Who holds power in Singapore and Malaysia: the people, parties and funds

Singapore and Malaysia are neighbours, but power is arranged very differently in each. Singapore's governing People's Action Party completed a leadership handover in 2024, from Lee Hsien Loong to Lawrence Wong. Malaysia, a federal constitutional monarchy, has been governed since November 2022 by a coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim. This explainer sets out who holds the main offices in both countries, the family ties that run through their politics, and who runs the state investment funds.

Every person named here has a profile page on NewsWLD, and our officials directory lists current office holders by country.

Singapore: Lawrence Wong's government

Lawrence Wong became Singapore's fourth prime minister in May 2024. He is also finance minister and, since December 2024, secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP), according to the Prime Minister's Office and Malay Mail.

His predecessor, Lee Hsien Loong, was prime minister from August 2004 to May 2024 and led the PAP until December 2024. He remains in the cabinet as Senior Minister. Lee is the son of Lee Kuan Yew, who co-founded the PAP in 1954 and was prime minister from 1959 to 1990.

Other senior figures in the cabinet include:

• Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister since May 2024 and minister responsible for trade. He also chairs the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the central bank, whose managing director is Chia Der Jiun.
• K Shanmugam, Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs.
• Indranee Rajah, Second Minister for Finance.

The head of state is President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a former deputy prime minister who was sworn in as Singapore's ninth president in September 2023, The Star reported.

Singapore's opposition: the Workers' Party

The main opposition party is the Workers' Party. Pritam Singh is its secretary-general and Sylvia Lim, chair since 2003, remains in that post, according to the party's office holders for 2026 to 2028.

Singh held the formal title of Leader of the Opposition until January 2026. After a District Court convicted him in February 2025 on two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee, and the High Court dismissed his appeal in December 2025, Parliament voted that he was unsuitable to continue in the role. Prime Minister Wong then ended the designation and invited the party to nominate another elected MP, the Prime Minister's Office said.

Singapore's family ties and state funds

Singapore's two best-known state investors are GIC and Temasek, and political and family links run through both.

• GIC is chaired by Lee Hsien Loong. Lawrence Wong has been its deputy chairman since October 2023, and Lim Chow Kiat is chief executive, according to GIC.
• Temasek Holdings has been chaired since October 2025 by Teo Chee Hean, a former deputy prime minister, who succeeded Lim Boon Heng, chair since 2013, the Ministry of Finance said. Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara has been chief executive since October 2021.

Dilhan's predecessor as Temasek chief executive was Ho Ching, Lee Hsien Loong's wife, who led the company from 2004 to 2021. Lee's younger brother, Lee Hsien Yang, a businessman, said in October 2024 that he had been granted political asylum in the United Kingdom.

Malaysia: the monarchy

Malaysia's head of state is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, or King. Sultan Ibrahim, Sultan of Johor since 2010, was sworn in as the 17th king in January 2024, Malay Mail reported.

His son, Tunku Ismail Idris, the Crown Prince of Johor, was appointed Regent of Johor in January 2024. The royal family also has business interests: in February 2026 the King held 22.31% of the telecoms company U Mobile jointly with his daughter Tunku Tun Aminah, The Star reported, and she became U Mobile's chairman in March 2026.

The monarchy's role extends to clemency. In September 2026 the King granted former prime minister Najib Razak a conditional pardon allowing him to serve the rest of his sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest, Bernama reported.

Malaysia: Anwar Ibrahim's unity government

Anwar Ibrahim became Malaysia's tenth prime minister in November 2022 and also serves as finance minister. He is president of the People's Justice Party (PKR), part of the Pakatan Harapan coalition alongside the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

His government also includes Barisan Nasional, the coalition led by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). There are two deputy prime ministers:

• Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, president of UMNO, chairman of Barisan Nasional and Minister of Rural and Regional Development.
• Fadillah Yusof, a Sarawak politician and Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation.

On economic policy, Amir Hamzah Azizan, a former chief executive of the Employees Provident Fund, has been Second Finance Minister since December 2023. Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour has been governor of the central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, since July 2023.

The coalition has come under strain over Najib's house arrest. On 10 November 2026 Anthony Loke, secretary-general of the DAP, resigned as transport minister, citing a High Court decision allowing Najib to serve his sentence at home, Malay Mail reported.

Malaysia's political families and Khazanah

Family ties are visible at the top of Malaysian politics.

• Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, founded PKR and led it from 1999 to 2018, and was Malaysia's first woman deputy prime minister from 2018 to 2020.
• Their eldest daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar, became PKR deputy president in May 2025.
• Najib, prime minister from 2009 to 2018, is the son of Abdul Razak Hussein.
• Mahathir Mohamad, prime minister from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020, has a son, Mukhriz Mahathir, who leads the Homeland Fighters Party and in March 2026 ruled out returning to UMNO.

The state investment fund Khazanah Nasional is chaired by the prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, with Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir as managing director, according to Khazanah's board listing.

Malaysia's opposition

The main opposition bloc is Perikatan Nasional (PN), made up of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party, known as Bersatu, and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, known as PAS.

Its leadership changed in early 2026. Muhyiddin Yassin, prime minister from March 2020 to August 2021 and president of Bersatu, resigned as PN chairman and became deputy chairman in February 2026. Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, Menteri Besar of Terengganu and a PAS vice-president, took over as chairman, Malay Mail reported. Abdul Hadi Awang remains PAS president.

Bersatu also expelled its deputy president, Hamzah Zainudin, a former home minister and Leader of the Opposition, in February 2026, Free Malaysia Today reported. Pakatan Harapan has said it will contest the Melaka state election alone and has ruled out cooperation with Bersatu, The Vibes reported.

What to watch

• Malaysia's coalition after Loke's resignation. Whether the DAP's dispute with its partners over Najib's house arrest affects the government's cohesion.
• The Melaka state election. Pakatan Harapan is contesting alone, and the vote will test the parties after the house arrest dispute.
• Opposition realignment in Malaysia. PN is under new leadership after Muhyiddin stepped back and Hamzah was expelled.
• Singapore's opposition leadership. The Prime Minister's Office invited the Workers' Party to nominate another MP for the Leader of the Opposition role.
• The state funds. Temasek has a new chairman since October 2025, and GIC's board remains led by the former and current prime ministers.

How to explore everyone in our directory

Our officials directory lists current office holders with their posts, start dates and sources. Filter by country to see Singapore or Malaysia. Each name links to a profile page that records offices, family ties, party roles and positions at state funds, with the source for every fact. For example, the page for Lee Hsien Loong connects him to the PAP, GIC, his father and his wife, and the page for Anwar Ibrahim connects him to PKR, Khazanah and his family.