Abdullah Tarmugi

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Tarmugi is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Abdullah.

Abdullah Tarmugi
عبدالله بن ترموڬي
Abdullah in 2024
5th Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
In office 25 March 2002 – 19 April 2011
Deputy	Matthias Yao Chih Indranee Rajah S. Iswaran Chew Heng Ching Lim Hwee Hua
Preceded by	Tan Soo Khoon
Succeeded by	Michael Palmer
Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs
In office 30 June 1993 – 24 March 2002
Prime Minister	Goh Chok Tong
Preceded by	Ahmad Mattar
Succeeded by	Yaacob Ibrahim
Member of the Singapore Parliament for East Coast GRC (Siglap)
In office 2 January 1997 – 19 April 2011
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Maliki Osman (PAP)
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Bedok GRC (Siglap)
In office 21 August 1991 – 16 December 1996
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Siglap SMC
In office 22 December 1984 – 14 August 1991
Preceded by	Abdul Rahim Ishak
Succeeded by	Maliki Osman (PAP)
Personal details
Born	(1944-08-25) 25 August 1944 Straits Settlements
Political party	People's Action Party (1984–2011)
Alma mater	Raffles Institution University of Singapore University of London

Abdullah bin Tarmugi (Jawi: عبدالله بن ترموڬي; born 25 August 1944) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore between 2002 and 2011.

Early life

Abdullah was born to a Javanese father and a Chinese mother. Abdullah's father was a low-salaried surveyor's assistant and Abdullah's grandfather ran a provision shop.

Abdullah studied at Raffles Institution and obtained a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Singapore, followed by a post-graduate diploma in urban studies from the University of London in 1972 under a Commonwealth Scholarship.

Political career

Abdullah was a Member of Parliament from 1984 to 2011, starting out at Siglap constituency and later Bedok Group Representation Constituency (Bedok GRC) from 1991 to 1996. After Bedok GRC and Eunos GRC was merged to form East Coast GRC in 1997, Abdullah still remained in the Siglap ward but under East Coast GRC. Abdullah was the Minister for Community Development (subsequently the Minister of Community Development and Sports) and the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs from 1994 to 2002 and 2000 to 2002 respectively. Abdullah was also the Deputy Speaker of Parliament from 1989 to 1993 before becoming the Speaker of Parliament on 25 March 2002. He declined to contest the Singapore Presidential Elections in 2017.

Abdullah announced his retirement from politics on 24 March 2011, prior to the 2011 general elections. In January 2012, Abdullah was appointed to the Presidential Council for Minority Rights by Singapore President Tony Tan and a permanent member by President Halimah Yacob.

Personal life

Abdullah is married to Shirley, a retired teacher and former principal who was his pre-university schoolmate at Raffles Institution. She is ethnic Chinese and converted to Islam prior to their marriage. The couple have two children.