Masagos Zulkifli

Masagos Zulkifli bin Masagos Mohamad (Jawi: ماسڬوس ذوالكفل بن ماسڬوس محمد; born 16 April 1963) is a Singaporean politician.

The Honourable Masagos Zulkifli MP
ماسڬوس ذوالكفل
Masagos Zulkifli at The Pentagon, USA - 2006
Minister for Social and Family Development
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 July 2020
President	Halimah Yacob
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Desmond Lee
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources
In office 1 October 2015 – 26 July 2020
President	Tony Tan Halimah Yacob
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Vivian Balakrishnan
Succeeded by	Grace Fu as Minister for Sustainability and Environment
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 2018
President	Halimah Yacob
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Yaacob Ibrahim
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office
In office 9 April 2015 – 30 September 2015
President	Tony Tan
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Lim Swee Say
Succeeded by	Chan Chun Sing
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Second Minister for Health
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 July 2020
President	Halimah Yacob
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Gan Kim Yong
Preceded by	Position Established
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Second Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office 9 April 2015 – 30 September 2015 Serving with Grace Fu Hai Yien
President	Tony Tan
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	K Shanmugam
Preceded by	Position Established
Succeeded by	Position Abolished
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Second Minister for Home Affairs
In office 9 April 2015 – 30 September 2015 Serving with S. Iswaran
President	Tony Tan
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Teo Chee Hean
Preceded by	Position Established
Succeeded by	Josephine Teo
Constituency	Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Tampines GRC (Tampines West)
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2006
Preceded by	Yatiman Yusof (PAP)
Majority	58,282 (44.12%)
Personal details
Born	(1963-04-16) 16 April 1963 Singapore, Colony of Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party
Alma mater	Nanyang Technological University National University of Singapore University of Southern California

A member of the country's governing People's Action Party, he is also the vice chairman of the People's Action Party. He is Singapore's Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, a post which he has been serving since October 2015. He concurrently holds the appointment of Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs from 1 May 2018. He has also served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2006, representing the ward of Tampines West in Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC).

Early life, education and career

Masagos was born on 16 April 1963 and had his early education at Bukit Panjang Government High School and National Junior College. Subsequently, he graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) degree from Nanyang Technological University with First Class Honours, majoring in electrical and electronic engineering, and in 1994 with a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Electrical Engineering from the National University of Singapore. His first job was with Singapore Telecommunications Limited (now Singtel) in 1988; a SingTel Postgraduate Scholarship enabled him to take a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from the University of Southern California in 1995. He was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of SingTel Global Offices.[1]

Political career

Masagos left the private sector for politics in 2006, after being elected as one of the five Members of Parliament representing the Tampines Group Representation Constituency in the general election that year.[2] He was 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. He was promoted to Minister of State in these ministries with effect from 1 November 2010.[1]

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) the Defence Attaché in Singapore's U.S. Embassy Brig.-Gen. Richard Keng Yong Lim, Singapore's Ambassador to the U.S. Chan Heng Chee, and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

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

As of 9 April 2015, Masagos was appointed a full Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. This was the first time there were two full ministers of Malay descent in the Cabinet, the other being Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim. Masagos was also promoted to Second Minister for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs.[3] Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Masagos' elevation to full minister reflected the "progress of the Malay community".[4] Masagos himself said 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".[5]

On 28 September 2015, it was announced that Masagos will be the Minister for Environment and Water Resources from 1 October 2015.[6]

He was also appointed the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs from 1 May 2018.

Election Results

Parliament of Singapore[7]

Year	Constituency			Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
2006	Tampines GRC		Sin Boon Ann Mah Bow Tan Masagos Zulkifli Irene Ng Ong Kian Min (PAP)	80,376	68.51%		Abdul Rahman Mohamad Lim Tung Hee Arthero Ng Say Eng Ong Hock Siong Tan Lead Shake (SDA)	36,948	31.49%	120,416	43,428	95.40%
2011			Heng Swee Keat Mah Bow Tan Masagos Zulkifli Irene Ng Baey Yam Keng (PAP)	72,728	57.22%		Goh Meng Seng Raymond Lim Peng Ann Gilbert Goh Keah Wah Syafarin Sarif Reno Fong Chin Leong (NSP)	54,381	42.78%	130,184	18,347	94.70%
2015			Heng Swee Keat Masagos Zulkifli Desmond Choo Baey Yam Keng Cheng Li Hui (PAP)	95,202	72.06%		Lim Tean Sebastian Teo Reno Fong Nor Lella Mardilla Muhd Choong Hon Heng (NSP)	36,920	27.94%	135,760	58,282	94.60%
2020			Masagos Zulkifli Baey Yam Keng Desmond Choo Cheng Li Hui Koh Poh Koon (PAP)	94,561	66.41%		Reno Fong Mohammad Rizwan Mohammad Yeo Ren-Yuan Choong Hon Heng Vincent Ng (NSP)	47,819	N/A	145,896	N/A	96.17%

References

1. Mr MASAGOS Zulkifli, Prime Minister's Office (Singapore), 10 April 2015, archived from the original on 10 April 2015.
2. Current MPs, Channel NewsAsia, archived from the original on 1 April 2015, retrieved 11 April 2015.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. "Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announces Singapore's new Cabinet". Channel NewsAsia. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
7. "2011 General Election's Result". Elections Department Singapore. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.

External links

• Masagos Zulkifli on Prime Minister's Office
• Masagos Zulkifli on Parliament of Singapore

Political offices
Preceded by Lim Swee Say S. Iswaran Grace Fu	Minister in the Prime Minister's Office 2015 Served alongside: Lim Swee Say, S. Iswaran, Grace Fu, Chan Chun Sing	Succeeded by Chan Chun Sing
Preceded by Vivian Balakrishnan	Minister for the Environment and Water Resources 2015 – 2020	Succeeded by Grace Fu as Minister for Sustainability and the Environment
Preceded by Yaacob Ibrahim	Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs 2018 – present	Incumbent
Preceded by Desmond Lee	Minister for Social and Family Development 2020 – present	Incumbent
Preceded by New office	Second Minister for Health 2020 – present	Incumbent
Parliament of Singapore
Preceded by Yatiman Yusof	Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC (Tampines West) 2006 – present	Incumbent