Maliki Osman on his personal touch in foreign affairs, bringing social work into government
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Building deep relationships helps Singapore establish a sense of trust with its foreign partners, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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SINGAPORE - Over his decade in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman has tried to bring a personal touch to building relationships.
Among the ways he has tried to do so is by inviting foreign ambassadors to his home for Hari Raya celebrations, together with his friends, neighbours and community leaders, to help establish a sense of friendship.
Building such deep relationships helps establish a sense of trust, allowing Singapore to hold discussions with its foreign partners to negotiate new agreements and plans, said Dr Maliki, who is also Second Minister for Foreign Affairs.
“Because once you have trust, you know that you are working with a friend, you’re not just working with a business partner,” he said. “You know that these are people who have your mutual interests at heart.
“When you engage at the international level, you need to be sincere, honest and genuine, and that’s what I have done over the last 10 years in the Foreign Affairs Ministry.”
Galvanising like-minded partners
Dr Maliki – who was first appointed as Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in 2015 – was speaking to reporters in an interview at the MFA building in Sherwood Road on May 19.
On April 21, he announced his retirement from politics
An assistant professor at the National University of Singapore’s social work and psychology department when he joined politics in 2001 at the age of 36, he was part of a six-member team that won Sembawang GRC during the general election that year.
After first becoming a political office-holder in 2004 as Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Health, Dr Maliki served in various ministries, including the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of National Development.
Following the 2020 General Election, he was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, as well as Second Minister of Education and for Foreign Affairs.
Much of his work with MFA has involved travelling and advocating Singapore’s interests, Dr Maliki said.
Singapore’s actions are in the country’s best interests, he said.
“It’s not self-centredness, but it’s just being practical. Being a small country, we need to ensure our survival,” he noted.
“At the same time, Singapore’s interest is not just about what Singapore means
This includes initiating groupings such as the Forum of Small States and Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation, as well as acting as a member of other groups such as Asean and the Indian Ocean Rim Association.
Even amid trade tensions between the US and China, Singapore has sought opportunities by establishing partnerships in regions such as Africa and the Pacific Islands, allowing the country to “put our eggs in other baskets”, he said.
Seeking longer-term solutions for Israel-Palestine
On the issue of Israel-Palestine, Dr Maliki reiterated the Republic’s position that Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip have gone beyond what was allowed in international law.
“What we hope to be able to do is to encourage both sides, and the other interlocutors in the region, to bring them to the table to find longer-term solutions,” he said, adding that this was facilitated by Singapore maintaining a line of communication with Israel.
This allowed the Republic of Singapore Air Force to be one of the few air forces given entry into Israeli airspace to deliver humanitarian aid via air drop
In December 2024, Dr Maliki – who noted he had visited Ramallah in the West Bank numerous times – represented Singapore at a ministerial conference in Egypt on the Gaza crisis.
There, he met Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and reaffirmed the Republic’s continued commitment to supporting the Palestinian Authority’s capacity-building efforts, such as by increasing the number of annual scholarships offered under the Enhanced Technical Assistance Package.
And, in January, Dr Maliki travelled to Jordan to give $1.3 million in humanitarian support for Gaza.
“Our immediate priority now is to encourage the resumption of delivery of humanitarian assistance to the victims of Gaza,” he said.
Creating a variety of pathways
As Second Minister of Education, Dr Maliki said his greatest sense of satisfaction came from leading a review of the pathways and opportunities for students in polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), to better support their strengths and aspirations.
“I think it’s important for us to create that variety of pathways, for students to know that they may develop at different paces, and they may have different talents. We want that diversity, to acknowledge those talents and to harness those talents.”
He pointed to the 2024 enhancement to the work-study diploma programme
New courses were added, allowing about 15 per cent of ITE graduates to progress to a diploma qualification.
This has allowed those who may have to work to support their families to also pursue further education, so they can achieve salaries similar to those of polytechnic graduates, Dr Maliki said.
Dr Maliki also spearheaded efforts to provide more resources for special education, such as by increasing funding to special education schools to raise teachers’ salaries to attract and retain talent.
“We believe that every child, even with special needs, has the ability to harness their potential to the best of their ability, and we do want to do that. I think we can do more still, because more needs to be done,” he said.
Dr Maliki, who has a PhD in social work from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said his background in social work helped inform his political career.
One of the most meaningful experiences was when he served in the Ministry of National Development (MND) – first as parliamentary secretary in 2005, before becoming Minister of State in 2013 – where he said the issues of people living in rental flats resonated with him.
During his time in MND, Dr Maliki established Project 4650, which brought together different government agencies and community groups to help residents in two Bedok South Interim Rental Housing blocks become self-reliant.
Project 4650 served as a key reference point for the Ministry of Social and Family Development when designing ComLink, which coordinates social service support for low-income families that face multiple challenges.
“It gives me a lot of satisfaction that what I’ve done with a group of families, challenging as they were, is now being implemented upstream to help families in rental flats, so that we can try to stabilise their lives and move them to purchase flats,” he said.
Listening to differing views
During his time in office, Dr Maliki – described by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong
When asked if the expectations that Malay/Muslim voters have of their elected representatives have changed – given community matters had been a hot-button issue in the recent general election – Dr Maliki said the community was maturing, with younger people exposed to different ideas via avenues such as social media.
“Their view of the world may be very different, and that’s why I think politics has to respond,” he said.
Politicians must listen to the differing views of their constituents, but, at the same time, be able to articulate why the Government takes the position it does on certain issues, he stated.
These views should not be disregarded as they may be based on rational opinions, Dr Maliki said.
“If things change, we may come back to those views again,” he said.
Even as Malay/Muslims achieve greater academic and economic success, the community is also becoming increasingly interested in spiritual matters, Dr Maliki noted.
In line with this, the Committee on Future Asatizah, chaired by Dr Maliki, was established with the aim of improving the development and competencies of Islamic religious teachers in Singapore.
Another step taken to develop religious leaders here is the establishment of the Singapore College of Islamic Studies
When asked if he would consider taking up a role in SCIS, given his own background in social work, Dr Maliki said he was keeping his options open.
“If, as I engage the different stakeholders, and if I see that it’s of value for me to contribute, I’ll be more than happy to contribute,” he said.
His retirement from politics is a bittersweet move for his family, he said, noting that it is the end of making personal sacrifices to change people’s lives, but also allows him to see his wife and two children more.
His commitment to work, which sometimes saw him sleep just four hours a day, resulted in a number of health scares over the years, he said.
Still, his family knows his passion for contributing to the community, he said, adding that he views his work as an amanah (“trust” or “responsibility” in Malay).
“While they know my passion, while they know that I want to continue, they know that I will continue in other forms,” he said.
Stepping down from politics has freed up his time.
He noted that over the weekend he was able to catch two plays – Wild Rice’s Tunggu Sekejap: The P. Ramlee Suite and the Singapore Repertory Theatre’s production of Macbeth.
Retirement will also allow him to travel more often with his family, he said, noting that his schedule previously limited him to only take vacations in December.
“Now, we can plan different times of the year to take a break,” he said.
Zhaki Abdullah is a correspondent at The Straits Times. He is on the health beat, in addition to occasionally covering science, environmental, tech and Muslim affairs issues.
