H. J. C. Kulasingha

Hollupatherage James Caldera Kulasingha (4 January 1900 – 8 December 1982) was a politician and merchant who served as the chairman of the Pasir Panjang Rural District Committee and as a member of the Singapore Rural Board from 1949 to 1959. A member of the Progressive Party, he was elected to the Legislative Council of Singapore in 1951 representing the constituency of Bukit Timah. He contested the Southern Islands Constituency seat in the 1955 Singaporean general election as a member of the Progressive Party, losing the election by a narrow margin. After the Progressive Party's defeat in the election, it merged with the Democratic Party to form the Liberal Socialist Party and Kulasingha was elected its vice-chairman. However, he and over a hundred other members left the party shortly before the 1959 Singaporean general election. He then unsuccessfully contested the Pasir Panjang Constituency in the election as an independent. Nicknamed the "King of Southern Islands", Kulasingha was known for his contributions to the region, for which he was conferred the Order of the British Empire in 1955.