A Man of Many People
Alumni Award recipient Mohamad Maliki bin Osman (Image courtesy of Mohamad Maliki bin Osman) Mohamad Maliki bin Osman, PHD ’98 SW, received the University’s 2024 Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement, recognizing his work to better his native Singapore and the world.
Since 2020, Maliki has served as a minister in the prime minister’s office, and as a second minister for both education and foreign affairs in Singapore. He has been a member of parliament representing the People’s Action Party since 2001 by serving in leadership roles in various ministries. He also served as Mayor for Singapore’s South East District from 2011 to 2020.
In his endorsement for the commendation, UI System President Timothy Killeen cited Maliki’s social impact that includes “[extending] maternity and paternity leave, which are of critical importance due to [Singapore’s] low birthrate; innovative programs to support the aging population; and the promotion of active lifestyles to [increase] longevity.” Killeen also lauded Maliki’s “commitment to a vibrant multi-cultural society.”
Maliki says understanding plurality is critical to his endeavors. A Muslim of Malay heritage, he notes that a Pew Research study found Singapore—a small nation measuring 700 square kilometers, home to 5.5 million people—to be “the most religiously diverse country in the world.”
His time studying social work at the University of Illinois prepared Maliki to meet the needs of his diverse constituents. “Empathy is a key tenet,” he says. “We start with a premise that we are equals. We journey together to reach a point of self-determination and empowerment.”
Maliki and his wife, Sadiah Shahal, first came to the U.S. in the mid 1990s for his graduate studies. Their eldest daughter, Lidia, was born in Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana (now OSF HealthCare Heart of Mary Medical Center). That experience informed his views of supporting maternity and paternity in Singapore. Exposure to progressive cultural policies in the U.S. also inspired him to develop Common Senses for Common Spaces, a platform to encourage interreligious, interfaith dialogue in his homeland. “We bring people together to show that there are similarities across different faiths through different themes and this appreciation forms a strong foundation for a cohesive society,” Maliki says.
