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Singaporean politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Muhamad Faisal bin Abdul Manap (Jawi: محمد فيصل بن عبد المناف; born 6 June 1975)[1][2] is a Singaporean politician. A member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Kaki Bukit division of Aljunied GRC since 2011 and has been serving as Vice-Chairman of the WP since 2016. He has been an advisor for Sengkang GRC since 2021.
Faisal Manap | |
|---|---|
| فيصل مناف | |
.jpg) Faisal in 2021 | |
| Vice-Chairman of the Workers' Party | |
| Assumed office 29 May 2016 | |
| Chairwoman | Sylvia Lim Swee Lian (since 2003) |
| Secretary-General | Low Thia Khiang (2001–2018) Pritam Singh (since 2018) |
| Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC (Kaki Bukit) | |
| Assumed office 7 May 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 June 1975[1][2] Singapore |
| Political party | Workers' Party |
| Alma mater | Monash University (BS) |
| Occupation | Politician |
Faisal attended Eunos Primary School and Telok Kurau Secondary School before graduating from Singapore Polytechnic in 1995 with a diploma in civil and structural engineering.
He subsequently went on to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology at Monash University in 2005.[3]
Between 1998 and 2002, Faisal worked as a technical officer in the Housing and Development Board of Singapore. From 2006 to 2010, Faisal worked as a freelance counselor and counseled couples on marriage and divorce.[4]
Faisal joined the Worker's Party in February 2006[5] and first entered politics during the 2011 general election as the ethnic minority candidate in a five-member Worker's Party team along with Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim, Low Thia Kiang and Chen Show Mao contesting in Aljunied GRC against the governing People's Action Party (PAP). The Workers' Party team won with 54.72% of the vote, making it the first time in Singapore's electoral history an opposition party had won a general election in a GRC. Faisal thus became a Member of Parliament representing the Kaki Bukit ward of Aljunied GRC in the 12th Parliament on 9 May 2011.[6] The Workers' Party has since retained its parliamentary seats in Aljunied GRC in the subsequent general elections and Faisal has continued serving as the Member of Parliament representing Kaki Bukit. Within the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council, Faisal has served as chairman of the Estate and Liaison Committee (2013—2018), overall Council chairman (2018—2021), and Council vice-chairman (2021—2022).[7][8]
Faisal is one of the party's five-member Worker's Party team along with Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim, Gerald Giam and Leon Perera contesting the Aljunied GRC in the 2020 general election and retain back with 59.95% of the votes.
During the debate over a parliamentary bill to amend the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, Faisal had a heated exchange with Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam over the separation of religion from politics.[9] Faisal stated that he did not fully agree with the principle of the separation of religion from politics. He argued that while people "shouldn't use religion for the benefit of politics", it is inevitable that religion and politics are intertwined in the formulation of policies.[10][11]
Since he had been elected to Parliament in 2011, Faisal had persistently raised the issue of allowing Muslim nurses and women in uniformed services to don the tudong in the course of their duty. In 2017, Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli rebuked Faisal for "subtly and frequently needling" the Malay-Muslim community with this issue. Masagos said that such issues should not be discussed in Parliament since it has the potential to disrupt Singapore’s racial and religious harmony and that should be resolved behind closed doors instead.[12] In 2021, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Muslim nurses in Singapore's public healthcare sector will be allowed to wear a tudung with their uniforms if they wish to.[13]
In November 2022, the Parliament came to a vote on repealing Section 377A of the Penal Code, a law that criminalised sex between consenting adult males. Faisal though was absent due to a COVID-19 infection,[14] had conveyed through his party leader, Pritam Singh, in the first day of the parliamentary debate that he was in opposition of a repeal of the law as "a matter of religion and conscience".[15][16] He would also have voted against the repeal on the following day if he could be present.[17]
Faisal was elected Vice Chairman of the Workers' Party central executive committee (CEC) on 29 May 2016, taking over the position from Mohammed Rahizan Yaacob.[18][19] His two-year term has been continuously renewed in subsequent CEC elections, with the last election held on 27 December 2020.[20][21]
Following Raeesah Khan's admission to lying to Parliament in November 2021, in February 2022 the Committee of Privileges (COP) recommended that Faisal (as well as Pritam Singh) be referred to the Public Prosecutor for review so as to determine if criminal proceedings ought to be brought against them for their conduct before the COP.
On 19 March 2024, the Public Prosecutor announced that it would not pursue charges against Faisal for his refusal to answer questions asked by the COP. That said, the Police (following consultation with the Public Prosecutor) formally issued an advisory to Faisal on 18 March 2024, advising him to "familiarise himself with the conduct expected of Members of Parliament" and "to refrain from any act that may be in breach of [the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act 1962]".[22][23]
Faisal is married and has three children (two sons and a daughter).[24]
On 24 July 2023, Faisal was admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital due to a cardiac condition. The Worker's Party stated that "His condition is stable and he is being monitored and cared for in the intensive care unit. Mr Faisal is conscious"[25] and that other party members from the Aljunied GRC would step in to take over his constituency duties for the time being.[26]
In June 2014, Faisal was seen alongside campaign organisers and supporters at a Wear White campaign, an anti-LGBT movement in Singapore. Faisal clarified that he opposes homosexuality and Pink Dot SG and that he backed the movement in his personal capacity "as a Muslim individual".[27]
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