation "Cold Store", in Feb' 1963 both James and his younger brother Dominic, S.Woodhull, Jamit Singh Albert Lim Shee Peng were also arrested , by the PAP Govt., along with 120 others for opposing the merger terms with Malaysia. Being Malaysians, they were sent to KL and then released in Nov. 1963.Though they were banned from participating in politics, James being passionate on national issues, contributed immensely to the urgent tasks of building a united Malaysian nation. He also actively participated in the National Unity Council and the National Economic Council set up by Tun Razak after the May 1969 riot. By then, being a law graduate from the University of Singapore in Law, decided to go into private practice, He became, I believe, disillusioned with the world communist movement in general and in particular the policies of the MCP. It was painful for him to accept the accesses of Stalin, Mao and the ideological split in the Indian Communist Party.
Both Singapore and Malaysian peoples lost the services of a brilliant mind! His former Prof.. of Economics, and later Vice Chancellor, Prof. T. Silcock described him as "A person of formidable intelligence, corrosive and most enjoyable sense of humour, and a great personal charm". His fellow students remember him as "very bright" student who had the courage to question or even challenge their lecturers' views in class.
Footnote: Some facts were taken from the following:
a) The NUSS story in 1994
b) Dr. Yeo Kim Wah's Article "Student Politics in the University of Malaya, 1949-1951" Sept, 1991 in the Journal of South East Asia Studies.
(This article appeared in The New Straits Times on 29-4-2000. At the condolence meeting held in K.L. on 6-5-2000, Dr Mahathir dropped in and said a few words about James)
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