Saktiandi Supaat
Saktiandi bin Supaat (Jawi: سقتيند سوڤات; born 29 October 1973) is a Singaporean politician from the governing People's Action Party (PAP). He has been serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Toa Payoh East division of Bishan–Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency (GRC) since 2015.
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| Current Role | • Pending • |
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| Personal details | |
| Party | Independent
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For the full list of positions, refer to https://www.parliament.gov.sg/mps/list-of-current-mps/mp/details/saktiandi-supaat
Early Life and Education
Saktiandi received his early education at Henry Park Primary School, Raffles Institution, and Catholic Junior College. He graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree. He obtained a Master of Social Sciences in applied economics from the National University of Singapore (NUS). Saktiandi also completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Cambridge under the Monetary Authority of Singapore Postgraduate Scholarship.
Professional career
Prior to entering politics, Saktiandi is a well-known economist. He is the Executive Vice President and Head of the Foreign Exchange (FX) Research team in Global Markets and global Banking at Maybank.[1]
Before transitioning to the private sector in 2010, Saktiandi worked as a lead economist at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), specifically in the Economic Policy Department. During his over 10 years at MAS, he specialized in areas such as Singapore's financial strategy, macroeconometric modeling, foreign exchange markets, and the country's exchange rate policy.
Before joining Maybank, Saktiandi moved to the United Overseas Bank Group (UOB) in 2011 as Vice President and Senior Treasury Economist in Global Markets, Treasury-Economic Research.
Political career
Saktiandi entered politics in 2015 when the PAP announced his candidacy for Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC following the stepping down of several incumbent members, including Wong Kan Seng, Hri Kumar, and Zainudin Nordin. In the 2015 general election, Saktiandi was part of a five-member PAP team. The PAP team secured 73.59% of the valid votes, successfully electing Saktiandi to Parliament. In the 2020 general election, Saktiandi and his PAP team were re-elected with 67.26% of the valid votes.
In the 14th Parliament, Saktiandi was elected as chairman of the Transport Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) and served as a member of the Public Accounts Committee. He is also the chair of the Middle East and Central Asia inter-parliamentary relations group.
Saktiandi has actively raised parliamentary questions on Singapore's public transport system, climate strategy, and economic outlook. In November 2019, he introduced an Adjournment Motion to discuss "Enhancing the Role of the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) to Tackle Workplace and Job Discrimination." In October 2022, he moved another Adjournment Motion on "Helping Singaporeans Navigate a High-Interest Rate Environment."
Community Involvement
Saktiandi is deeply engaged in community work and serves on the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) board of directors and the Council of Advisors to the Education Services Union. He is also a director at Yayasan MENDAKI and the vice-chair of the Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC).
He has been active in voluntary community work since 2004, beginning with Young AMP. From 2010 to 2013, he served as the president of Young AMP and as a board director of AMP (2011-2013), later becoming the vice-chairman of AMP. Saktiandi chaired the steering committee of the Malay/Muslim Community Leaders' Forum (CLF) Labs.
Previously, he served on SPRING Singapore and the Civil Service College boards. He was also a member of the REACH Supervisory Panel, the CPF Advisory Panel, the Charity Council, and the 2015 SEA Games steering committee. Additionally, Saktiandi contributed as a steering committee member for the Future Economy.
Criticism over "The Singapore-Palestine Film Festival'bias
Saktiandi's inqury regarding the supervision on the Singapore Palestine Film Festival—held from 12 January to 21 January 2024 at The Projector at Cineleisure—triggered criticism from Singaporeans, accusing the MP of being biased.
Saktiandi filed three questions to the Minister of Home Affairs regarding the Singapore Palestine Film Festival as mentioned below:
1. What regulatory supervision is being exercised over the Singapore-Palestine Film Festival?
2. What are the permissible limits for holding events that touch on the presently hostile conflict?
3. How is the balance struck between allowing Singaporeans to gain an increased understanding of the situation and preserving the racial religious harmony enjoyed in Singapore?
Netizens argued that the MP did not ask any questions at all when the Israel Film Festival was held in October 2023 when the Israel-Gaza conflict erupted.[2]
Personal life
Saktiandi is married and has three children. He is fluent in English, Malay, and Indonesian.