Political career
During the early 1970s,he was recruited by the governing People's Action Party (PAP) and contested the Leng Kee Constituency in the 1972 election on the recommendation of Abdul Rahim Ishak,then the MP for Siglap and the younger brother of Yusof bin Ishak,Singapore's first President. From 1977 to 1993,he also served as the inaugural Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs,a role created to strengthen understanding and improve relations between the Singaporean Malay–Muslim community and the PAP government. [4]
In addition,from 1985 to 1993,he served as the Minister for the Environment in the 7th and 8th Cabinets under Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. During his tenure,he was noted for tightening restrictions on the sale of aerosols containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs),continuing the clean-up of the Singapore River and introducing the corrective work order (CWO) to combat littering through the public shaming of "litterbugs". He had planned to resign from the Cabinet after the 1991 general election but was persuaded by newly elected prime minister Goh Chok Tong,who succeeded Lee,to remain for one more term in his First Cabinet. He eventually stepped down from his ministerial posts in 1993 and remained a backbencher until his full retirement from politics when the 8th Parliament was dissolved ahead of the 1997 general election. Since then,he has largely kept a low profile. [5]
