Notable for her work in advancing the status and condition of women in Singapore, Mrs. Seow Peck Leng was also among the first group of women to enter politics in Singapore's first General Election in 1959. Her efforts that benefited women included the founding of the Singapore Women’s Association as well as a programme she started after the fateful Bukit Ho Swee fire in 1961 to encourage illiterate women to put their savings in a bank account for safekeeping rather than in their homes. This ornamental brooch, or "kerongsang"--worn with the traditional "kebaya" --belongs to a set of jewellery Mrs. Seow donated to the Museum.
