19 Facts About Zainal Sapari

Zainal bin Sapari is a Singaporean former politician.

Zainal Sapari was a St John's cadet in St Andrew's Secondary School, where he was given positions of responsibility and developed his leadership skills.

Zainal Sapari was the chief editor of an in-house Malay language publication of his junior college.

In 1986, Zainal Sapari was awarded the Special Malay Bursary by the Singapore Government, where he became the first in his family to pursue an undergraduate education.

Zainal Sapari continued his education at the National University of Singapore and graduate with a Postgraduate Diploma in Education which propelled him into his career in education service.

Zainal Sapari became a teacher, and subsequently a school principal and a superintendent with the Ministry of Education, overseeing a cluster of 12 schools in the eastern area.

Zainal Sapari started out union work with the Building Construction And Timber Industries Employees' Union as a Director of Industrial Relations, which was aligned to his interest in aiding low-wage workers.

Zainal Sapari progressed on to become the Assistant Secretary-General of NTUC and Director of NTUC Care and Share Department which helps low-wage workers, and casual and contract workers.

In Parliament, Zainal Sapari lobbied for the Progressive Wage Model which was an improved form of minimum wage in Singapore, intent on helping low-wage workers.

Zainal Sapari asked the ministry to commission a study on the living wage in Singapore before the implementation.

Zainal Sapari worked very closely with the Ministry of Education, his previous employer, in implementing the Progressive Wage Model in schools as the school cleaners represent the biggest workforce of the cleaning sector in Singapore.

On top of the Progressive Wage Model, Zainal Sapari was lobbying for mandatory payslips to be enforced in the Employment Act, in a bid to prevent salary related disputes, which especially affects the casual and contract workers, and low-wage workers.

Zainal Sapari shared an article which disagreed with Mendaki's "shallow and rigid definition of what is Malay".

Besides his duties in Parliament and the NTUC, Zainal Sapari participates in grassroots activities.

Zainal Sapari pushed for an extension of the assistance scheme Enhanced Purple Heart Programme in his constituency, where needy families in Pasir Ris East received food vouchers to supplement their monthly expenditures.

Zainal Sapari takes a hands-on approach to push his agenda for low-wage workers.

Zainal Sapari even became a cleaner for one morning in order to gain first-hand experience of the difficulties faced by cleaners.

Zainal Sapari did not stand in the 2020 Singaporean general election, but will remain as a PAP member.

Zainal Sapari is a patron of HIRA society, a welfare organisation aimed at mentoring and providing guidance to ex-drug offenders to help re-establish them back into society.