| Singapore | 30 April 2016 | Asia Samachar |
It would have been a treat to see Inderjit Singh, the longest-serving Sikh parliamentarian in Singapore, executing his bhangra moves.
The serial entrepreneur and former lawmaker obliged the request at a recent dinner gathering organised by the Singapore Sikh community to honour him for all the years that he had served the country and the community.
On 23 April 2016, he was feted at a dinner organised by the Young Sikh Association Singapore (YSA) along with Sikh Sewaks Singapore and Naam Ras Kirtan Darbar.
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“A true Sikh who embodied the Sikh values of sacrifice, service, perseverance, dedication and hard work, Inderjit entered politics in 1996 and went on to serve not only our nation but also the Sikh community until he stood down as a Member of Parliament last year,” said Surjit Singh Wasan, member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights and the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony, in his speech at the dinner, according to a report in Tabla.
“Many of his contributions were made silently or working with close groups of people, but whose impact the community as a whole has benefited from. Many of Inderjit’s contributions also happened out of sight of the public eye.”
Surjit, who was the immediate past chairman of the Sikh Advisory Board, worked closely with Inderjit on matters pertaining to the Sikh community in Singapore, the report added.
In July 2015, Inderjit, a four-term Member of Parliament, had announced that he would not seek re-election.
Inderjit, 55, had been a member of the Ang Mo Kio GRC, led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. For the next GE, there will be 29 electoral divisions, including 16 GRCs, with number of seats in the Parliament to be increased to 89 from 87.
Starting off as a product engineer for Texas Instruments in 1985, he went to become founder/CEOs for Solstar International (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Infiniti Solution Pte Ltd, and executive chairman at Tri Star Electronics Pte Ltd.
Recountiong on Inderjit’s various contribution, Surjit said among them included his leadership of the community in key milestone projects, playing the role of a mediator, building consensus within the community on contentious issues and helping the community achieve many of its aims, including getting government funding for the teaching of Punjabi as a second language along with the other minority non-Tamil Indian languages.
He also got the Sikh Welfare Council the status of the Institute of Public Character (IPC), the report added.
Surjit added that Inderjit had, through his upright conduct and positive visibility over the years, upheld the good name and image of the Sikh community.
In the same report, YSA president Malminderjit Singh pointed out that youth development was another area where Inderjit played a key role.
In his speech Malminderjit said the former MP’s ability to focus on the long-term has also seen him invest great time and energy in the youth of the community.
“Despite his busy schedule, he has always made himself available to youth organisations and initiatives and provided his counsel, no matter how trivial the concerns brought to his attention were. He never made any of us feel that our ideas were too small or inconsequential,” he was wouted in the report.
Inderjit was honoured with a plaque and portrait of himself at the appreciation dinner by two community patrons – Kartar Singh Thakral and Naranjan Singh Brahmpura.
[ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs in Southeast Asia and surrounding countries. We have a Facebook page, do give it a LIKE. Follow us on Twitter. Visit our website: www.asiasamachar.com]
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