Baey Yam Keng ( zh, s=马炎庆, p=Mǎ Yánqìng; born 31 August 1970) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment since 2022 and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport since 2018. A member of the governing

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...

(PAP), he has been the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) representing the Tampines North division of

Tampines GRC The Tampines Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the eastern region of Singapore. The GRC encompasses Tampines with five divisions: Tampines East, Tampines West, Tampines Central, Tampin ...

since 2011. Before entering politics, Baey had worked in the public and corporate sectors in various organisations, including the

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. His ...

Ministry of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and M ...

Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI; ms, Kementerian Perhubungan dan Penerangan; zh, 通讯及新闻部; ta, தொடர்பு, தகவல் அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore respons ...

, National Arts Council,

CapitaLand CapitaLand is a Singaporean headquartered company focusing on investment, development and management of real estate. It is one of Asia's largest real estate companies and the owner and manager of a global portfolio comprising integrated develo ...

and

Hill+Knowlton Strategies A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

. He made his political debut in the 2006 general election when he joined a six-member PAP team contesting in

Tanjong Pagar GRC The Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in Central and Western Singapore. The five divisions consists: Buona Vista, Queenstown, Moulmein-Cairnhill, Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru ...

, and they won by an uncontested walkover. Baey thus became a Member of Parliament representing the Queenstown ward of Tanjong Pagar GRC. During the 2011 general election, he switched to contesting in Tampines GRC. After the PAP team won with 57.22% of the vote, Baey became the Member of Parliament representing the Tampines North ward of Tampines GRC and had retained his parliamentary seat in the subsequent general elections. He was appointed Parliamentary Secretary at the

Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY; ms, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Masyarakat dan Belia; ; ta, கலாசார, சமூக, இளையர்துறை அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore r ...

in 2015 and promoted to Senior Parliamentary Secretary in 2018.

Education

Baey was the first batch of students at Westlake Primary School (now defunct) from 1977 to 1982. He was educated at

Catholic High School Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

and

Hwa Chong Junior College The Hwa Chong Junior College () was a junior college in Singapore offering pre-university education. The school merged with The Chinese High School on 1 January 2005 to form the integrated Hwa Chong Institution. History Founding Hwa Chong Juni ...

before he received a scholarship from the

to study

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

(first class honours) in biotechnology, and received a postgraduate scholarship from the Economic Development Board to complete a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

(distinction) in

biochemical engineering Biochemical engineering, also known as bioprocess engineering, is a field of study with roots stemming from chemical engineering and biological engineering. It mainly deals with the design, construction, and advancement of unit processes that inv ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

Career

Baey started his career in 1995 in the public sector and had worked at the

, and National Arts Council. In 2006, he joined the corporate sector as Vice-President (Corporate Marketing & Corporate Social Responsibility) at

and General Manager of CapitaLand Hope Foundation. In 2009, he joined

and was its Singapore Managing Director from 2011 to 2012. In 2013, he received a Lien Fellowship from

Nanyang Technological University The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a national research university in Singapore. It is the second oldest autonomous university in the country and is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in the world by various inte ...

and was an adjunct lecturer at the university from 2013 to 2015.

Political career

Baey entered politics during the 2006 general election when he joined a six-member

(PAP) team contesting in

. The PAP team won by an uncontested walkover and Baey thus became a

representing the Queenstown ward of Tanjong Pagar GRC. In February 2007, Baey was named as one of the members of a 'new media capabilities group' aimed at countering online criticisms of the PAP. During the 2011 general election, Baey switched to join the five-member PAP team contesting in

and they won with 57.22% of the vote against the National Solidarity Party. Baey thus became the Member of Parliament representing the Tampines North ward of Tampines GRC. In December 2013, Baey, who is known for sharing his personal life on social media, attracted controversy when he mentioned that he paid below the full price for a meal at a food stall in Tampines North. After the stall owner clarified that he had given Baey an undisclosed discount out of goodwill, Baey publicised that the stall would offer a special discount for up to 100 customers a day from 21 to 22 December 2013, and would donate all proceeds to the Tampines North welfare fund to help needy residents. Baey also shared how an activist showed support by pledging dollar for dollar for the same fund. In June 2014, Baey allegedly called for legal action to be taken against those who had vandalised the PAP's article on

Wikipedia Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...

, which had been the subject of an

edit war A wiki ( ) is an online hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience, using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project, and could be either open to the pub ...

between vandals and editors on 12 and 13 June. He clarified later that he did not call on the PAP to consider legal action as Wikipedia page edits are not a priority for legal action. In January 2015, Baey was co-opted into the PAP's Central Executive Committee. He left the Central Executive Committee in 2017. During the 2015 general election, Baey contested as part of a five-member PAP team in Tampines GRC again and won with 72.07% of the vote against the National Solidarity Party, thus retaining his parliamentary seat in Tampines North. On 1 October 2015, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary at the

. On 1 May 2018, he was promoted to Senior Parliamentary Secretary and appointed to the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...

while concurrently serving at the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. Baey retained his parliamentary seat in Tampines North during the 2020 general election after his five-member PAP team won with 66.41% of the vote against the National Solidarity Party. On 26 July 2020, he relinquished his appointment at the

but continued serving as Senior Parliamentary Secretary at the

. Baey was appointed Senior Parliamentary Secretary at the

Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE; ms, Kementerian Kemampanan dan Sekitaran; zh, 永续发展与环境部; ta, நீடித்த நிலைத்தன்மை, சுற்றுப்புற அமைச்ச ...

on 13 June 2022.

Personal life

Baey is married to Lim Hai Yen, a playwright and director. They have three children. Baey is the founding president and producer of a theatre group, The ETCeteras. In 2014, he had a lead acting role in ''Like Me. I Like'', a play written and directed by his wife. He was diagnosed with stage one

nose cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

in 2021.

References

External links

Baey Yam Keng
on

Parliament of Singapore The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the president of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made up of Members of Parliam ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baey, Yam Keng 1970 births Alumni of Imperial College London Alumni of University College London Catholic High School, Singapore alumni Hwa Chong Junior College alumni Living people Members of the Parliament of Singapore People's Action Party politicians Singaporean people of Teochew descent