Educated at St Joseph’s Institution, Mah Bow Tan was awarded the President’s and Colombo Plan Scholarships to study at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He graduated with First Class Honours in Industrial Engineering in 1971 and received his Master of Engineering degree in Operations Research in 1973.
Mr Mah joined the public sector as an Administrative Officer in 1973. He was seconded to the Singapore Bus Services (SBS) in 1974 and served in various positions, including as its General Manager till 1983. He was then seconded to the Singapore News and Publications Ltd (SNPL) as the Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Monitor. He was also Group General Manager of SNPL and Group General Manager (Co-ordination) of Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (1985-1988).
Mr Mah also held several public service appointments: Chairman of the Board of Directors of NTUC Comfort (1983-86); Chairman of the Board of Trustees of NTUC Comfort (1988-93); Chairman of the National Productivity Board, the National Productivity Council and Skills Redevelopment Fund Advisory Council (1986-91); Chairman of the Service Improvement Unit in the Political Supervisory Committee (1991). Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Singapore Institute of Labour Studies (1990- 2002).
In 1988, Mr Mah was elected as one of three Members of Parliament (MPs) for the Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC). In the same year, he was appointed Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Minister of State for Communications and Information.
In November 1990, he was appointed Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Minister of State for Communications in the Government led by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
He was appointed Acting Minister for Communications on 1 July 1991, concurrently holding the post of Minister of State for Trade and Industry.
In the 1991 General Election, he was re-elected as one of four MPs for Tampines GRC. He was promoted to Minister for Communications in September 1991. He was concurrently appointed the Minister for the Environment, from July 1993 till April 1995.
In the 1997 General Election, he was returned unopposed as one of four MPs for Tampines GRC. On 3 June 1999, Mr Mah relinquished the post of Minister for Communications and was appointed Minister for National Development. In the 2001 and 2006 General Elections, he was re-elected as one of the 5 MPs for Tampines GRC. In August 2004 and May 2006, Mr Mah was re-appointed Minister for National Development in the Government led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Mr Mah also served as the Deputy Leader of the House (2002 to March 2007) and Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Aging Population (1998). He was a member of the Committee on Sporting Singapore (2000), the Sars Task Force (2003) and the Bird Flu Committee (2004). A passionate football fan, Mr Mah was also active in the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) as its Advisor (1991-1999) and President of FAS (1999-2004).
Currently, he is a Member of the Central Executive Committee of the People’s Action Party (since January 2001) and the Leader of the House (since April 2007). Mr Mah is also the Adviser of the FAS (2004 – todate), Chairman, National Youth Achievement Award Advisory Board (since 1994); Patron/Advisor, Samaritans of Singapore (since 1994); Chairman of the Singapore Labour Foundation (since 2001) and Patron of the Singapore Productivity Association (since 2006).
His other achievements include:
• The Medal of Honour awarded by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in 1991 for his distinguished service to the Trade Union Movement;
• The Alumni Award for Achievement awarded by the University of New South Wales on 24 February 1996 for his outstanding contribution to public service in Singapore;
• The Honorary Doctor of Science degree conferred by the University of New South Wales in 2001.
Mr Mah was born on 12 September 1948 and is married to Dr Sheryn Kaye Von Senden. They have two sons and two daughters. He enjoys golf, travelling, reading and is a passionate football fan.