# P. S. Raman (diplomat)

Papanasam Setlur Raman (Tamil: பாபநாசம் செட்லூர் ராமன்; 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 and the Soviet Union (present-day Russia), from 1968 to 1969 and 1971 to 1976 respectively, and the High Commissioner to Australia from 1969 to 1971.
A former educator, Raman also worked as a broadcaster, serving as the acting director of Broadcasting from 1965 to 1968 at Radio Singapore. In broadcasting, he was best known for advising then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to not 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 1963, he became a member and later chairman of the Council of Adult Education. In the 1950s, Raman later got interested in broadcasting, working with Tamil and later English at Radio Singapore under the Central Production Unit, receiving further training in broadcasting in Madras, India.
He later served as the acting director of Broadcasting from 1965 to 1968. Whilst working as the acting director of Broadcasting, Raman advised then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to not edit out a clip of him crying following 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."

## Diplomat career
### Ambassador of Singapore to Indonesia (1968–1969) and High Commissioner of Singapore to Australia (1969–1971)

In 1968, Raman served as the first Ambassador of Singapore to Indonesia following tensions between Singapore and Indonesia after the MacDonald House bombing. After the hanging of the perpetrators Harun Thohir and Usman Haji Muhammad Ali, Raman and his staff worked from Hotel Indonesia following death threats from Indonesians and the sacking of the Singapore Embassy in Indonesia.
In 1969, Raman suffered from a heart attack and went to a hospital in Jakarta before being flown back to Singapore for treatment. 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 served as the first Ambassador of Singapore to the Soviet Union. Whilst serving as Ambassador to the Soviet Union, he was also appointed as Ambassador of Singapore to Finland, Poland, Bulgaria, and Hungary.

## 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 of Malay ancestry, and his 3 children. One of his children, Bilahari Kausikan, became a diplomat like him.