| Honorific prefix | The Honourable |
|---|---|
| Native name | ماسڬوس ذوالكفل |
| Office | Vice-Chairman of the People's Action Party |
| Term start | 23 November 2018 |
| 2blankname | Chairman |
| 2namedata | Gan Kim Yong (2018–2022) Heng Swee Keat (2022–2025) Desmond Lee (2025–present) |
| 1blankname | Secretary-General |
| 1namedata | Lee Hsien Loong Lawrence Wong |
| Office 1 | Minister for Social and Family Development |
| Term start 1 | 27 July 2020 |
| Prime minister 1 | Lee Hsien Loong Lawrence Wong |
| Predecessor 1 | Desmond Lee |
| Office 2 | Second Minister for Health |
| Prime minister 2 | Lee Hsien Loong Lawrence Wong |
| Minister 2 | Gan Kim Yong (2020–2021) Ong Ye Kung (2021–present) |
| Term start 2 | 27 July 2020 |
| Term end 2 | 23 May 2025 |
| Order 3 | Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs |
| Prime minister 3 | Lee Hsien Loong Lawrence Wong |
| Term start 3 | 1 May 2018 |
| Term end 3 | 22 May 2025 |
| Predecessor 3 | Yaacob Ibrahim |
| Successor 3 | Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim (acting) |
| Office 4 | Minister for the Environment and Water Resources |
| Prime minister 4 | Lee Hsien Loong |
| Term start 4 | 1 October 2015 |
| Term end 4 | 26 July 2020 |
| Predecessor 4 | Vivian Balakrishnan |
| Successor 4 | Grace Fu (as Minister for Sustainability and Environment) |
| Office 5 | Minister in the Prime Minister's Office |
| Prime minister 5 | Lee Hsien Loong |
| Term start 5 | 9 April 2015 |
| Term end 5 | 30 September 2015 |
| Successor 5 | Josephine Teo Desmond Lee |
| Office 6 | Second Minister for Foreign Affairs |
| Prime minister 6 | Lee Hsien Loong |
| Minister 6 | K. Shanmugam |
| Alongside 6 | Grace Fu |
| Term start 6 | 9 April 2015 |
| Term end 6 | 30 September 2015 |
| Successor 6 | Josephine Teo |
| Office 7 | Second Minister for Home Affairs |
| Prime minister 7 | Lee Hsien Loong |
| Minister 7 | Teo Chee Hean |
| Alongside 7 | S. Iswaran |
| Term start 7 | 9 April 2015 |
| Term end 7 | 30 September 2015 |
| Predecessor 7 | K. Shanmugam |
| Successor 7 | Desmond Lee (2017) |
| Constituency mp 8 | Tampines GRC |
| Term start 8 | 6 May 2006 |
| Predecessor 8 | PAP held |
| Majority 8 |
|
| Birth name | Masagos Zulkifli bin Masagos Mohamad |
| Birth date | 16 April 1963 (age 63) |
| Birth place | Colony of Singapore |
| Alma mater | Nanyang Technological University National University of Singapore University of Southern California |
| Party | People's Action Party |
| Occupation | Politician · former electrical engineer |
Masagos Zulkifli bin Masagos Mohamad[a] (born 16 April 1963)[1][2] is a Singaporean politician who has served as the vice-chairperson of the People's Action Party since 2025 and has been serving as Minister for Social and Family Development since 2020. A member of the People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tampines West division of Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC) since 2006.
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.
Early life
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.[3]
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).[4] 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.[3]
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.[3]
On 9 April 2015, Masagos was promoted to a full Minister as a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. The position was without portfolio. 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.[5] 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.[6] 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".[7]
On 1 October 2015, Masagos took up the portfolio of Minister for Environment and Water Resources.[8] 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.[9] From July 2023, Masagos took over Cheng Li Hui’s formal duties at Tampines East Division in Tampines GRC after her resignation following an extramarital affair until the 2025 general elections.[10] In May 2025, Masagos was replaced by Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim as Acting Muslim-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs and left his post as Second Minister of Health while retaining his portfolio as Minister for Social and Family Development.[11][12]
Controversies
Hijab in healthcare services
In March 2021, Workers' Party MP Faisal Manap advocated for the use of the tudung as part of the nurse's uniform for Muslim women in medical institutions. Masagos responded that "allowing tudungs will raise a very visible religious marker that identifies every tudung-wearing female nurse or uniform officer as a Muslim. This has significant implications… We don't want patients to prefer or not prefer to be served by a Muslim nurse, nor do we want people to think that public security is being enforced by a Muslim or non-Muslim officer."[13] Additionally, Masagos urged such discussion on religious matters to be done "behind closed doors".[14]
Masagos' statement was criticised by opposition politicians who viewed it as disallowing the hijab for certain vocations, such as those in healthcare, despite the fact that the Muslim community advocated for a more open workplace.[15][16] In a survey by Rice Media, 93% of respondents indicated that they were not bothered if "people in uniformed services are visibly wearing religious markers like hijabs, turbans and crosses."[17]
In response to Masagos' point on "closed-door discussions", Faisal rebuked that he was not privy to them and felt that "all elected Malay MPs should be part of this closed-door discussion" rather than only PAP MPs, as it was at that moment.[18] Faisal added that he "would like to offer [himself] to the PAP ministers to be part of this closed-door discussion."[19]
Notes
References
- ^ "PARL | MP". www.parliament.gov.sg
- ^ "Parliament of Singapore : MP Masagos Zulkifli Bin Masagos Mohamad's CV". Parliament of Singapore. Archived 21 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ "Mr MASAGOS Zulkifli", Prime Minister's Office (Singapore), 10 April 2015, archived 10 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Current MPs", Channel NewsAsia, archived from the original on 1 April 2015, retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ "Press Statement from the Prime Minister on Changes to Cabinet and Other Appointments", Prime Minister's Office, 8 April 2015, archived 10 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine; 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.
- ^ 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 10 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ 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 10 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announces Singapore's new Cabinet". Channel NewsAsia. 28 September 2015. Archived 21 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ "New Cabinet line-up: Six office-holders each from Malay, Indian communities". The Straits Times. 27 July 2020. Archived 31 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ "Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin and MP Cheng Li Hui resign over affair". CNA. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
- ^ "Faishal Ibrahim replaces Masagos Zulkifli, will be Acting Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs". mothership.sg. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
- ^ Oh, Elysia Tan, Tessa (2025-05-21). "Singapore's post-GE Cabinet reshuffle sees nine new officeholders". The Business Times. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
- ^ CNA (10 March 2021). Uniform policy cannot be tilted towards religious beliefs: Masagos. Retrieved 24 April 2025. – via YouTube.
- ^ Mothership (8 March 2021). A debate on the issue of allowing people in uniform services to wear tudung | COS Debate 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2025. – via YouTube.
- ^ United, Red Dot. "Tudung issue shows need for committed opposition in Parliament" (in en-SG). Red Dot United. Archived 20 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
- ^ Citizen, The Online (23 March 2021). "Tudung issue: Netizens question why Minister Masagos Zulkifli earlier gave "flimsy" reasons behind prohibition after Minister K Shanmugam says nurses likely to be permitted to wear headscarf". The Online Citizen. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
- ^ Utomo, Delfina (19 March 2021). "Not Your Hijab: Why Singapore Still Won't Settle the Great Tudung Debate". RICE. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
- ^ "Masagos & Maliki debate WP's Faisal Manap on tudung issue: Avoid situations where religious expressions dominate & become divisive". mothership.sg. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
- ^ "Wearing tudungs with public service uniforms should be discussed behind closed doors: Masagos - Singapore News". theindependent.sg. 9 March 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
External links
- Masagos Zulkifli on Prime Minister's Office
- Masagos Zulkifli on Parliament of Singapore