Patrick Tay Teck Guan ( zh, s=郑德源, p=Zhèng Déyuán, poj=Tēⁿ Tek-goân; born 1 December 1971) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer. 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 has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Pioneer SMC since 2020 and previously the Nee Soon East division of

Nee Soon GRC The Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the north region of Singapore. The GRC was established in 2011. The GRC includes most of Yishun town, the private residential areas alon ...

between 2011 and 2015, and the

Boon Lay Boon Lay (, ) is a neighbourhood located in the town of Jurong West in the West Region, Singapore, West Region of Singapore. Its borders very roughly correspond to the URA subzone of Boon Lay Place, situated within the Jurong West Planning Area. ...

division of

West Coast GRC The West Coast Group Representation Constituency was a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) located in the western and central areas of Singapore. The five divisions consisted of: Ayer Rajah-Gek Poh, West Coast, Boon Lay, Nanyang ...

between 2015 and 2020. A lawyer by profession, Tay has held positions in various trade unions in Singapore since 2002, and has been an assistant 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 ...

since February 2014.

Education

Tay attended St. Patrick's School and Temasek Junior College. In 1990, he received a Public Service Commission Local Merit Scholarship to read law 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 ...

, from which he graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

with honours degree in 1995. He subsequently went on to complete a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree at the National University of Singapore in 1999 and an Advanced Management Program at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

in 2014. In 2015, he received a Lien Fellowship from

Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1981, it is also the second oldest autonomous university in the country. The university is organised across numerous colleges and schools, includi ...

Career

Tay started his career in the

Singapore Police Force The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal Police, law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; hum ...

and served from 1995 to 2002, during which he was the commanding officer of the Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) unit. From 2002 to 2014, he held positions in various trade unions, including assistant director of the

(2002–2004); executive secretary of the Union of Security Employees (2004–2011); Head IR of the Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Employees' Union (2004–2009); and executive secretary of the Healthcare Services Employees' Union (2006–2014). Tay is an assistant secretary-general and director of strategy and legal services at the

, as well as executive secretary of the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers' Union, and executive secretary of the Banking & Financial Services Union. He also holds the positions of board member, trustee, adviser, committee member, etc. at many organisations, including various trade unions,

Economic Development Board The Economic Development Board (EDB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the government of Singapore that plans and executes strategies to sustain Singapore as a leading global hub for business and investment. H ...

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Singapore in charge of tax collection. History Early beginnings The Singapore Income Tax Department was created in 1947 ...

, Public Utilities Board and

Housing and Development Board The Housing & Development Board (HDB; often referred to as the Housing Board; ; ; ), is a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of National Development (Singapore), Ministry of National Developmen ...

. An advocate and solicitor of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, Tay is also an associate mediator of the Singapore Mediation Centre and a fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators.

Political career

Prior to formally entering politics, Tay was a grassroots leader who held numerous positions at the community and constituency level, including as Executive Secretary of the Young PAP Executive Committee. After close to a decade in leadership positions in grassroots work, Tay entered politics in the 2011 general election when he joined a five-member

(PAP) team contesting in

. After the PAP team won with 58.4% of the vote against 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 ...

, Tay became an elected Member of Parliament representing the Nee Soon East ward of Nee Soon GRC. In 2014, Tay raised the concerns of PMEs and how the Budget could support them in terms of protection, progression, placement and privileges. In the 2016 debate on the President's address, Tay called for a PME dependency ratio (akin to those for S Passes and Work Permits) to be implemented for companies which have a weak Singaporean core and a weak commitment to creating a Singaporean core. During the 2015 general election, Tay switched to join the four-member PAP team contesting in

and they won with 78.57% of the vote against the Reform Party. Tay thus became a Member of Parliament for a second term, representing the

ward of West Coast GRC. In the 2020 general election, incumbent MP for Pioneer SMC Cedric Foo retired from politics and Tay was deployed to contest the SMC. He won the contest with 61.98% of the vote against the

Progress Singapore Party The Progress Singapore Party (abbreviation: PSP) is a political party in Singapore. It was one of the three political parties represented in 14th Parliament, alongside the governing People's Action Party (PAP) and the other opposition Workers' ...

(PSP) candidate Lim Cher Hong and independent candidate Cheang Peng Wah. Starting 11 July 2020, he became the Member of Parliament representing Pioneer SMC in the 14th Parliament. Throughout his first two terms in Parliament, Tay had been a member of the Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs) for

Manpower Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

and

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 ...

(2011–2015), and

Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...

and

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

(2015–2020). He was also the chairman of the GPC for Manpower from 2015 to 2020. During the 2025 general election, Tay defended his seat in Pioneer SMC and won the contest against PSP's Stephanie Tan.

Awards

Tay received the Good Service Medal from the

in 2000 and the Public Service Medal in 2005 for his community work. He also received the PAP Youth Service Medal and the 15 Years Community Long Service Award from the

People's Association The People's Association (PA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) of the Government of Singapore that oversees neighbourhood communities and social organisations. Established in 1960, it was part of ...

in 2007, and the Public Service Star in 2010.

References

External links

Patrick Tay
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 ...