GE2025: Maliki Osman retiring from politics after 24 years (2025)

SINGAPORE - Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman announced his retirement from politics on April 21, ahead of the 2025 General Election.

In posts on his social media accounts, Dr Maliki noted that the PAP brings in new candidates during each general election as part of renewal efforts, in order to bring younger, more diverse voices into Parliament.

He added that with him having served five terms since 2001, he and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong agreed it is a good time for him to make way for a new candidate and retire from politics.

“My immediate priority is to ensure a smooth transition and rally support for the East Coast GRC team in the coming GE. I am confident they will serve residents well,” said Dr Maliki, who is one of the incumbent MPs for the five-member constituency.

The 59-year-old had earlier introduced Madam Hazlina Abdul Halim, former chief executive of Make-A-Wish Singapore, as his successor in East Coast GRC.

“Serving residents in Sembawang GRC, East Coast GRC, and as mayor of South East CDC has been a deeply enriching and humbling journey,” he said.

In his posts, Dr Maliki thanked Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong for having trusted him as a political office-holder since 2004, describing it as a privilege to have worked alongside the former prime minister as well as PM Wong and others in Cabinet in “navigating challenges and shaping Singapore’s continued success”.

He also thanked grassroots leaders, community leaders and staff at the ministries. Dr Maliki said it has been especially meaningful to work with other Malay/Muslim MPs and community leaders to “uplift lives through various social programmes”.

He added: “Thank you, dear residents, for welcoming me into your homes and lives, and allowing me to serve you over the past 24 years. I will always treasure our shared memories.”

Dr Maliki – who has a PhD in social work from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign – was an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore’s social work and psychology department when he joined politics in 2001 at the age of 36.

He was part of a six-member team, led by then Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan, that won Sembawang GRC during the general election that year.

He served as parliamentary secretary for the Ministry of Health between 2004 and 2005, and for the Ministryof Community Development, Youth and Sports from 2004 to 2006.

In 2005, Dr Maliki was appointed parliamentary secretary for the Ministry of National Development, before being promoted to senior parliamentary secretary for the same ministry in 2010.

During the 2011 election, he was part of a five-member PAP team that won East Coast GRC. He was also appointed senior parliamentary secretary for defence as well as South East District mayor that year.

In 2011, Dr Maliki also began heading a work group overseeing the redevelopment of Geylang Serai, including the development of community hub Wisma Geylang Serai, which was officially opened in 2019.

In 2013, he was promoted to minister of state for defence and national development.

At the Ministry of National Development, Dr Maliki chaired the community improvement projects committee as well as the private estates upgrading programme, in addition to overseeing food security, including food safety and the development of Singapore’s agriculture sector.

He became senior minister of state for defence and foreign affairs in 2015.

In December 2024, Dr Maliki represented Singapore at a ministerial conference in Egypt on the Gaza crisis, highlighting the need for more to be done to address the humanitarian situation in the enclave.

He also met Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Mustafa on the sidelines of the conference and reaffirmed the Republic’s continued commitment to supporting the Palestinian Authority’s capacity-building efforts.

This included increasing the number of annual scholarships offered under the Enhanced Technical Assistance Package, from three postgraduate scholarships to a total of 10 scholarships for Palestinians to study in Singapore.

In January, Dr Maliki travelled to Jordan to give $1.3 million in humanitarian support for Gaza.

Following the 2020 General Election, Dr Maliki was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office as well as Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs.

Dr Maliki is married and has two children. He can speak Mandarin and Hokkien, and has addressed crowds in both tongues at rallies during previous elections.

His musical abilities are varied too – he is skilled at both the guitar and the guzheng. He played the guitar with indie band Surreal in 2006 as part of an anti-drug concert, and on the Chinese stringed instrument at a National Day reception in Batam in 2023, in a duet with his wife, who played the piano.

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