Matthias Yao
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Matthias Yao Chih ( zh, s=姚智, p=Yáo Zhì, born 12 January 1956) is a Singaporean former politician. A former 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 was a
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
Marine Parade GRC The Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) located in the central, eastern and north-eastern areas of Singapore. The constituency consists of a section of Bedok, Chai Chee, Geylan ...
between 1991 and 1997, and
MacPherson SMC The MacPherson Single Member Constituency is a single member constituency located in the central area of Singapore. The current Member of Parliament for the constituency is Tin Pei Ling of the People's Action Party (PAP). History It existed from ...
between 1997 and 2011. During his political career, he had served as a Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, the
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of the South East District and
Deputy Speaker The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
of the
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
.


Education

Yao had his early education at St Anthony's Boys' School, St Joseph's Institution and
National Junior College National Junior College (NJC) is a government Junior college (Singapore), junior college located in Bukit Timah, Singapore. Established in 1969, it was the first government junior college in Singapore. NJC offers a two-year course for pre-univer ...
. In 1975, he was awarded a
Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDE ...
Overseas Merit Scholarship to study at the
University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, where he graduated in 1978 with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree.


Career

A
Chinese Singaporean Chinese Singaporeans () are Singaporeans of Chinese descent. Chinese Singaporeans constitute 75.9% of the Singaporean citizen population according to the official census, making them the largest ethnic group among them. As early as the 10th ...
, Yao was a
civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
before he entered politics. He served as the Deputy Director (Police and Security) at the
Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
from 1980 to 1981, and the Deputy Director (Planning) at the
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Eco ...
's Public Service Division from 1982 to 1984. From 1984 to 1986, he served at the Ministry of Community Development as the Deputy Directory (Community Relations) and Head of the Feedback Unit. He was the Deputy Director (Public Communications) at the
Ministry of Communications and Information 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 ...
from 1986 to 1988. In 1988, Yao became the Political Secretary to
Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Parliament of Singapore, ...
, who was then Singapore's First Deputy Prime Minister. Yao was elected to Parliament at the 1991 general election as an MP for the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency. He remained part of the PAP's team at the Marine Parade by-election in 1992, and was re-elected. Yao was made a Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Defence in 1991. In 1994, he was promoted to Senior Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of National Development. In 1994, Yao was publicly challenged by the secretary general of the opposition
Singapore Democratic Party The Singapore Democratic Party (abbreviation: SDP) is a politcal party in Singapore. The party was founded on 6 August 1980 by Chiam See Tong. During the 1991 general election, Ling How Doong and Cheo Chai Chen won Bukit Gombak SMC and Nee ...
(SDP), Dr Chee Soon Juan, to stand against him in a
single member constituency A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vot ...
at the next general election. This happened following a series of letters which Yao and Chee wrote to ''
The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...
''. Chee had initially written to the newspaper to respond to criticisms that Deputy Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...
had made of his book ''Dare to Change'', and Yao then responded in his capacity as the PAP's Second Organising Secretary. This led to a two-month-long exchange of letters between the pair which were published in the paper, which ended with Chee issuing his challenge to Yao. At Yao's request,
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Goh Chok Tong agreed to separate Yao's MacPherson ward from the rest of the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency at the next general election so that Yao could take up Chee's challenge. At the 1997 general election, Yao defeated Chee by 12,546 votes (65.1%) to 6,713 (34.9%). Yao was subsequently re-elected as the MP for MacPherson at the
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
and
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
general elections. After the 1997 general election, Yao was made a Minister of State at the
Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
. In 1999, he became a Minister of State at the Prime Minister's Office. He was promoted to Senior Minister of State in 2001. During his time at the Prime Minister's office, Yao also served as the Deputy Secretary General of the
National Trades Union Congress The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), also known as the Singapore National Trades Union Congress (SNTUC) internationally, is the sole national trade union centre in Singapore. NTUC is at the heart of the Labour Movement which comprises 59 ...
(NTUC). In 2004, Yao left the Prime Minister's Office and became the Mayor of the South East District of Singapore. In 2006 he was made a Deputy Speaker of Parliament. Prior to the 2011 general election, Yao announced that he was retiring from politics and would not be standing as a candidate. His MacPherson ward was subsumed back into the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency for the election, and after the election responsibility for the ward was taken over by
Tin Pei Ling Tin Pei Ling ( zh, s=陈佩玲, p=Chén Pèilíng; born 23 December 1983) is a Singaporean politician and businesswoman. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing MacPherson ...
, whom Yao had previously mentored.


Personal life

Yao is married with two children.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yao, Matthias Members of the Parliament of Singapore Saint Joseph's Institution, Singapore alumni National Junior College alumni 1956 births Living people Alumni of the University of Birmingham Singaporean people of Chinese descent Singaporean people of Teochew descent