Peck Leng was born on 17 September 1911 under the name Chua Seng Kim.[1][2] She grew up in a middle class Peranakan Chinese family.[3] After her mother died, when she was three years old, Peck Leng was raised by her aunt.[2] Peck Leng went first to the Singapore Chinese Girls' School and then to Raffles Girls' School.[2] She started teaching in 1930, and was active in the Singapore Teachers' Union.[2][3]
Peck Leng's experiences during World War II changed her outlook in life and made her more confident.[2] She went on to join the Singapore Council of Women led by Shirin Fozdar in 1952.[3] In 1954, she was made the principal of the Cantonment School.[3] Also in 1954, she created the Siglap Girls' Club, to help underprivileged girls in Singapore.[4] In 1957, she expanded the mission of the club and renamed the group the Singapore Women's Association.[3] She would lead the group until 1991.[3]
Peck Leng was voted into Parliament as a Singapore People's Alliance (SPA) candidate for Mountbatten in 1959.[3] She was the only opposition MP woman in Parliament at the time.[5] Peck Leng was able to work with members of the other party, the People's Action Party (PAP), work towards gender equality.[5] She was involved with helping to pass the Women's Charter, and the 1962 provision for equal pay for equal work in the civil service sector.[2] She lost her contest for Joo Chiat in 1963 and retired from politics in 1965.[3]
After politics, she focused on charity work.[3] Peck Leng promoted the "Miss Singapore International" beauty pageant shows for charity and to encourage women to help the less fortunate.[4] In 1977, she was given a plaque of Life Patronage of the International Variety Club for raising the most charity funds.[4] The Ministry of Social Affairs awarded her a Certificate of Appreciation for "valuable services rendered to others."[4]
Peck Leng died on 13 April 2007 in her home in Keppel Bay.[2]
