Chua Kim Yeow

In 1961, Chua succeeded a British accountant as accountant-general, becoming the first local accountant-general. He served as accountant-general for 18 years. In 1979, he retired from civil service and became executive chairman of the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS Bank), leaving in 1986 and becoming executive chairman of POSB Bank, succeeding Tan Chok Kian before leaving in February 1993.^[4][5] In 1981, he became the head of the Securities Industry Council.^[6] Chua was also director of several companies such as Singapore Press Holdings and City Developments Limited.^[5]

Chua was also involved in launching the Singapore dollar, having served as deputy chairman on the Board of Commissioners of Currency from 1967 to 1979.^[6] In 1985, serving as chairman, Chua announced the dissolution of The Singapore Monitor.^[6] In 1990, Chua was appointed director of Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd.^[7] In December 1993, Chua was appointed chairman of Stock Exchange of Singapore.^[8]

In the 1993 presidential election, presidents were to be elected by citizens instead of by Parliament. To prevent an uncontested walkover, former Minister Goh Keng Swee and then-Finance Minister Richard Hu persuaded Chua to stand in the election against Ong Teng Cheong. Chua initially refused, stating that he considered Ong to be a "far superior candidate."^[10] However, he later decided to stand as a candidate, stating that it was "an act of public duty".^[11]

Chua submitted his Certification of Eligibility on 18 August.^[12] His nomination was proposed by Wee Kok Wah and seconded by Lam Fong Loi. Chua's assenters included Tan Boon Teik, Mah Kah Eng, Frances Wong Lai Yong, and V. T. Arasu.^[9] Chua was supported by opposition parties such as the Workers' Party and the Singapore Democratic Party as Ong had a background in the People's Action Party, the ruling party of the Government at that time.^[13]

Chua decided not to campaign at all, only having two public appearances on television.^[10][14] In his first television appearance, Chua stated that the reason he did not campaign was due to a lack of funds and that he wasn't politically affiliated.^[15] Due to his lack of campaigning, his supporters campaigned for him.^[16] One supporter made flyers out of The Straits Times pages and distributed them using fax.^[17] Supporters also made "Vote Chua" car stickers but had to stop due to rules that the stickers did not bear the Returning Officer stamp.^[18]

On 28 August, results for the presidential election were announced with Chua losing the election with 41.31% of the vote as compared to Ong's 58.69%. Chua stated that he was surprised by the number of votes he had received,^[19] with Ong stating about Chua that he was a "very credible candidate".^[20]

In 1994, Chua quit as director to Singapore Press Holdings,^[21] Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd,^[22] and Times Publishing Ltd.^[23] He was briefly re-elected director of Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd but only temporarily till a replacement was found.^[24] This was reportedly done to avoid conflict of interests between the companies and his role as chairman of Stock Exchange of Singapore.^[25] Chua also served as chairman of Stamford Tyres from 2000 to 2013.^[26]

In 1964, Chua was awarded the Public Administration Silver Medal and, in 1975, was awarded the Public Administration Gold Medal. He married his wife Seah Sok Meng, a school teacher, in 1954 and had four daughters.^[27][6] Seah died in 2012.^[2]

On 21 August 2016, Chua died at the Singapore General Hospital of pneumonia. He had been hospitalized there since early August. He was survived by four children, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.^[26]