T Raja Kumar ’85 Reflects on his Illustrious Career & New Challenges Ahead

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His appointment as the first Singaporean President of the Financial Action Task Force marks another milestone in Mr T. Raja Kumar’s illustrious career. He shares the inspirations behind his decision to read law and to serve the public good. He also reflects on the challenges and triumphs in his unconventional career journey.

A New Role

When Mr T. Raja Kumar assumes office as the next President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in July 2022, he will become the first Singaporean to helm the global money-laundering and terrorist financing watchdog. He recognises that his appointment is seen as an achievement for Singapore and looks forward to leading the organisation.

“Singapore has been a member of the FATF since 1992 and this is an important milestone for us and a recognition of the work that we have put in over the years”, he explained.

Mr Raja Kumar is no stranger to the FATF having also served as Head of Singapore’s delegation to the FAFT since January 2015. He has played a crucial role in Singapore’s anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) efforts, and has driven the country to meet FAFT standards. In addition, he has been a member of the Steering Group that provides advice to the FATF President since July 2018.

Well-prepared for his new role, Mr Raja Kumar has a clear vision for what he hopes to achieve during his tenure. In deciding what his first concerns would be, he made it a point to meet every FATF member to engage them on his draft proposals so that he could gather feedback and refine his priorities.

“My vision is to make FAFT the recognised global standards setter for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing measures, and for the organisation to stand out in its effectiveness to ensure safety and security for nations and the world,” said Mr Raja Kumar.

Expounding on his vision for the organisation, Mr Raja Kumar emphasised that the key theme underpinning the Singapore Presidency will be to enhance effectiveness within the FATF and across its global networks. He believes that this renewed focus will facilitate FATF members to collectively achieve better outcomes in the organisation’s next round of mutual evaluations, which are peer-reviewed in-depth country reports.

“We will prioritise strengthening global efforts to enhance asset recovery, focusing on key and emerging money laundering predicates, such as cyber-enabled scams, ransomware and corruption,” said Mr Raja Kumar, asserting that the Singapore Presidency will continue to work closely with the FATF Global Network. He stressed that this will be complemented by the FATF’s ongoing core work to raise awareness and to identify and analyse money laundering and terrorist financing methods and trends.

“I aim to make FATF a more effective organisation that produces even stronger results and targets criminals and criminal organisations where it hurts – by going after their illicit fruits of crime and crippling them,” said Mr Raja Kumar. “This is going to be a high-order global challenge, one that I am looking forward to making a significant difference in!”

The FATF Presidency is just the latest challenge in his illustrious career story which he has described, in his own words, as unconventional and colourful.

From Law School to Law Enforcement

Mr Raja Kumar was inspired to read law by his late uncle, Reginald Vallipuram, who was a lawyer. It was through his uncle that he first got acquainted with the law.

“I remembered how he loved his job and relished honing his craft. His enthusiasm and passion for the law rubbed off on me,” said Mr Raja Kumar, who also recounted how he had spent some of his university holidays in his uncle’s law firm in Johor Bahru doing legal research and discussing cases. This ultimately led to him picking law over his other keen interest which was economics.

He secured a study award from the Public Service Commission (PSC) to read law at NUS and has fond memories of his time in law school.

“Law school equipped me with high-value skills that I have used extensively till today, in particular deep analytical thinking and advocacy skills,” he shared. “My best memories include presenting my case to Davinder Singh and VK Rajah during our Trial Advocacy module and securing an A grade from them.”

Besides studies, he recalled being immersed in Law Club activities from year one and enjoying the camaraderie and tight bonding across cohorts. He eventually served as the President of the Law Club and was a member of the Student Disciplinary Committee of the University. Other fond memories include a trip to Kuala Lumpur to co-interview then Lord President of the Malaysian Judiciary Azlan Shah for the NUS Law Review.

The friendships forged during his years in school have stood the test of time, and to this day, Mr Raja Kumar counts some of his NUS Law classmates among his closest and dearest friends.

Faced with the prospect of serving out his PSC bond with the Singapore Police Force (SPF), Mr Raja Kumar did not hesitate to follow in his father’s footsteps.

“My late father KT Rajah was a senior police officer in the 1950s till his retirement in 1980. He witnessed Singapore’s early turbulent times and played a part in the transformation of our country to the safe oasis it is today. I wanted to be part of an established institution fighting crime and keeping our people and our country safe,” said Mr Raja Kumar.

While his decision to take on a meaningful and mission-driven career with the police force felt natural to him, Mr Raja Kumar recalled how some of his friends were shocked at his decision to serve in the police force as they had very much pictured him becoming a litigation lawyer.

Colourful Career Journey

Fresh from the police academy, Mr Raja Kumar started his career as a junior investigator with the Jurong Police Division. He handled minor crime cases before taking on more complex cases such as criminal breach of trust. He described this early chapter of his career as a baptism of fire as he slogged through long hours with little sleep.

As he progressed within the division, he was given the opportunity to take on assignments with the Traffic Police which allowed him to do research and policy work such as conceptualising and implementing rear seat belt and child restraint laws. He was also featured regularly on television programmes like Talking Point and Feedback to educate the public on major road safety campaigns.

Some six years into his career and after fulfilling his PSC bond, he found himself at a crossroads. At that time, he received attractive offers to join the legal practice with senior lawyers whom he had known well. While he admitted to being tempted, he decided to continue pursuing the meaningful work of law enforcement. This led him to pursue a Master of Philosophy in Criminology and Law at Cambridge.

It was not long after returning to his law enforcement career that he began the transition into leadership roles. At the young age of 34, he became the Commander of Ang Mo Kio Police Division. Following that, he was posted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as Deputy Director of Joint Operations for three years before stepping up into the role of Director of the Police Intelligence Department.

It was during a subsequent posting to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) as Senior Deputy Director, that the government started a discussion on allowing casinos in Singapore. He remembered being asked by the Permanent Secretary if he would take up the responsibility of developing a regulatory framework for the up-and-coming casino industry.

“I immediately agreed and began a five-year journey to study the casino industry. I looked at the American and Australian models in particular to develop a uniquely Singapore version that is customised and suited to our context and needs,” said Mr Raja Kumar.

The development of the casino regulatory framework for Singapore counts as his most satisfying achievement thus far. Tasked with securing substantial economic benefits for Singapore whilst minimising the harms of casino gambling, he regarded the challenge as a tall order.

At the time, he called the task a trilemma of challenges. There was the need to balance economic interests against law-and-order concerns, such as preventing organised crime from taking root in the new industry, the obligation to guard against social ills like gaming addiction, and the foresight to mitigate all of the industry’s attendant consequences.

When the Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore was formed in April 2008, he was appointed the Chief Executive. During his tenure, he and his team achieved several milestones, which included getting the Casino Control Act passed, developing supporting regulations, setting up the Casino Regulation Authority (CRA), and licensing the casinos and their thousands of employees in time for the casinos’ opening.

“This was a pioneering experience, and I was blessed to have assembled an awesome team to work with me,” he said. “It was a tough but immensely satisfying sojourn and I’m greatly pleased that the core team that I assembled continues to anchor CRA till today. “

In June 2011, Mr. Rajah Kumar returned to the Singapore Police Force as the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Policy). While there, he drove the development and implementation of the new Community Policing model (COPS 2), including rolling out around 10,000 CCTVs covering every single HDB block in the country. He was also involved with the renewal of the Police Coast Guard and equipping the fleet with modern technologies and capabilities to be more effective and efficient.

Mr Raja Kumar later went on to serve as Deputy Secretary at MHA in 2015. In this role, he served as the Head of Delegation of Singapore’s FATF team and worked closely with INTERPOL and foreign governments to forge fruitful strategic partnerships to tackle safety and security challenges, including crime and terrorism. He was also concurrently leading the Home Team Academy for six years, driving international policies, partnerships and engagements.

When asked what he would consider the most trying moment of his career, Mr Raja Kumar pointed to the events of the Little India riot in December 2013 and its aftermath. He was then Acting Commissioner of Police and was the first police witness to testify before the Commission of Inquiry (COI), led by retired Supreme Court Judge G.P. Selvam, who. told him at the public hearing that the police response on that fateful night of the riot had been found wanting.

“It was a most challenging time, possibly the most severe single test of my career,” said Mr Raja Kumar. “This was a test of mettle. What helped me weather the storm was my strong faith and the support of my family, close friends and fellow officers.”

Despite the difficult circumstances, he was glad that the police force emerged stronger after the episode.

From graduating with a law degree to forging a formidable career in law enforcement, Mr Raja Kumar has indeed served in a wide range of roles throughout his career. His other career highlights include receiving the Public Administration Medal for Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards respectively in 2021, 2007 and 1996. He was conferred the French National Order of Merit (Knight) Award in 2017 in recognition of his contributions to building and sustaining close security cooperation and bilateral relations between Singapore and France.

“My career has seen me travel the globe to meet with law enforcement leaders, regulators and private sector professionals from different fields,” he said. “It has been rich in learning and exposure, and I have grown a strong global network along the way.”

On the secret to his success as a leader, he shared: “Love your people and look after them well. Without them, you can’t succeed. Nurture them and see them blossom. To discover potential and develop it. I find this to be deeply meaningful because you are transforming careers and lives!”

Some Advice

To aspiring law students and young alumni, Mr Raja Kumar shared some advice.

Having completed a basic course learning the Python programming language, he emphasised the importance of being digitally savvy. He cautioned that there is a need to be highly adaptable and to take advantage of new tools and capabilities to enhance work effectiveness and efficiency.

“Don’t be afraid to explore new avenues. Enjoy what you do and be passionate about your work. Keep learning and growing in your craft,” he said. “And as a professional, integrity is paramount. Without it, you are like chaff in the wind. With it, you are a pillar, and well respected for it.”