Mohamad Maliki bin Osman ( Jawi: مالكي عثمان; born 19 July 1965) is a former

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

an politician and assistant professor who served as

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office A Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (, ''Sar BeMisrad Rosh HaMemshala'') is a minister and member of the Cabinet of Israel appointed by the Prime Minister of Israel to handle various issues on behalf of the Prime Minister. Current and form ...

, Second Minister for Education and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2020 to 2025. A member of the governing

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 was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the

Siglap Siglap ( or ) is a neighbourhood located south-west of Bedok in the East Region of Singapore. The area encompasses the Frankel and Opera Estates and their names have sometimes been used interchangeably to refer to the approximate same area. T ...

division of

East Coast GRC The East Coast Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the eastern area of Singapore. It consists of locations such as East Coast Park, Bedok, Changi (in part), Simei, Siglap, Joo Chia ...

from 2011 to 2025. Before entering politics in the 2001 general election, Maliki was an assistant professor 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 ...

's Department of Social Work and Psychology. After he was elected, he served in various positions at the Ministries of

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

, and National Development before he became a full minister in 2020. On 21 April 2025, Maliki announced his retirement from politics.

Education

Maliki attended Duchess Primary School, Dunearn Secondary Technical School and First Toa Payoh Secondary School before graduating from the

(NUS) with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree, a

Bachelor of Social Science The Bachelor of Social Science (BSocSc or BSocSci) is an undergraduate degree. It typically requires three to four years of study in the social sciences at an institution of higher education, primarily found in the Commonwealth of Nations. It c ...

s degree with honours and a

Master of Social Science A Master of Social Science (MSocSc, MSSc or MSS) is a master's degree which has a number of different meanings dependent upon the education system in question. Europe In Finland and Sweden, where the university degree nomenclatura is simply bas ...

s degree. He subsequently went on to complete a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

at the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in 1998.

Career

Maliki worked as an

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

in NUS's Department of Social Work and Psychology from 1998 to 2004.

Political career

Maliki was first elected to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at the 2001 general election. In 2004, Maliki was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for

Health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

(2004–2005) and Community Development, Youth and Sports (2004–2006). He was subsequently appointed Parliamentary Secretary for National Development (2005–2010). In 2010, Maliki was promoted from Parliamentary Secretary to Senior Parliamentary Secretary for National Development. As part of his National Development portfolio, Maliki chaired the main Workgroup for the

Geylang Serai Geylang () is a planning area and township located on the eastern fringe of the Central Region of Singapore, bordering Hougang and Toa Payoh in the north, Marine Parade in the south, Bedok in the east, and Kallang in the west. Geylang is p ...

redevelopment project, which included a Civic Centre Subgroup that oversaw the concept, design and facilities for the new civic centre - Wisma Geylang Serai. Following the 2011 general election, in addition to his portfolio at the Ministry of National Development, he also became Senior Parliamentary Secretary for

and Mayor of the South East District. In February 2013, Maliki launched a commemorative publication titled "The Making of Wisma Geylang Serai", and a design competition for the new civic centre. Maliki was tasked with chairing the workgroup on "Recognition and Benefits for NS" as part of the Committee on Strengthening National Service at the Ministry of Defence. On 1 September 2013, after a

Cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the head of state changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parliam ...

, Maliki was promoted from Senior Parliamentary Secretary to

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 ...

for Defence and National Development. Following the 2015 general election, Maliki was promoted to Senior Minister of State for Defence and

on 1 October 2015, relinquishing his previous post at the Ministry of National Development. After

2020 Singapore general election General elections were held in Singapore on Friday, 10 July 2020 to elect 93 members to the Parliament of Singapore across 31 constituencies. Parliament was dissolved and the general election called by President Halimah Yacob on 23 June, on t ...

, Maliki was promoted to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Education and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs. On 21 April 2025, Maliki announced that he will retire from politics and will not seek a re-election on the upcoming 2025 Singapore general election citing to make way for Hazlina Abdul Halim as a new candidate for East Coast GRC.

Personal life

Maliki is married to Sadiah Shahal and has two children, Lidia Syahindah and Adli Mifzal.

References

External links

Maliki Osman
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 ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maliki Osman Mayors of Singapore Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians Singaporean politicians of Malay descent Singaporean Muslims 1965 births Living people National University of Singapore alumni University of Illinois School of Social Work alumni Academic staff of the National University of Singapore Members of the Cabinet of Singapore