Pillai previously worked in the Singapore Police Force[1][2][3] before he became a practising lawyer in 1996. He was a partner in the Commercial Litigation practice at Rajah & Tann before joining the Government.
Pillai joined the People's Action Party (PAP) in 2001 and was the branch secretary to Ong Chit Chung, Member of Parliament for Bukit Batok. He was part of a five-member PAP team who contested and narrowly lost[4] to the Workers' Party in Aljunied GRC during the 2015 general election. In 2016, Pillai was once again fielded in as a PAP candidate for the Bukit Batok by-election. He won 61.2% of the votes, securing his position as a Member of Parliament for Bukit Batok SMC. He is also an advisor of Bukit Batok SMC Grassroots Organisation.
Early life and education
Pillai's father, P. K. Pillai, was a trade unionist detained during Operation Coldstore in 1963. The elder Pillai died in 2007.[5]
Pillai was called to the Singapore Bar in 1996.[5] In 2014, he defended Choo Wee Khiang, a former PAP Member of Parliament, against his corruption charges.[6]
Pillai was the head of commercial litigation at Rajah & Tann[2] at the time of the 2016 Bukit Batok by-election. He then stepped down from his post in an effort to better balance his work commitments and political responsibilities. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2020.[7]
Political career
A member of the PAP since 2001, Pillai served from 2007 to 2011 as the branch secretary at PAP's Bukit Batok branch.[5] Then, Pillai served as the branch chairman of PAP's Paya Lebar branch from May 2012 to 2016.[4][8]
On 12 March 2016, David Ong, the PAP Member of Parliament for Bukit Batok SMC, resigned, citing a "personal indiscretion".[9] When the PAP announced on 21 March 2016 that Pillai would be their representative for the 2016 Bukit Batok by-election, Pillai was appointed branch chairman of PAP's Bukit Batok branch.[4] Pillai was formally nominated as a candidate on 27 April 2016, the only other nominated candidate being Chee Soon Juan of the SDP.[9]
During his campaign, Pillai chose the Mandarin nickname of "Ah-Mu" (阿穆).[3] He pledged that if he won, he would upgrade infrastructure around Blocks 140 to 149 of the SMC, which would cost S$1.9 million.[10] Pillai later clarified that this potential S$1.9 million project is "part of" the S$23.6 million masterplan announced by David Ong during the 2015 general election.[11]
Pillai's campaign manifesto focused on three domains: jobs, social mobility and the elderly.[12][13][14][15][16]
Pillai defeated the Singapore Democratic Party's candidate Chee Soon Juan and secured 61.21% of the votes to win the Bukit Batok by-election on polling day.[17] He was sworn into parliament on 9 May 2016.
After the 2018 cabinet reshuffle, Pillai was appointed Chairperson of Home Affairs and Law Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) in the 14th Parliament.[18] He continued to serve as Chairman until 1 July 2024 where he relinquished the Chairmanship to Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim after taking office as Minister of State.
2020 general election
On 30 June 2020, after submitting his nomination papers for the election, Pillai claimed on social media that there was an online attack against his son, who was convicted of an offence.[19] It was alleged that it was a deliberate attack on his candidacy.[19] Chee, his election opponent from SDP, criticised the attack.[19]
During the campaign period, Pillai was criticised by Chee Soon Juan from the Singapore Democratic Party for the fulfilment, delays, and safety issues in his constituency projects.[20] Pillai was also publicly criticised by one of his constituents on Facebook for being unempathetic to her housing issues, suggesting to her that marriage was the solution to her issues.[21] Pillai still won the election with 54.80% of the valid votes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pillai was criticised by Chee for allowing a gathering of seniors to take place. Pillai attended the event in his position as the adviser to Bukit Batok's Grassroots Organisations. Pillai defended against the criticism by saying that precautions were in place for the dinner.[22]
On 13 May 2024, it was announced that Pillai was appointed to minister of state in the Ministry of Law and Ministry of Transport, an appointment that he would only take on from 1 July 2024. He resigned from Rajah & Tann on the effective date of the appointment. He is one of two backbenchers promoted to a full-time political office in that announcement, the other being Shawn Huang.[23]
Personal life
Pillai married his educator wife, N. Gowri, in 1996. The couple have twin sons, and two younger daughters.[5][24]
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency/seat he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; WP: The Workers' Party; PSP: Progress Singapore Party All of the leaders of the respective GRCs are in underline. MP(s) who is go on a leave of absence is in italic. NMPs do not belong to any party.
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; WP: The Workers' Party NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.
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