Steven Sim Chee Keong. In this

Chinese name Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethni ...

, the

family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

is Sim (沈). In accordance with custom, the Western-style name is Steven Sim and the Chinese-style name is Sim Chee Keong. (born 13 May 1982) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Minister of Human Resources in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister

Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim (; born 10 August 1947), also known by his abbreviation as DSAI and PMX, is a Malaysian politician who is the 10th prime minister of Malaysia since 2022. A member of the People's Justice Party (Malaysia), People's Justice P ...

since December 2023 as well as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukit Mertajam since May 2013. He served as the Deputy Minister of Finance II in the PH administration under Prime Minister and Minister Anwar from December 2022 to December 2023 and the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports in the PH administration under former Prime Minister

Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...

and former Minister

Syed Saddiq Syed Saddiq bin Syed Abdul Rahman (; born 6 December 1992) is a Malaysian politician and convicted criminal who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Muar since May 2018. He served as the Minister of Youth and Sports in the Pakat ...

from July 2018 to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020. He is a member of the

Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (DAP; ) is a social democracy, social democratic and Secularism, secular political party in Malaysia, sitting on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. As one of four component parties of ...

(DAP), a component party of the PH coalition. He has served as the Deputy Secretary-General of DAP since March 2025 and State Chairman of DAP of

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

since September 2024. He also served as the National Organising Secretary of DAP from March 2022 to March 2025. He is presently the second youngest Cabinet minister in the

Anwar Ibrahim cabinet The Anwar Ibrahim cabinet is the current federal cabinet of Malaysia, formed on 3 December 2022, nine days after Anwar Ibrahim took office as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia. The composition of the cabinet was announced by Anwar a day ea ...

, after Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Ewon Benedick, at the age of .

Early life and education

Steven Sim Chee Keong was born in Bukit Mertajam,

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

on 13 May 1982. His early education started at SK Stowell and

Bukit Mertajam High School Tinggi Bukit Mertajam National High School (), commonly known as High School Bukit Mertajam (HSBM), is a public secondary school located in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, Malaysia. Name The name of the school has changed several times, from the Gover ...

(HSBM). He graduated from

University of Malaya The Universiti Malaya (lit 'University of Malaya'; abbreviated UM) is a public university, public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest Malaysian institution of higher education, and was the only university in ...

in Computer Science in 2004. He later pursued a Masters in

Sustainable Development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

at the Jeffrey Sachs Centre on Sustainable Development in Sunway University and graduated in 2020.

Early career

Steven served in a multinational corporation for three years before joining the Penang state government in 2008. He also sits on the governing board of the Penang Institute, a leading public policy think tank based in Penang, Malaysia. Steven was formerly the executive secretary of the Network of Social Democracy in Asia, a regional dialogue of political parties, scholars and NGOs of the social democratic persuasion.

Political career

Early political career

In January 2011, Steven was appointed as a member of the

Seberang Perai Municipal Council The Seberang Perai City Council ( ) is the local government that administers the city of Seberang Perai, which encompasses the mainland half of the Malaysian state of Penang. The city council, which has jurisdiction over an area of , falls under ...

(MPSP), one of the largest local governments of

. In 2012, he was named as a Young Global Leader of the Geneva-based

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Penang Institute, a public policy think-tank based in

. Steven writes regularly for Penang Monthly (formerly Penang Economic Monthly) as well as contributing opinion pieces to prominent Malaysian online news portals such as

Malaysiakini ''Malaysiakini'' (English: "Malaysia Now") is an online news portal in Malaysia which was established in 1999. It is published in Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil, and is among the most read news portals in Malaysia. At the time of its ...

and the Malaysian Insider. He has authored 4 books, including "''A contemporary socio-political critique of the Malay classic Hikayat Hang Tuah, Hang Tuah: Adiwira Bangsa''" in 2021. Steven was elected into the DAP central executive committee (CEC) in 2022.

Minister of Human Resources (since 2023)

In a

cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the head of state changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parliam ...

on 12 December 2023, Steven was promoted to a Cabinet minister and assigned a new portfolio. He was appointed as the Minister of Human Resources to replace V. Sivakumar, who was the only Cabinet minister to be dropped in the reshuffle and whose aides were facing corruption charges.

State Chairman of DAP Penang (since 2024)

In the 2024 DAP Penang state party elections, Steven was appointed as the Penang DAP chairman for the 2024 - 2027 term.

Personal life

Steven is married to Chan Jo Rin. He speaks English, Malay, Hokkien, and Mandarin.

Election results

Honours

* : **

MY Pingat Pertabalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong XVII ribbon

Recipient of the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Installation Medal (2024)

Award

* Young Global Leader (2012)

Bibliography

Books

*''The Audacity to Think: An Invitation to Rethink Politics'' (2012) *''Being Malaysia'' (2018) *''An anthology of Malay poems, Dalam Salju Ada Bunga'' (2018) *''A contemporary socio-political critique of the Malay classic Hikayat Hang Tuah, Hang Tuah: Adiwira Bangsa'' (2021).

External links

* *
The Audacity to Think

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sim, Steven Living people 1982 births Penang politicians Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent Democratic Action Party (Malaysia) politicians University of Malaya alumni Malaysian MPs 2022–