Gobind Singh Deo | |
|---|---|
ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਿਓ | |
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| Minister of Digital | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2023 | |
| Monarchs | Abdullah (2023–2024) Ibrahim (since 2024) |
| Prime Minister | Anwar Ibrahim |
| Deputy | Wilson Ugak Kumbong |
| Preceded by | Fahmi Fadzil (Minister of Communications and Digital) |
| Constituency | Damansara |
| Minister of Communications and Multimedia | |
| In office 21 May 2018 – 24 February 2020 | |
| Monarchs | Muhammad V (2018–2019) Abdullah (2019–2020) |
| Prime Minister | Mahathir Mohamad |
| Deputy | Eddin Syazlee Shith |
| Preceded by | Salleh Said Keruak |
| Succeeded by | Saifuddin Abdullah |
| Constituency | Puchong |
| Member of theMalaysian Parliament forDamansara | |
| Assumed office 19 November 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Tony Pua Kiam Wee (PH–DAP) |
| Majority | 124,619 (2022) |
| Member of theMalaysian Parliament forPuchong | |
| In office 8 March 2008 – 19 November 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Lau Yeng Peng (BN–GERAKAN) |
| Succeeded by | Yeo Bee Yin (PH–DAP) |
| Majority | 19,972 (2008) 32,802 (2013) 47,635 (2018) |
| 6th National Chairman of the Democratic Action Party | |
| Assumed office 16 March 2025 | |
| Deputy | Nga Kor Ming |
| Secretary-General | Anthony Loke Siew Fook |
| Preceded by | Lim Guan Eng |
| State Chairman of the Democratic Action Party ofSelangor | |
| In office 9 December 2018 – 10 November 2024 | |
| Secretary-General | Lim Guan Eng (2018–2022) Anthony Loke Siew Fook (2022–2024) |
| Deputy | Ean Yong Hian Wah |
| Preceded by | Tony Pua Kiam Wee |
| Succeeded by | Ng Sze Han |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gobind Singh Deo s/o Karpal Singh (1973-06-19)19 June 1973 (age 52) |
| Nationality |  Malaysia |
| Political party |  Democratic Action Party (DAP) |
| Other political affiliations | Pakatan Rakyat (PR) (2008–2015)  Pakatan Harapan (PH)(since 2015) |
| Spouse | Sangeta Kaur Sidhu |
| Relations | Jagdeep Singh Deo (elder brother) Ramkarpal Singh (younger brother) |
| Children | Jaydn Jhan Karpal Singh Deo Kheeshan Karpal Singh DeoKayden Karpal Singh Deo Neshaan Karpal Singh Deo |
| Parent(s) | Karpal Singh Gurmit Kaur |
| Alma mater | University of Warwick (LLB) Lincoln's Inn |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Website | gobindsinghdeo |
Gobind Singh Deo s/o Karpal Singh (Punjabi:ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਿਓ,romanized: Gobind Siṅgh Dio; born 19 June 1973) is aMalaysianpolitician andlawyer who was appointed as theMinister of Digital in the Unity Government administration underPrime MinisterAnwar Ibrahim since December 2023 and theMember of Parliament (MP) forDamansara since November 2022.
Previously, he served as theMinister of Communications and Multimedia in thePakatan Harapan administration under former Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad from May 2018 to the collapse of the government in February 2020. He was the MP forPuchong from March 2008 to November 2022.
Gobind is the 6th National Chairman of theDemocratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan and formerlyPakatan Rakyat (PR) coalitions. Known as the "LittleLion of Puchong",[1] he is the son of the late DAP leaderKarpal Singh, who was known as the "Tiger ofJelutong". His brothersRamkarpal Singh andJagdeep Singh Deo are also elected representatives - Ramkarpal is the MP forBukit Gelugor (Penang), while Jagdeep is the State Legislative Member forDatok Keramat (Penang). Gobind also created history by becoming the first everSikhcabinet minister inMalaysian history.[2]
Gobind Singh was born on 19 June 1973 inPenang,Malaysia.
He received hisBachelor of Laws (LLB) fromUniversity of Warwick.
He by profession is a law practitioner and founded his law firm Gobind Singh Deo & Co.[3] based in Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. The firm is operated together with his members lawyers. He was admitted to theMalaysian Bar in 1996, a year after returning fromLincoln's Inn.
In the2008 general election, Gobind Singh made his electoral debut after being nominated by PR to contest the Puchong federal seat. He won the seat and was elected to theParliament as the Puchong MP for the first term after defeating Lau Yeng Peng ofBarisan Nasional (BN) by a majority of 19,972 votes amid a significant swing and switch of support to the opposition in Selangor.
In the2013 general election, Gobind Singh was renominated by PR to defend the Puchong seat. He defended the seat and was reelected to the Parliament as the Puchong MLA for the second term after defeating A. Kohillan Pillay of BN by a majority of 32,802 votes.
In the2018 general election, Gobind Singh was nominated by PH to defend the Puchong seat. He defended the seat and was reelected to the Parliament as the Puchong MLA for the third term after defeating Ang Chin Tat of BN and Mohamad Rosharizan Mohd Rozlan ofGagasan Sejahtera (GS) by a majority of 47,635 votes.
At the2022 Democratic Action Party National Congress held on 20 March 2022, Gobind Singh was reelected to the Central Executive Committee of DAP with the highest number of votes, 1,782[4] and subsequently appointed as the party's Deputy National Chairman.[5]
In the2022 general election, Gobind Singh was nominated by PH to contest for the Damansara federal seat instead of defending the Puchong seat. He won the seat and was reelected to Parliament as the Damansara MP for the first term after defeating Lim Si Ching ofPerikatan Nasional (PN) and Tan Gim Tuan of BN by a majority of 124,619 votes, the largest majority in Malaysian history.
At the 2024 Selangor Democratic Action Party election, Gobind suffered a surprise defeat and failed to enter the state party's executive committee, losing out on the state party's chairmanship.[6] His defeat was seen as a sign that dynastic politics within the party was fading.[7] However, he was re-elected to the party's Central Executive Committee in the2025 Democratic Action Party National Congress held on 16 March 2025, garnering the highest number of votes once again, at 2,785.[8] He succeededLim Guan Eng as the party's National Chairman.[9]
After PH defeated BN in the 2018 general election and resulted in the first evertransition of power in the Malaysian history, Gobind Singh was appointed as the Minister of Communications and Multimedia on 21 May 2018.[10][11][12][13] He said The Anti-Fake News Act officially gazetted in April will be repealed. Gobind Singh also stated that the proposal to repeal the act would be presented to Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad for swift action.[14]
He lost the position following the collapse of the PH administration in the2020 political crisis.
In acabinet reshuffle on 12 December 2023, Gobind Singh was brought back to theCabinet after he was appointed as theMinister of Digital, overseeing a new ministry formed from splitting up theMinistry of Communications and Digital, previously led byFahmi Fadzil. Upon learning the appointment, his brother Ramkarpal resigned from the government as theDeputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Laws and Institutional Reforms to avoid allegations ofnepotism. Gobind also took over the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) from thePrime Minister's Department. Fahmi added that Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), MYNIC Bhd and the Department of Personal Data Protection would also be placed under the purview of Gobind. Gobind highlighted the need to clarify and fine-tune certain aspects in terms of job scopes that fall under his ministry.
In 2009 he was suspended from Parliament for 12 months for calling then-Prime Minister,Najib Razak, a "murderer" in a parliamentary debate and insulting the deputy speaker. He later won a legal challenge seeking to be paid his normal remuneration for his period of suspension.[15]
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | P103Puchong | Gobind Singh Deo (DAP) | 35,079 | 59.14% | Lau Yeng Peng (Gerakan) | 15,107 | 25.47% | 59,317 | 19,972 | 78.44% | ||
| 2013 | Gobind Singh Deo (DAP) | 62,938 | 66.69% | Kohilan Pillay Appu (Gerakan) | 30,136 | 31.93% | 94,367 | 32,802 | 88.19% | |||
| 2018 | Gobind Singh Deo (DAP) | 60,429 | 72.66% | Ang Chin Tat (Gerakan) | 12,794 | 13.27% | 96,437 | 47,635 | 87.47% | |||
| Mohamad Rosharizan Mohd Rozlan (PAS) | 10,255 | 10.63% | ||||||||||
| 2022 | P106Damansara | Gobind Singh Deo (DAP) | 142,875 | 81.67% | Lim Si Ching (Gerakan) | 18,256 | 10.44% | 176,625 | 124,619 | 73.90% | ||
| Tan Gim Tuan (MCA) | 13,806 | 7.89% | ||||||||||
Malaysia
Recipient of the16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Installation Medal (2019)
Recipient of the17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Installation Medal (2024)
Media related toGobind Singh Deo at Wikimedia Commons.jpg)
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