P. S. Raman

Papanasam Setlur Raman (; 1919 or 1920 – 15 December 1976), commonly known as P. S. Raman, was an Indian-born Singaporean diplomat who served as the ambassador to Indonesia from 1968 to 1969, the high commissioner to Australia from 1969 to 1971, and the ambassador to the Soviet Union (present-day Russia) from 1971 to 1976.

A former educator, Raman also worked in broadcasting, and he served as the acting director of broadcasting from 1965 to 1968 at Radio Singapore. He was best known for advising then-prime minister Lee Kuan Yew not to edit out the clip of him crying after announcing the separation of Singapore from Malaysia.

Early life and career Raman was born in the British Raj in either 1919 or 1920 in Papanasam, Madras (present-day Chennai). He moved to Singapore in 1947, following the partition of India. He had originally planned to move from Singapore to Indonesia, but was unable to due to financial constraints. While living in India, Raman studied philosophy at Madras Christian College and worked as a Royal Air Force radar operator in Burma (present-day Myanmar) for the British during World War II. In Singapore, he worked as a teacher at Saint Andrew's School and a tutor.

In the 1950s, Raman became interested in broadcasting. He worked in Tamil and later English at Radio Singapore's Central Production Unit, receiving further training in broadcasting in Madras, India. In 1958, he was appointed as Indian programme supervisor in the broadcasting department. He later served as the acting director of broadcasting from 1965 to 1968. During his tenure, Raman advised then-prime minister Lee Kuan Yew to not edit out a clip of him crying during his announcement of the separation of Singapore from Malaysia. Lee stated in his memoir that "[Raman] strongly advised against it. The press, he said, was bound to report it, and if he edited it out, their descriptions of the scene would make it appear worse."

In 1969, Raman suffered a heart attack and received treatment at a hospital in Jakarta before being flown back to Singapore. In December 1969, he was appointed as high commissioner of Singapore to Australia.

Ambassador of Singapore to the Soviet Union (1971–1976) In June 1971, Raman was appointed the first ambassador of Singapore to the Soviet Union (present-day Russia).

Death On 15 December 1976, Raman collapsed in a subway station in Moscow and died of a heart attack. He was flown back to Singapore and had a service held at St. Paul's Church before being cremated at Mount Vernon Columbarium. Then-foreign minister S. Rajaratnam stated "[Raman] was one of our better ambassadors, a good man, hardworking and conscientious." He was survived by his wife Lim Eng Neo, a Peranakan Chinese, and his 3 children. One of his children, Bilahari Kausikan, became a diplomat like him.