Singaporeans share accounts of Faishal Ibrahim’s kindness & thoughtfulness in wake of his resignation

SINGAPORE: After Faishal Ibrahim resigned on Monday (July 20) from his political office, his seat in Parliament, and the People’s Action Party, there was a lot of commentary from Singaporeans online, the majority of which was positive.

Assoc Prof Faishal had served as Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs and Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs since May 2025, and was also an MP for the past for the past two decades, first at Marine Parade, then at Nee Soon, and most recently at Marine Parade–Braddell Heights

On Monday, however, he admitted to a lapse of judgment in his conduct with a female member of the public in failing to establish boundaries wth her, though he made it clear that there had been no physical relationship between them. Later, there were also allegations of harassment from both parties. 

PM Wong said in a statement that while no criminal action would be taken, the question remained concerning Assoc Prof Faishal’s conduct and the standards expected of him. He therefore accepted his resignation.

Since then, many have commented online praising the former Minister’s character, speaking of his kindness, thoughtfulness, and humility, among other traits that stood out in encounters with him.

One such tribute came from the content creator Effendi Baba, who noted that Assoc Prof Faishal had been MP for Yishun Central when the MRT often broke down. Mr Effendi said that he often saw the former Minister at the MRT station in Yishun engaging with commuters.

Though they never spoke, he and Assoc Prof Faishal always nodded to each other.

At an event in 2019, however, Mr Effendi wrote that the MP was there, and took the time to say, “I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?”

“There was no obvious reason for him to remember me. Yet he did. That is why today’s turn of events is deeply disappointing. Whatever may have happened, we have lost from public life a genuinely affable person who tried to bring the community together,” he wrote.

A commenter on his post wrote of how gentle and humble Assoc Prof Faishal is. She added that her mother is a toilet cleaner at NUS, where he taught. 

“He will acknowledge mom and have a quick chat no matter how he was in a rush. It’s sad to hear this news. Whatever the ‘story’ is, to my family, he is a great man. Wishing you all the best, sir,” she wrote.

“I’ve worked with him on anti-drug and prison initiatives. He’s an action taker,” wrote another commenter.

One chimed in to say they have “20 years in politics and Prof Faishal has not been contaminated by the powers and perks politicians have. He remains friendly, down to earth & sincere, with a heart for the common man. It’s a great loss to PAP in my opinion, as his persona is different.”

Even former President Halimah Yacob spoke well of Assoc Prof Faishal’s character, writing, “During this past one year, as the Acting Minister in Charge of Muslim Affairs, he had worked really hard to engage the Malay/Muslim community and was, frankly, everywhere in his effort to personally reach out and assuage the community that he heard them and was trying to address their concerns. This is not just my personal view but based on feedback from the many Malay/muslim leaders that I had interacted with.” /TISG

Read also: Faishal Ibrahim resigns due to ‘lapse of judgment’ over female member of the public