Jumabhoy Mohamed Jumabhoy (9 September 1918 – 14 July 2012), commonly known as J. M. Jumabhoy, was an Indian-born Singaporean politician and businessman who served as the minister for commerce and industry from 1956 to 1959 in the first Legislative Assembly of Singapore. A former member of the Labour Front (LF), he served as the member of the Legislative Assembly representing Stamford Constituency from 1955 to 1959.
Born in India under British rule, he travelled to Singapore in 1928, where he studied at Raffles Institution and the YMCA School of Commerce. During World War II, Jumabhoy worked as an air raid warden in Katong. He was a member of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce (SICC) and had served as its vice-president prior to joining politics. Jumabhoy made his political debut at the 1950 Municipal Commission election and won City Ward as an independent candidate. He was subsequently elected unopposed at the 1953 City Council election. He contested for Stamford Constituency in the 1955 general election as an LF candidate, being successfully elected. Following the LF's minor majority, Jumabhoy was appointed as assistant minister for commerce and industry in chief minister David Marshall's cabinet from 1955 to 1956, before taking over the role of minister for commerce and industry from 1956 onwards.
He maintained his portfolio in Lim Yew Hock's cabinet, when Lim succeeded Marshall as chief minister. Jumabhoy later joined the newly created Singapore People's Alliance (SPA) in 1958, which was led by Lim. He unsuccessfully contested for Stamford Constituency as an SPA candidate at the 1959 general election, being defeated by the People's Action Party's Fung Yin Ching. He subsequently retired from politics and went on to serve as the president of the SICC from 1978 to 1982 and the chairman of the Working Group on Trade of the ASEAN–Chambers of Commerce and Industry from 1979 to 1981. Jumabhoy retired in the early 1990s and died in 2012.
Early life and career Jumabhoy was born on 9 September 1918 in Bombay, India, which was then-under British rule. He was the son of businessman Mohamed Jumabhoy. Mohamed was born in India and moved to Singapore in 1915, later serving as the president of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce (SICC) in 1936. He died in 1940. Jumabhoy's uncle was Rajabali Jumabhoy, a businessman who founded the SICC.
Jumabhoy travelled to Singapore in 1928, which was then a part of the Straits Settlements. In Singapore, he lived in a middle-class area at Tanjong Katong Road, and was educated at Gan Eng Seng School and Raffles Institution. He then attended the YMCA School of Commerce. Before and during World War II, he worked as an air raid warden and was stationed at a base in Katong. He remained in Singapore during the Japanese occupation, where he made money reselling second-hand bicycles.
Prior to entering politics, he was a member of the SICC, initially serving as its honorary secretary, then as its vice-president, and then as a committee member; for the latter, Jumabhoy had been elected to the SICC's management committee in April 1950. He had also travelled extensively in the Middle East, to such places as Egypt, Iraq, and Syria.
City Council
1950 Municipal Commission election In October 1950, Jumabhoy announced his intentions to contest in the 1950 Municipal Commission election for City Ward. However, later during the election, he stated that he planned to withdraw. He went to the Municipal Council Chamber to submit his letter of withdrawal, but was interrupted by another independent candidate – Hasan Ali Jivabhai – attempting to submit his papers to run for the election. Due to this interruption, Jumabhoy was not allowed to withdraw as it was past 1 p.m., the closing time for nominations; Jivabhai was unsuccessful as he was also considered late.
Therefore, although initially reluctant, Jumabhoy decided to contest "in-spite of himself". His campaign symbol was a candle, and he contested in City Ward as an independent against the Labour Party's (LP) M. A. Majid, independent Mak Pak Shee, and independent Jamnades J. Metha. On 28 November, he held a rally at Victoria Memorial Hall, where he gave his strengths as his proficiency in English and having a local perspective, having lived in Singapore for many years. At that rally, Jumabhoy also defended the trade industry and explained his independent stance, as he "did not believe in party politics for civic works". In December, the results were released, with Jumabhoy winning City Ward with 732 votes against Metha's 710, Mak's 259, and Majid's 248.
First term (1950–1953) As a member of the Municipal Commission, Jumabhoy was appointed to its Finance and General Purposes Committee. In July 1951, temporary sluice gates were tested at drains connecting to the Singapore River, at the suggestion of Jumabhoy. This was to investigate its effectiveness in reducing flooding in the city area. In September, the Municipal Commission was renamed to the City Council, following Singapore being granted city status via royal charter. Municipal commissioners were subsequently known as city councillors. To celebrate the occasion, Jumabhoy was among several councillors who were a part of the City Day Celebrations Committee, and, alongside fellow councillor M. P. D. Nair, encouraged the Indian community to partake in such celebrations.
In February 1952, permanent sluice gates were installed at Telok Ayer, though they only proved to be partially effective in preventing flooding. The following month, Jumabhoy suggested importing pumps from Britain to help with the flooding issue and stated that it was still too early to determine the Telok Ayer sluice gates' effectiveness. In July, Jumabhoy was a part of a nine-member walkout that protested an amendment to the Labour Ordinance by councillor A. P. Rajah. In his amendment, Rajah stated that the council should be made up of 18 elected through elections, with six additional members elected amongst the councillors. Jumabhoy criticised this as beneficial for the ruling party, as they would be able to elect six more members to the council and strengthen their majority. Rajah's motion was later passed.
In April 1953, he called for more housing to be built by the government. He suggested that houses costing to build could be rented out for to help poorer individuals afford housing. Jumabhoy further criticised a motion passed by the Legislative Council that subsidised housing for the poor as "vague". In May, the Queen Elizabeth Walk was opened by the Esplanade, which was created at the suggestion of Jumabhoy back in 1951. In August, Jumabhoy recommended to the government to replace attap houses roofs' with asbestos sheets to reduce the risk of fire spreading through kampongs. In September, he further stated that nine overcrowded kampongs were fire risks.
1953 City Council election Ahead of the 1953 City Council election, Jumabhoy confirmed in October that he would contest in the next election. That same month, the Singapore Standard stated that he may be returned unopposed if the Progressive Party (PP) were unable to find a candidate to contest against him in the City Ward. On 5 November, Nomination Day, Jumabhoy was elected unopposed as an independent candidate for the City Ward. He received congratulations and told The Straits Times that "This shows my work in Council has been appreciated. I promise to work even harder than I have in the past."
Second term (1953–1956) In 1954, as a member of the council's Estate and Fire Brigade Committee, Jumabhoy announced the construction of a new fire station costing around half a million. In December 1955, since becoming an assistant minister in the Legislative Assembly, Jumabhoy was criticised for neglecting his role as city councillor. He had missed eighteen meetings since his appointment, with calls from some councillors that assembly members should not be able to serve concurrently on both platforms. Jumabhoy defended himself, stating that "we sometimes have to miss some committee meetings" but that "we keep in touch with Council matters by working at home after office". He eventually resigned from the council in March 1956 upon his appointment as minister for commerce and industry.
Legislative Assembly
1955 general election Prior to the 1955 general election, Jumabhoy was announced as a Labour Front (LF) candidate in October 1954, though the constituency he would contest in had not been decided yet; he previously announced his candidacy, though as an independent. He explained his circumstances to joining the LF in a 1983 interview, where he said he did not believe they were a good party, instead that they had good personalities. He had met with LF members David Marshall, Lim Yew Hock, and S. Jaganathan, and joined soon after, though he "had [his] doubts, whether [he] was doing the right thing or not". In the Singapore Standard, Jumabhoy described the LF as a "properly organised political organisation" and that it was time for him to "identify myself with the working class people in the Colony."
At the 1955 general election, he contested in Stamford Constituency against the PP's Nazir Mallal, the Democratic Party's Ng Sen Choy, and independent candidate T. A. Simon. During the campaign period, Jumabhoy held a rally that had appearances from fellow LF members Marshall and Lee Choon Eng. He upheld the LF's four-year plan for Singapore and brought up his experience as a city councillor. Jumabhoy went on to win Stamford Constituency with 2,691 votes, against Simon's 1,281, Nazir's 1,153, and Ng's 1,121.
Assistant Minister for Commerce and Industry (1955–1956) Following the LF's minor majority of ten seats in the Legislative Assembly, LF leader Marshall was named as the first chief minister. In April 1955, Marshall announced his cabinet, with Jumabhoy appointed as the assistant minister for commerce and industry. He was to assist Marshall, who held the roles of chief minister and minister for commerce and industry concurrently. Prior speculation was that Jumabhoy would be the minister for communications and works.
In September, he opened the LF's new branch at Bencoolen Street in his constituency, where he announced that the LF were planning to build for four additional branches soon. In October, Jumabhoy headed a 17-member delegation to Indonesia that aimed to discuss a further economic mission that would be sent in December; talks relating to trade between the countries were originally held with Indonesian officials in July. Upon his return, Jumabhoy stated that Indonesia would soon send their own delegation to Singapore. In November, he left on a 14-day visit to India with chief minister Marshall. They discussed improving trade relations between the countries with Indian commerce minister G. Karmarkar.
They returned in December, and he defended some of Marshall's speeches he made while in India, stating that "People in Singapore do not appreciate what he has achieved or the goodwill he obtained from Mr. Nehru for our cause." After Marshall made a trip to London in December to discuss a 1956 constitutional conference date with the British, they also made other concessions, which included making his portfolio of chief minister independent. This left the post of minister of commerce and industry vacant, with Jumabhoy succeeding Marshall on 7 March 1956.
Minister for Commerce and Industry (1956–1959)