Koh Poh Koon ( zh, s=许宝琨, p=Xǔ Bǎokūn; born 16 March 1972) is a Singaporean politician and former

colorectal surgeon Colorectal surgery is a field in medicine dealing with disorders of the rectum, anus, and colon. The field is also known as proctology, but this term is now used infrequently within medicine and is most often employed to identify practices relati ...

who has been serving as Senior Minister of State for Manpower since 2021 and Senior Minister of State for Health since 2025. A member of the

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...

(PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Tampines Central division of

Tampines GRC The Tampines Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the eastern region of Singapore. The GRC encompasses Tampines and is managed by the Tampines Town Council, with five divisions: Tampine ...

since 2020. Prior to entering politics, Koh was a

and medical researcher. He made his political debut in the 2013 by-elections as a PAP candidate contesting in Punggol East SMC against candidates from three other opposition parties, garnering 43.37% of the vote and losing to the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

Lee Li Lian Lee Li Lian (; born 19 July 1978) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), she was the Member of Parliament for Punggol East SMC between 2013 and 2015. Lee made her political debut in the 2011 general elect ...

, who won 54.5% of the vote. In the 2015 general election, Koh contested in

Ang Mo Kio GRC The Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the North-East Region, Singapore, North-East Region of Singapore. It has 5 wards: Teck Ghee, Buangkok–Fernvale South, Seletar–Ser ...

as part of a six-member PAP team and won with 78.64% of the vote. Koh was elected as the Member of Parliament representing the

Yio Chu Kang Yio Chu Kang ( ), alternatively spelt as Yeo Chu Kang, is a sub-urban area in the northeast of Singapore, with proximity to the Ang Mo Kio, Lentor, Seletar and Sengkang areas. Deriving its name from the Yio Chu Kang Village, it is still known for ...

ward of Ang Mo Kio GRC. In the 2020 general election, he joined the PAP team contesting in Tampines GRC and won with 66.41% of the vote. Koh had served as

Minister of State for Trade and Industry The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was a United Kingdom government department formed on 19 October 1970. It was replaced with the creation of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation ...

and Minister of State for National Development concurrently between 2016 and 2017 and later Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry between 2017 and 2020 and Senior Minister of State for National Development between 2017 and 2018. Dr Koh Poh Koon will be appointed Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Health. He will continue in the Ministry of Manpower but will relinquish his appointment in the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. He also served as Deputy Secretary-General of the

National Trades Union Congress The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), also known as the Singapore National Trades Union Congress (SNTUC) internationally, is the sole national trade union centre in Singapore. NTUC leads the labour movement of Singapore, comprising 59 affilia ...

(NTUC) between 2018 and 2021.

Education

Koh attended MacRitchie Primary School,

Maris Stella High School Maris Stella High School (MSHS) () is a government-aided, all-boys Catholic secondary school with autonomous status. As a full school, it comprises a primary section offering a six-year programme leading up to the Primary School Leaving Exam ...

and

Hwa Chong Junior College The Hwa Chong Junior College () was a Junior college (Singapore), junior college in Singapore offering Education in Singapore#Pre-university, pre-university education. The school merged with The Chinese High School on 1 January 2005 to form the ...

before graduating from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

in 1996 with a

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education trad ...

degree. He subsequently went on to complete a

Master of Medicine Master of Medicine (MMed, MM) is a postgraduate professional clinical degree awarded by medical schools to physicians following a period of instruction, supervised clinical rotations, and examination. As of May 2009, the following universities ...

degree in

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

at the National University of Singapore and obtained

fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

s from the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

and Academy of Medicine, Singapore. He also received two Health Manpower Development Programme Scholarships from the Ministry of Health (MOH) to undergo advanced training in the surgical treatment of

inflammatory bowel disease Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine, with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC) being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine and large intestine ...

s in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and at the

Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Academic health science center, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an O ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Career

Medical career

Koh is the founding director of the Colorectal Cancer Genomic Health Service at

Singapore General Hospital Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is an academic health science centre and tertiary referral hospital in Singapore. It is located next to the Bukit Merah and Chinatown districts of the Central Region, close to the Outram Community Hospital (O ...

. He was also a consultant colorectal surgeon in private practice at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre and a visiting consultant surgeon at Singapore General Hospital and

Changi General Hospital Changi General Hospital (abbreviation: CGH) is a 1000-bed large district general hospital located in Simei, eastern Singapore. It is Singapore's first purpose-built general hospital to serve communities in the east and north-east regions. The hos ...

. Koh had also been a clinical lecturer at the National University of Singapore, adjunct assistant professor at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, and adjunct clinician scientist at the

Agency for Science, Technology and Research The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore. The agency supports R&D that is aligned to areas of competitive advantage and national needs for Singapor ...

's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.

Political career

Koh entered politics in January 2013 when he contested as the

(PAP) candidate in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in Punggol East SMC triggered by the resignation of its Member of Parliament, Michael Palmer, after it was revealed that he had an extra-marital affair. He contested against candidates from three other parties:

's (WP)

; Reform Party's

Kenneth Jeyaretnam Kenneth Andrew Jeyaretnam (born 7 March 1959) is a Singaporean politician and hedge fund manager who has been appointed as the Secretary-General of the opposition Reform Party (Singapore), Reform Party since 2009. He is the elder son of J. B. ...

; and

Singapore Democratic Alliance The Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) is a political coalition between the Singapore Malay National Organization (PKMS), and Singapore Justice Party (SJP). The SDA was formed in 2001 and initially consisted of four political parties, PKMS, S ...

's Desmond Lim. The by-election ended with Koh garnering 43.37% of the vote and losing to Lee, who won with 54.5% of the vote. During the campaigning, Koh had called himself "''kaki lang''" ("one of us" in Teochew) and "son of Punggol". When reporters asked him about his family's ownership of two cars, he had said, "everybody has a car, we have two... We are professionals, we need to travel." His words were perceived as a blunder and reeking of elitism. After losing the election, he admitted that he had misspoken, saying, "It's not logical, even an idiot wouldn't say that. So it was partly my fault." In the 2015 general election, Koh joined the six-member PAP team contesting in

against the Reform Party. Following the results of the election, Koh was elected into Parliament when the six-member PAP team won and clinched 78.64% or 135,115 of the electorate's valid votes in the constituency. Koh thus became a Member of Parliament representing the

ward of Ang Mo Kio GRC. On 1 January 2016, Koh was appointed

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

at the Ministries of National Development and

Trade and Industry A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a Ministry (government), ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Min ...

. On 1 May 2017, he was promoted to Senior Minister of State and continued serving in the two Ministries; he relinquished his position in the Ministry of National Development on 30 April 2018. On 23 April 2018, Koh was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the

and he held this position until 15 May 2021. In the 2020 general election, Koh switched to join the five-member PAP team contesting in

and they won with 66.41% of the vote against the National Solidarity Party (NSP). Koh thus became the Member of Parliament representing the Tampines Central ward of Tampines GRC. On 27 July 2020, he was appointed Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Health. He took up an additional appointment as Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Manpower on 15 May 2021. Koh was appointed Senior Minister of State at the

Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE; ; zh, 永续发展与环境部; ) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies related to the environment, water and food ...

on 13 June 2022, while relinquishing his Ministry of Health portfolio. In the 2025 general election, he contested in Tampines GRC again with fellow PAP teammates Charlene Chen,

Masagos Zulkifli Masagos Zulkifli bin Masagos Mohamad (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ماسڬوس ذوالكفل; born 16 April 1963) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the People's Action Party (PAP), he has been serving as Ministry of Social and Family Developm ...

Baey Yam Keng Baey Yam Keng ( zh, s=马炎庆, p=Mǎ Yánqìng; born 31 August 1970) is a Singaporean politician who is a member of the People's Action Party (PAP). He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2006, representing the Tampines Boulevard div ...

, and

David Neo David Neo Chin Wee ( zh, s=梁振伟, p=Liáng Zhènwěi; born 1977 or 1978) is a Singaporean politician and retired major-general who served as Chief of Army between 2022 and 2025. Prior to his appointment as Chief of Army, he was serving ...

. This election saw a four-way fight in Tampines GRC, with the PAP going against the WP, People's Power Party (PPP), and NSP. The PAP was successful and won Tampines GRC with 52.02% of the vote against the WP's 47.37%, PPP's 0.43%, and NSP's 0.18%. This subsequently reelected Koh for another five year term.

Personal life

Koh grew up in a farmhouse at Lorong Cheng Lim in

Punggol Punggol ( or ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, new town situated on the Tanjong Punggol peninsula in the North-East Region, Singapore, North-East Region of Singapore. The town directly borders Sengka ...

before he and his family moved to a four-room HDB flat in

Toa Payoh Toa Payoh ( or , , ) is a Planning areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, mature residential town located in the northern part of the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Toa Payoh planning area borde ...

. His father was a bus driver who drove the

public bus Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications o ...

service 82. Koh was the oldest child in his family and often worked part-time jobs when he was young to support his family. Koh is married to a doctor, with whom he has two daughters.

References

External links

Koh Poh Koon
on

Parliament of Singapore The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the President of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made ...

Doctor's Profile – Dr Koh Poh Koon

PAP announces candidate for Punggol East SMC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koh, Poh Koon People's Action Party politicians Colorectal surgeons Singaporean surgeons National University of Singapore alumni Hwa Chong Junior College alumni 1972 births Living people Members of the Parliament of Singapore