Malaysia MP Syed Saddiq OTW to Singapore for fellowship

Malaysia MP Syed Saddiq OTW to Singapore for fellowship

A charismatic young Malaysian lawmaker who scored a Singaporean leadership fellowship is heading down to complete his studies.

Syed Saddiq, the 28-year-old representative of the Muar district in Johor, Malaysia, will be in town to attend classes at the National University of Singapore under its Lee Kuan Yew Senior Fellowship in Public Service program, which he began last year and had been participating in remotely from home. Syed also said that he would not keep his MP pay for the month.

“I’ll be in Singapore for a month. I’m not going on vacation but to study. I will also humbly return my salary in March 2021 for the use of Muar Parliament throughout Singapore. I don’t deserve to keep my salary while I further my studies,” he wrote online today.

It was not clear when he would depart for Singapore. 

Tolong doakan.

Alhamdulillah! Saya ke Singapore untuk menghabiskan pengajian saya di NUS Lee Kuan Yew School of Public… Posted by Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman on Sunday, 7 March 2021

Previous politicians who studied under the same program include Singapore’s parliament speaker Tan Chuan-Jin and Malaysian MPs Chang Lih Kang and Wong Shu Qi. The six-week program is catered to senior government leaders or leaders in nonprofit and private organizations. Students get to learn all things related to being a leader and public policies. 

To date, the postgraduate school has only over 3,000 graduates from 90 countries since it was established in 2004, making it one of the hardest and most sought-after programs in Singapore to enrol in.

Syed last year founded the political party Muda after Malaysia had a change in government. He became the youngest federal minister in 2018 when he was appointed to lead the youth and sports ministry under former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad’s rule.