Yeo Guat Kwang

Yeo Guat Kwang (simplified Chinese: 杨木光; traditional Chinese: 楊木光; pinyin: Yáng Mù Guāng; born 27 January 1961) was a former Member of the Parliament of Singapore from 1997 to 2015, as a member of the People's Action Party (PAP). He is currently the Assistant Director-General in the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).[1]

Yeo Guat Kwang
杨木光
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Ang Mo Kio GRC (2011 - 2015) Aljunied GRC (2001 - 2011) Cheng San GRC (1997 - 2001)
In office 2 January 1997 - 25 August 2015
Preceded by	Seat Created
Succeeded by	Darryl David
Personal details
Born	(1961-01-27) 27 January 1961 Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party (since 1997)
Alma mater	National University of Singapore, National Institute of Education

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Yeo.

Personal life

Yeo is of Teochew descent, where his ancestral hometown is Chaoan District, Chaozhou.[2]

Education

Yeo studied at The Chinese High School from 1974 to 1977, and at Nanyang Junior College from 1978 to 1979.[3] He then graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences from the National University of Singapore in 1986, and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from the National Institute of Education, which he obtained in 1987.[3] He obtained a Masters in Public Administration and Management from NUS Business School and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in 2013.[4]

Career

Education

Yeo started his career in 1987 as a teacher at Nanyang Junior College,[3] and in 1991, he became a Head of Department at Anderson Secondary School.[3] From 1993 to 1996, he was a Specialist Inspector for Chinese at the Ministry of Education.[3]

Labour Movement

In 1997, he joined the labour movement as an Executive Secretary for the Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees Union (BATU).[3] In 2001, he moved on to become the Executive Secretary for Singapore Industrial and Services Employees Union (SISEU).[3] In 2007, he became the Executive Secretary for the Amalgamated Union of Statutory Board Employees (AUSBE).[3]

In January 2014, Yeo was appointed Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) in the NTUC,[5][6] which has close ties with the Singapore government.

In December 2016, Yeo was promoted to Assistant Director-General in NTUC.[7]

Yeo is also the chairman of the NTUC's Migrant Workers' Centre, which was set up in 2009.[8] He is also the head of the Centre for Domestic Employees,[8] and the director for Workplace Safety and Health.[9]

Yeo was president of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), a consumer advocacy group founded by the NTUC,[10] until June 2012.[11] Some have criticized CASE for being toothless.[12][13]

Politics

Yeo was a Member of Parliament for Cheng San Group Representation Constituency (GRC) from 1997 to 2001, Aljunied GRC from 2001 to 2011 and Ang Mo Kio GRC from 2011 to 2015. During the 2015 general election, he led the PAP team for Aljunied GRC, but they lost.

He is currently a board member at the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore.[14]

He used to be a board member at the Public Utilities Board, Land Transport Authority, and SPRING Singapore.[15]

Private sector

Yeo currently holds directorships in Asiagate Holdings and SIIC Environment Holding.[15]

He was previously a director in other private companies, including Neo Group, Asia Water Technology, HLH Group, Japan Foods Holding, Grandwork Interior, Eco3 Tech & Engineering, Advance SCT, NAFA-Asiagate Education Corporation, Eco-World Biotechnology, Esplanade, China Gaoxian Fibre Fabric Holdings, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, and United Envirotech.[15]

References

1. "NTUC unveils scheme to aid SME employees". Singapore Business Review. 13 April 2017. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
3. "Yeo Guat Kwang". Parliament of Singapore. 2 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
4. "Guat Kwang Yeo: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
5. "ASG Yeo Guat Kwang".
6. "The Labour Movement appoints new assistant Secretaries-General".
7. Toh, Yong Chuan (23 December 2016). "New leadership tier created in NTUC". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
8. Toh, Yong Chuan (18 December 2016). "A centre with heavyweight backers". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
9. Seow, Joanna (27 January 2014). "Employers have a duty to ensure proper safety measures are in place: Yeo Guat Kwang". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
10. "CASE's relationship with NTUC". The Online Citizen. 11 May 2008. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
11. "Lim Biow Chuan elected President of CASE". Channel NewsAsia. 23 June 2012. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
12. Tan, Weizhen (4 January 2017). "Case has stood up to errant firms". TODAYonline. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
13. Goh, Gilbert (13 December 2011). "Our toothless consumers and workers rights groups – CASE and TAFEP | Support Site for The Unemployed & Underemployed". Support Site for The Unemployed & Underemployed. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
14. "AGRI-FOOD & VETERINARY AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE". gov.sg. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
15. "Yeo Guat Kwang, National Trades Union Congress: Profile & Biography". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.