Dhanabalan SuppiahDUT (Tamil: சு. தனபாலன்; born 8 August 1937),[3] also known as S. Dhanabalan, is a Singaporean former politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1980 and 1988. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Kallang SMC between 1976 and 1991, and the Kuo Chuan ward of Toa Payoh GRC between 1991 and 1996.
Dhanabalan was born in 1937 to Suppiah Arumugam, a clerk at a naval base and Gunaretnam Suppiah. He was the third child and the eldest son in a family of three girls and three boys.
He subsequently left the Civil Service and joined DBS as a vice-president between 1968 and 1970. He was later promoted to the position executive vice-president and continue to serve between 1970 and 1978.[4]
During the 1980 Singaporean general election's rallies, Dhanabalan disparaged opposition politician Chiam See Tong on his professional competence.[5] He was subsequently sued by Chiam for defamation and he issued a public apology over it.[5]
Dhanabalan was subsequently promoted to a Cabinet Minister and served in various portfolios, including Foreign Affairs, Culture, Community Development, National Development and Trade and Industry.[4]
When Lee Kuan Yew was preparing for his successor, he identified a handful of ministers he considered suitable for the job, including Tony Tan, Ong Teng Cheong, Goh Chok Tong and Dhanabalan.
In his public account of why he chose them and what he felt were their strengths and weaknesses, Lee said his preferred successor was Tony Tan, who went on to become the 7th President of the Republic of Singapore. He felt that while the other three were all of prime ministerial calibre, each had a particular weakness: Goh was too stiff, lacking eloquence in public speaking, and Ong was too closely aligned with the Chinese-speaking masses, lacking appeal to other communities. In the case of Dhanabalan, Lee felt the 76% ethnic Chinese electorate was not yet ready for a prime minister of Indian ethnicity. Lee left the ultimate decision to the second generation ministers themselves, who went on to choose Goh.
Chairman, YMCA Advisory Council, YMCA of Singapore - 2010-2018[9]
Personal life
Dhanabalan is a devout Christian (Brethren) and attends a small church in Bukit Panjang – Bukit Panjang Gospel Chapel.[10] He is married to Christine Tan Khoon Hiap, a Chinese Singaporean of Hokkien ancestry and they have one son, Ramesh Dhanabalan, and one daughter, Shandini Dhanabalan.[7]
In an interview with The Straits Times in 1984 when he was the Culture Minister, he admits that he watched "very few TV programmes" despite having a TV in his bedroom and the only programme he watched regularly was the news. However, he also prefer to watch "relaxing comedy shows and serious documentaries".[11]