Raeesah Khan

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The Honourable

Raeesah Begum Bte Farid Khan
Raeesah Khan 3 (cropped).jpg
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Sengkang GRC
(Compassvale)
Assumed office
10 July 2020
Preceded byPosition Established
ConstituencySengkang GRC
Majority4,898 (4.24%)
Personal details
Born
Raeesah Begum Bte Farid Khan

(1993-11-10) 10 November 1993 (age 27)
Singapore
Political partyWorkers' Party
Spouse(s)Mahadhir Caffoor
Children2
ParentsFather - Farid Khan
Mother - Naeemah Shaikh
RelativesYusuf Khan - Brother
Alma materMurdoch University (Bcom.)
OccupationPolitician

Raeesah Begum Bte Farid Khan (born 10 November 1993) is a Singaporean activist and politician of the Workers' Party. She was elected into the Parliament of Singapore as a representative of Sengkang GRC for Compassvale since 10 July 2020 following the 2020 Singaporean general election. She is also currently the youngest Member of Parliament (MP) of Singapore, at the age 27.[1]

Early life and career[]

Khan with two constituents

Raeesah has been a social activist since she was 17, mainly focusing on underprivileged families, survivors of sexual abuse, youth activists, migrant workers and refugee issues.[1][2]

Prior to entering politics, she studied economics and marketing at Murdoch University.[2] From 2014 to 2015, she was also an elected member on the senatorial governing body at Murdoch University.[3][4]

In 2016, Raeesah Khan founded the Reyna Movement, an organisation that aims to empower marginalised women and children through up-skilling programs and community engagement.[5][6] The Reyna Movement has worked with women's shelters, the homeless, at-risk children and low-income families in Singapore.[6]

Political career[]

Khan at a press conference in 2020

Raeesah became a member of the Workers' Party in 2018, having previously volunteered in the party's grassroots activities. On 30 June 2020, Raeesah was announced as one of the party's four members contesting the Sengkang Group Representation Constituency as part of the 2020 Singaporean general election, alongside Jamus Lim, He Ting Ru, and Louis Chua.[7] She is also the youngest candidate of the party.[2]

Prior to getting elected, two separate police reports were lodged against Raeesah for allegedly making two online comments, both relating to the discrimination of race and religion.[8][9][10][11] WP later came out to support Raeesah; Raeesah also apologised and released a statement stating that her intention was "never to cause social divisions but to raise awareness on minority issues", adding that she also regretted making her "insensitive" comments.[12][13][14] Netizens labelled the bringing up of her past comments as a political move, with hashtags such as "#IStandWithRaeesah" trending on Twitter.[15] On 7 July, the police revealed that they’re investigating the man who allegedly reported Raeesah over social media comments which intended to wound religious and racial feelings.[16]

Together with the Sengkang Worker's Party team, she was subsequently elected with 52.12% of the votes, defeating the People's Action Party in an upset victory that secured a second group representation constituency for the Workers' Party.[17][18][19] She is the youngest Member of Parliament in the 14th Parliament of Singapore, as well as the first female Malay, and first female non-Chinese, non-PAP candidate to successfully win a parliamentary seat since 1959.[20]

On 17 September, the Singapore Police Force announced that Raeesah was issued with a stern warning over the post. Raeesah later said that she learnt to be "more considerate" in framing difficult conversations, apologising once again.[21][22] At the same time, the man who made the report was issued a stern warning for posts causing harassment, as well as those causing enmity between different groups of people.[23]

She was elected to the Workers’ Party central executive committee as deputy treasurer and also an elected member of the Sengkang Town Council with Jamus Lim.[24][25]

Personal life[]

Raeesah Khan is the daughter of Farid Khan, the president of the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who intended to run in the 2017 Singaporean presidential election but had his Certificate of Eligibility rejected.[26][27] Her father is of Pakistani descent, while her mother is of Arab descent. She has a younger brother, Yusuf Khan.[28]

Raeesah married Mahadhir Caffoor on 14 July 2018. She gave birth to a son in 2019.[29] In 2021, she gave birth to a daughter.[30]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Raeesah Begum Bte Farid Khan". Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "WP GE 2020 candidate Raeesah Khan: Being an elected official does not make one "more important than the person cleaning our tables"". 29 June 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  3. ^ Raeesah Khan. "Experience". LinkedIn. Accessed on 1 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Senate". Murdoch University. Accessed on 3 July 2020.
  5. ^ Anis Nabilah. "10 young candidates to look out for in Singapore’s GE2020". Youth SG. 1 July 2020. Accessed on 1 July 2020.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Raeesah Begum Bte Farid Khan. "Raeesah Begum Bte farid Khan". Workers’ Party. Accessed on 1 July 2020.
  7. ^ Abu Baker, Jalelah (30 June 2020). "GE2020: PAP and WP to face off in new four-member Sengkang GRC". CNA.
  8. ^ Tee Zhuo (5 July 2020). "Singapore GE2020: Police investigating WP's Sengkang candidate Raeesah Khan over alleged online comments on race and religion". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Police investigating WP candidate Raeesah Khan over alleged online comments on race, religion". CNA. 5 July 2020. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Police investigating WP candidate Raeesah Khan for social media posts which allegedly promote enmity between different groups". Today. Singapore. 5 July 2020. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  11. ^ Belmont Lay (5 July 2020). "2 police reports made against WP's Raeesah Khan over alleged comments on race". mothership.sg. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  12. ^ Rei Kurohi (5 July 2020). "Singapore GE2020: WP's Raeesah Khan apologises for comments on race and religion which are under police investigation". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  13. ^ Chia Han Keong (5 July 2020). "GE2020: Workers' Party stands by Sengkang GRC candidate Raeesah Khan following 2 police reports". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  14. ^ Ashley Tan (5 July 2020). "WP's Raeesah Khan apologises for alleged racial comments, Pritam Singh says no regrets fielding her". mothership.sg. Mothership. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Despite police report, support for WP's Raeesah Khan is growing – The Independent News". 7 July 2020. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  16. ^ "GE2020: Police probing person who allegedly made report on WP candidate Raeesah Khan's social media posts". Today. Singapore. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  17. ^ "GE2020: Workers' Party claims Sengkang GRC in upset win". TODAYonline. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  18. ^ "GE2020: WP scores stunning win in Sengkang, 2nd GRC ever to be won by opposition". sg.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  19. ^ "GE2020: WP scores stunning win in Sengkang, 2nd GRC ever to be won by opposition". 11 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  20. ^ "Singapore GE2020: The Workers' Party team that won Sengkang GRC". Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  21. ^ "Police issue 'stern warning' to Workers' Party MP Raeesah Khan over online comments on race, religion". CNA. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  22. ^ "Vital to frame difficult conversations in considerate and accountable manner, says WP's Raeesah Khan after police warning". CNA. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  23. ^ "Police issue 'stern warning' to man for online posts on race and religion; say no further action after reports against blogger Xiaxue". CNA. 17 September 2020. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  24. ^ "ELD | 2020 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  25. ^ Rei, Kurohi (6 January 2021). "Workers' Party appoints new office bearers after Jan 5 CEC meeting". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  26. ^ Tang, See Kit, Chew, Hui Min. "GE2020: Workers’ Party introduces five more prospective candidates". Channel News Asia. 26 June 2020. Accessed on 1 July 2020.
  27. ^ Tan, Audrey., Kurohi, Rei. "Singapore GE2020: Workers’ Party confirms Aljunied GRC slate, introduces second batch of candidates Archived 8 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine". The Straits Times. 26 June 2020. Accessed on 1 July 2020.
  28. ^ "Giving back to society: Why Salleh Marican and Farid Khan want to be Singapore's next president".
  29. ^ Raeesah Begum Bte Farid Khan. "Personal Profile". Workers’ Party. Accessed on 1 July 2020.
  30. ^ "Double baby joy for Sengkang GRC MPs". The Straits Times. 3 January 2021.

External links[]

Parliament of Singapore
Preceded by
Teo Ser Luck
as MP for Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC (Sengkang Central) 		Member of Parliament
for Sengkang GRC
(Compassvale)
2020 – present 		Incumbent
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