SINGAPORE - Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad has been co-opted into the PAP’s top leadership body.

The ruling party’s central executive committee (CEC) has also appointed Zaqy, 51, as chair of the PAP’s Malay Affairs Bureau, it announced on July 22.

He replaces former chairman Faishal Ibrahim, who also sat on the CEC but resigned from political office, as an MP for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC and from the PAP on July 20 over his conduct.

Faishal had been co-opted after the 2025 General Election. With Zaqy’s appointment, the CEC will have 18 members.

“The CEC thanks Associate Professor Faishal Ibrahim for his contributions to the Party and Singapore,” the PAP said in a media release on July 22.

This comes as Zaqy, who is also Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment, took over Faishal’s Muslim Affairs portfolio. Zaqy relinquished his defence portfolio in Cabinet changes announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on July 22.

Faishal – who was also Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs – had announced his resignation from political office following a “lapse of judgment” in handling his interactions with a woman.

In his resignation letter, Faishal said that while there was no physical relationship between him and the woman, nor had he intended to develop one, he recognised that his conduct “fell short of the standards expected of me and was not consistent with the responsibilities entrusted to me”.

The politician of 20 years also resigned from his roles as MP for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC and as a member of the PAP.

PM Wong said his office received an e-mail from the woman involved about a month ago, and he asked for the matter to be looked into immediately.

After both Faishal and the woman were spoken to separately, both parties made allegations of harassment against each other, following which the matter was referred to the police.

The police investigated the allegations, and in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, it was assessed that no criminal offence had been committed by either party and no criminal action would be taken.