Masagos Zulkifli

Masagos Zulkifli bin Masagos Mohamad (Jawi: ماسڬوس ذوالكفل; born 1963)[1] is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health since 2020, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he serves as the Vice Chairman in the party Central Executive Committee (CEC) since 2018 and had been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Tampines West division of Tampines GRC since 2006.

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Masagos Mohamad is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Masagos Zulkifli.
The Honourable
Masagos Zulkifli
ماسڬوس ذوالكفل
Masagos in 2021
Vice-Chairman of the People's Action Party
Assumed office
23 November 2018
Secretary-GeneralLee Hsien Loong
ChairmanGan Kim Yong
(2018–2022)
Heng Swee Keat
(since 2022)
Minister for Social and Family Development
Assumed office
27 July 2020
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byDesmond Lee
Second Minister for Health
Assumed office
27 July 2020
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterGan Kim Yong
Ong Ye Kung
Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs
Assumed office
1 May 2018
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byYaacob Ibrahim
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources
In office
1 October 2015 – 26 July 2020
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byVivian Balakrishnan
Succeeded byGrace Fu
(as Minister for Sustainability and Environment)
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office
In office
9 April 2015 – 30 September 2015
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Succeeded byJosephine Teo
Desmond Lee
Second Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office
9 April 2015 – 30 September 2015
Serving with Grace Fu
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterK Shanmugam
Succeeded byJosephine Teo
Second Minister for Home Affairs
In office
9 April 2015 – 30 September 2015
Serving with S. Iswaran
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
MinisterTeo Chee Hean
Preceded byK. Shanmugam
Succeeded byDesmond Lee
Member of Parliament
for Tampines GRC
(Tampines West)
Assumed office
6 May 2006
Preceded byYatiman Yusof
Majority46,742 (32.82%)
Personal details
Born1963[1]
Colony of Singapore
Political partyPeople's Action Party
Alma materNanyang Technological University
National University of Singapore
University of Southern California

Before joining politics, Masagos was an electrical engineer and had held key positions in Singtel. He made his debut in the political scene after winning the 2006 general election as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in Tampines GRC. Since then, he has won three subsequent elections and has held various positions in the ministries of Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Health. On 9 April 2015, Masagos was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. His appointment marked the first time in Singaporean history when there were two Malay ministers in the Cabinet. On 1 October 2015, Masagos took up the portfolio of Minister for Environment and Water Resources.

Background

Masagos was educated at Bukit Panjang Government High School and National Junior College before he went to Nanyang Technological University, where he graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Honours), majoring in electrical and electronic engineering. In 1994, he obtained a Master of Science in electrical engineering from the National University of Singapore. His first job was with Singtel in 1988. In 1995, he completed a Master of Business Administration at the University of Southern California on a postgraduate scholarship awarded by Singtel. He was later appointed Chief Executive Officer of SingTel Global Offices.[2]

Political career

Masagos made his debut in politics in the 2006 general election when he contested as part of a five-member People's Action Party team in Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC).[3] The PAP team won about 68% of the vote, and Masagos became a Member of Parliament representing the Tampines West ward of Tampines GRC. He was subsequently appointed Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education on 2 June 2006, and concurrently Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs on 1 April 2008. On 1 November 2010, he was promoted to Minister of State in these two ministries.[2]

Masagos (back, second from left), then Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education, at a working lunch hosted by United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in The Pentagon on 17 October 2006. With him are (left to right) Singapore Embassy Defence Attaché Brigadier-General Richard Keng Yong Lim, Singapore Ambassador to the United States Chan Heng Chee, and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

Masagos was re-elected in Tampines GRC in the 2011 general election. On 21 May 2011, he was appointed Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs. On 1 August 2012, he was promoted to Senior Minister of State in these two ministries.[2]

On 9 April 2015, Masagos was promoted to the rank of full Minister but did not have a portfolio yet, so he was a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. This was the first time in Singaporean history when there were two Malay ministers in the Cabinet, the other being Yaacob Ibrahim. Masagos was also promoted to Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, and was put in charge of leading the PAP team in Tampines GRC.[4] On the same day, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Masagos's elevation to full Minister reflected the "progress of the Malay community" in Singapore.[5] Masagos also said that he was honoured to have been appointed and that "[h]aving two Malay full ministers in the Cabinet for the first time in our nation's history reflects the [Government's] trust and recognition of the good progress made by the Malay-Muslim community".[6]

On 1 October 2015, Masagos took up the portfolio of Minister for Environment and Water Resources.[7] From 1 May 2018, he was given an additional appointment as Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, taking over from Yaacob Ibrahim. On 27 July 2020, he changed his portfolio to Minister for Social and Family Development and took up an additional portfolio as Second Minister for Health, while concurrently holding the position of Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.[8] From July 2023, Masagos took over Cheng Li Hui’s formal duties at Tampines GRC after her resignation following an extramarital affair.

References
  1. "PARL | MP". www.parliament.gov.sg.
  2. Mr MASAGOS Zulkifli, Prime Minister's Office (Singapore), 10 April 2015, archived from the original on 10 April 2015.
  3. Current MPs, Channel NewsAsia, archived from the original on 1 April 2015, retrieved 11 April 2015.
  4. Press Statement from the Prime Minister on Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments, Prime Minister's Office, 8 April 2015, archived from the original on 10 April 2015; Fiona Chan (9 April 2015), "Masagos promoted to full minister in Cabinet changes: Chun Sing to be labour chief in May, Swee Say to helm Manpower", The Straits Times, p. A1.
  5. Neo Chai Chin (9 April 2015), "Masagos promoted in Cabinet reshuffle: Presence for the first time of two Malay-Muslim full Ministers in Cabinet 'shows progress of community'", Today, pp. 1–2, archived from the original on 10 April 2015.
  6. Siau Ming En; Neo Chai Chin (9 April 2015), "Promotion hailed as sign of Malay community's progress: It dispels perception that there can be only one Malay minister at any one time", Today, p. 2, archived from the original on 10 April 2015.
  7. "Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announces Singapore's new Cabinet". Channel NewsAsia. 28 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  8. "New Cabinet line-up: Six office-holders each from Malay, Indian communities". The Straits Times. 27 July 2020. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
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