Ho Kah Leong

Ho Kah Leong (born 21 September 1937) is a former Singaporean politician and was a member of the People's Action Party (PAP). He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jurong Single Member Constituency (SMC) from 1966 to 1997. After retirement from politics in December 1996, he became the principal of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) from 1997 to 2003, and Executive director of NAFA International Pte Ltd from 2003 to 2005.

Education Ho studied at Sin Sheng School and then Chung Cheng High School. He went on to study at NAFA from 1955 to 1956 before obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree from Nanyang University in 1963.

Career After graduation, Ho became a teacher and taught at Nan Chiau High School and Chung Hwa Girls' High School.

Political career In November 1966, after then Jurong SMC's MP, Chia Thye Poh of Barisan Sosialis (BS), resigned as part of BS boycott of parliament, a by-election was called and Ho, representing the PAP, took the seat after a walkover. At the age of 29 during the by-election, Ho was the youngest debuting MP-elect in post-independence at the time, since Ng Kah Ting, aged 23 during his debut in 1963.

Ho was also parliamentary secretary for the Ministry of Education and later served as senior parliamentary secretary for the Ministry of Communications and Information and the Ministry of the Environment.

Ho left politics in 1997, after 31 years of serving as MP for the Jurong SMC. At the time of retirement, Ho and then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew are the remaining members of the pre-independence Legislative Assembly; Ho's departure left with Lee as the last remaining member of said Legislature until his death in 2015.

Personal life Ho's wife, Kho Choo Eng, passed in 1996. He then remarried Grace Chan Lai Kiew in 1997. He has one son and three daughters.