“Singapore has, over the last 6 decades, become a shining diamond on how countries can develop. This bright spot has become dull over the last few years as competing ideas have been shut out and we have lacked a bold visioning of ideas.
Singapore’s political leadership and representation in Parliament needs a new push as it has become stale largely from the one party driven agenda. To make Singapore truly shine bright for the next 60 years and beyond, we have to re-ignite the imagination of Singaporeans to create, innovate and excel by aiming for visionary goals, like reducing the percentage of people who face economic challenges to under 1%, and ensuring that our seniors live out their retirement in dignity and honour.”
Posts in PSP:
Immediate past CEC member, 2021-2025
Education:
Bachelor of Science Computer Science, Oregon State University, Oregon, USA
Master of Science Electrical and Computer Engineering, Oregon State University, Oregon, USA
Graduate certificates in International Arbitration and AI Ethics and Governance
Occupation:
Advisor, Gen AI and AI Governance of an EduTech company
Family:
Married with two sons
Background:
Harish holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Oregon State University in the fields of Computer Science, and Electrical and Computer Engineering.
During his time at Oregon State, he was involved with the ARPAnet, which would later become the Internet, and dabbled in Artificial Intelligence.
Subsequently, he became part of the global Free and Open-Source Software movement. He co-founded the Singapore Linux Users’ Group in 1993, and initiated many cross-border collaborations to address the digital divide, striving to ensure that technological advancements benefit all communities.
In the mid-1990s to early 2000s, Harish founded three startups, all in the tech space. In 2003, he played a key role in establishing Red Hat in Singapore, growing it from a one-person operation to over 450 staff by 2023. For two decades, he helped drive the company’s mission of promoting enterprise-level open-source solutions across the region.
From 2007 to 2014, Harish also served as an adjunct professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), where he taught open technologies. He continues to push for the widespread adoption of open-source software, hardware, data, and policies, to bridge digital gaps within Singapore and around the world.
Harish currently works with three organizations as a consultant and advisor, focusing on open-source technologies, AI and robotics, and education in Generative AI.
As part of his continued civic engagement, Harish founded ElectionKakis.xyz, a Citizen Helping Citizens initiative aimed at educating Singaporeans on elections, voting, and how to participate as polling and counting agents. The platform remains active and is being updated in preparation for the upcoming General Election to promote fair and transparent electoral processes.
He previously stood for election under the Progress Singapore Party in 2020 in the Tanjong Pagar GRC team. He also served on the PSP’s Central Executive Committee from 2021–2025.