Chua was unsuccessful, only garnering 41.31% of the vote as compared to Ong Teng Cheong's 58.69%, who became the fifth president.

[1] He was a top student in Gan Eng Seng School and attended Raffles Institution for two years before ending his studies due to the Japanese occupation.

[2] In 1947, Chua passed the London Matriculation External Examination and later the UK Association of Certified Accountants in 1953.

[5] Chua was also involved in launching the Singapore dollar, having served as deputy chairman on the Board of Commissioners of Currency from 1967 to 1979.

Chua's assenters included Tan Boon Teik, Mah Kah Eng, Frances Wong Lai Yong, and V. T.

[10][14] In his first television appearance, Chua stated that the reason he did not campaign was due to a lack of funds and that he wasn't politically affiliated.

[20] In 1994, Chua quit as director to Singapore Press Holdings,[21] Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd,[22] and Times Publishing Ltd.[23] He was briefly re-elected director of Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd but only temporarily till a replacement was found.

[24] This was reportedly done to avoid conflict of interests between the companies and his role as chairman of Stock Exchange of Singapore.