Mah Bow Tan | |
|---|---|
马宝山 | |
 Mah at theWorld Economic Forum Global Redesign Summit 2010 inDoha | |
| Leader of the House | |
| In office 1 April 2007 – 30 May 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong |
| Preceded by | Wong Kan Seng |
| Succeeded by | Ng Eng Hen |
| Minister for National Development | |
| In office 3 June 1999 – 20 May 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Goh Chok Tong Lee Hsien Loong |
| Preceded by | Lim Hng Kiang |
| Succeeded by | Khaw Boon Wan |
| Minister for the Environment | |
| In office 1 July 1993 – 16 April 1995 | |
| Prime Minister | Goh Chok Tong |
| Preceded by | Ahmad Mattar |
| Succeeded by | Teo Chee Hean |
| Minister for Communications | |
| In office 1 September 1991 – 3 June 1999 Acting: 1 July 1991 – 31 August 1991 | |
| Prime Minister | Goh Chok Tong |
| Preceded by | Yeo Ning Hong (as Minister for Communications and Information) |
| Succeeded by | Yeo Cheow Tong (as Minister for Communications and Information Technology) |
| Member of theSingapore Parliament forTampines GRC (Tampines East) | |
| In office 3 September 1988 – 25 August 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Cheng Li Hui (PAP) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1948-09-12)12 September 1948 (age 77)[1] |
| Party | People's Action Party |
| Spouse | Sheryn Kaye Von Senden |
| Alma mater | University of New South Wales (BEng,MEng) |
Mah Bow Tan[a] (born 12 September 1948)[1] is a Singaporean former politician who served asLeader of the House between 2007 and 2011,Minister for National Development between 1999 and 2011,Minister for the Environment from 1993 to 1995, andMinister for Communications between 1991 and 1999. A former member of thePeople's Action Party, he served as the Member of Parliament representing theTampines East ward ofTampines Group Representation Constituency between 1988 and 2015.
Mah attendedSt. Michael's School andSt. Joseph's Institution[2] before graduating from theUniversity of New South Wales in 1971 with aBachelor of Engineering with first class honours degree inindustrial engineering under thePresident's Scholarship andColombo Plan Scholarship. Mah also won the University Medal for being the top student in engineering.
He subsequently went on to complete aMaster of Engineering degree in operations research at the University of New South Wales in 1973 and received anhonorary doctorate from the university in 2001.[2]
After completing his university education, Mah worked in theSingapore Bus Service from 1973 to 1983 and became its general manager. He was then seconded toSingapore News and Publications to serve as the chief executive officer of theSingapore Monitor newspaper. From 1985 to 1988, he was the group general manager ofSingapore Press Holdings, which was formed from the 1984 merger of Singapore News and Publications and two other organisations.[2]
Mah entered politics in the1984 general election when he contested as a candidate of the governingPeople's Action Party (PAP) inPotong Pasir Single Member Constituency (SMC) againstChiam See Tong of the oppositionSingapore Democratic Party. He lost to Chiam, who won with 60.28% of the vote.Lee Kuan Yew, the PAP's leader, was thought to have played a role in Mah's electoral defeat, having been seen as being unnecessarily dismissive in comparing Chiam's averageGCE Ordinary Level results to Mah's stellar academic achievements.[3]
During the1988 general election, Mah joined a three-member PAP team contesting inTampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC) and they won with 61% of the vote, so Mah became a Member of Parliament representing theTampines East ward of Tampines GRC. Since then, he and the PAP team in Tampines GRC had won the subsequent five general elections (1991,1997,2001,2006 and2011) against the oppositionSingapore Democratic Alliance andNational Solidarity Party. Excluding an uncontested walkover in 1997, Mah and the PAP team in Tampines GRC won with results of between 73.34% (in 2001) and 57.22% (in 2011) of the vote during those five general elections.
In 1990, Mah was appointedMinister of State at theMinistry of Trade and Industry andMinistry of Communications. A year later, he was appointed to theCabinet as Acting Minister for Communications while concurrently holding the post of Minister of State for Trade and Industry.
Mah served as Singapore's Minister for Communications from 1991 to 1999. He concurrently served as theMinister for the Environment from 1993 to 1995. He was appointedMinister for National Development in 1999 and served until 2011. He also served as Deputy Leader of the House inParliament from 2002 to 2007, andLeader of the House from 2007 to 2011.
On 20 May 2011, Mah said at aBuilding and Construction Authority event that he accepted responsibility over public unhappiness due to a sharp increase in housing prices over the previous years.[4] He stepped down from his Cabinet position as Minister for National Development after the2011 general election.[5] In a 2013 Chinese-language book published by the Hainan Culture and Heritage Centre, Mah refuted rumours that he had to step down because he had seemingly been blamed for growing public unhappiness over sky-rocketing property prices, claiming that he stepped down to make way for younger, talented people to take over.[6]
Throughout his political career, Mah had also held other positions, including chairman of the board of directors of NTUC Comfort from 1983 to 1986; chairman of the National Productivity Board, National Productivity Council and Skills Redevelopment Fund Advisory Council; chairman of the board of governors of the Singapore Institute of Labour Studies from 1990 to 2002; and president of theFootball Association of Singapore from 1999 to 2004.[2] Mah announced his retirement from politics on 23 August 2015 just before the2015 general election.[7]
After retiring from politics in 2015, Mah was appointed as an independent director and non-executive chairman ofGlobal Yellow Pages in September 2011.[8][9] In November 2018, Mah joined Singapore-based fintech firm HydraX as an adviser and director, in addition to serving as chairman of GlobalCities Sustainable Investment.[10] He stepped down as non-executive chairman of Global Yellow Pages in 2020 and has been non-executive deputy chairman and non-independent director since then.[11]
Mah is married to Sheryn Kaye Von Senden.[12]
In 2011, the Flower Dome and Heritage Garden atGardens by the Bay named adendrobium Mah Bow Tan in his honour.[13]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister for Communications September 1991 - 3 June 1999 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for the Environment 7 July 1993 - 16 April 1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for National Development 3 June 1999 - 21 May 2011 | Succeeded by |
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| International | |
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| National | |
