SINGAPORE – Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman will not be part of the PAP slate for East Coast GRC in the upcoming general election, The Straits Times has learnt.
It is not clear if Dr Maliki, who has been in politics since 2001, will be fielded elsewhere or retire.
He has asked grassroots leaders to put their support behind new face Hazlina Abdul Halim, who has been seen at East Coast GRC walkabouts in recent weeks.
Dr Maliki, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, had gathered more than 100 grassroots leaders on April 11 for an evening meeting at Siglap Community Club to tell them the news.
There had been speculation that the 59-year-old, who started his political career as an MP for Sembawang GRC, would be retiring from politics at the end of the current term. He has helmed the Siglap ward in East Coast GRC for three terms since 2011.
He did not raise the subject of his retirement at the meeting, ST understands.
Dr Maliki said that he could not share more, but that people would know when the time is right. If he stands in the upcoming election, he would be seeking his sixth term in Parliament.
He told the room that he had met Madam Hazlina to tell her about work being done in Siglap, and that he would introduce her to them.
That Dr Maliki will not contest in East Coast in the general election is not unexpected, given recent developments.
Following the release of the electoral boundaries report on March 11 which saw Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong’s Joo Chiat ward absorbed into East Coast GRC, there had been discussion about the number of senior political-office-holders on the slate.
Mr Tong would be joining incumbent MPs Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Dr Maliki – making it three ministers in one GRC.
It is uncommon for the PAP to field so many ministers in one GRC.
Parts of Dr Maliki’s Siglap ward – in the Loyang and Flora estates – were also moved into the neighbouring Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.
Dr Maliki’s successor, Madam Hazlina, has been seen with the East Coast GRC MPs over the past few weeks.
She was at a walkabout on April 5 in parts of Siglap that come under Mr Tong’s purview, as well as at a mosque visit in Chai Chee on March 31.
Madam Hazlina, the former chief executive of Make-A-Wish Singapore, started her career as a radio presenter for Mediacorp’s Ria 89.7FM. She later transitioned into television, and was at one point an assignments editor on CNA’s Singapore desk.
She was formerly the president of PPIS (Singapore Muslim Women’s Association) from 2020 to 2024.
She is currently the senior vice-president of strategy and communications at advisory firm Teneo.
- Goh Yan Han is political correspondent at The Straits Times. She writes Unpacked, a weekly newsletter on Singapore politics and policy.
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