Ahmad Mattar

For the Iraqi poet, see Ahmed Matar.

Ahmad bin Mohamed Mattar (born 13 August 1940)^[1] is a former Singaporean politician and member of the Cabinet.^[2]

Ahmad Mattar
Minister for the Environment
In office 1985–1993
Prime Minister	Lee Kuan Yew Goh Chok Tong
Preceded by	Ong Pang Boon
Succeeded by	Mah Bow Tan
Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs
In office 5 September 1977 – 30 June 1993
Prime Minister	Lee Kuan Yew Goh Chok Tong
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Abdullah Tarmugi
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Leng Kee SMC
In office 2 September 1972 – 6 December 1976
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Ow Chin Hock
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Brickworks SMC
In office 23 December 1976 – 17 August 1988
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Brickworks GRC (Brickworks)
In office 3 September 1988 – 16 December 1996
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	Ahmad bin Mohamed Mattar (1940-08-13) 13 August 1940 (age 84) Singapore, Straits Settlements
Political party	People's Action Party
Alma mater	University of Singapore University of Sheffield
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Lecturer, academic

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

Education

An alumnus of Raffles Institution, Ahmad graduated from the University of Singapore with a degree in physics in 1963.^[3] He completed his master's degree at the University of Sheffield on a Colombo Plan scholarship and then his doctorate at the University of Singapore.

Career

He was a lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic and conducted the first large-scale study on the effects of traffic noise on housing estates; the study would later inform future legislations and studies on traffic noise.^[3]

Ahmad was also the founding president of Mendaki (1982–1989), which was established to look into the educational and welfare needs of the Malay/Muslim community.^[4]

Political career

In 1972, he ran for the Leng Kee Single Member Constituency at the recommendation of Abdul Rahim Ishak, then the MP for Siglap SMC. From 1985 to 1995, he was appointed as the Minister for the Environment.^[5] During his tenure as the Minister for the Environment, he was known for tightening restrictions on the sale of aerosols containing CFCs and introducing the Corrective work order (CWO) to combat littering. He had intended to resign from Cabinet in 1991 but was persuaded to remain by newly elected Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. In 1996, he retired from politics and has largely kept a low profile.