SINGAPORE - He smuggled medical supplies across enemy lines during the Japanese Occupation, played a pivotal role in eliminating tuberculosis (TB) in Singapore and led the charge against smoking on the island.

Yet, Dr James Mark Jeyasebasingam Supramaniam, or JMJ for short, kept such a low profile that when author Naleeza Ebrahim was asked to write a book about him, she did not recognise his name.