Josephine Teo

Josephine Yong Li Min
Other names	杨莉明
Born	8 July 1968 Singapore
Occupation	Politician
Political party	People's Action Party

Josephine Teo is a Singaporean politician of the People's Action Party (PAP). Teo began serving as Minister for Communications and Information, Minister-in-charge of the Cyber Security Agency and Smart Nation Initiative in 2021. As of March 2024, Teo was also still serving as Second Minister for Home Affairs, a position which she had held since 2017, and she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Kreta Ayer–Kim Seng division of Jalan Besar GRC since 2020.

Personal life

Teo is married Teo Eng Cheong, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City and Investment Development Co (SSTEC) and former Chief Executive Officer of Surbana Jurong. They have two daughters and a son.

Controversy

Inappropriate remarks

In a media interview in October 2016, Teo responded to questions of whether Singaporeans were getting their HDB flats early enough in order to start a family, stating that one "does not need much space to have sex". Teo further added that "in France, in the U.K., in Nordic countries, man meets woman [and] they can make a baby already. They love each other." Teo's words drew flak from on social media, with netizens criticising her for lacking empathy towards couples and being insensitive towards couples' practical considerations such as being able to secure a HDB flat before starting a family, as well as accusing her of promoting premarital sex in conservative Singapore.

Controversial remarks on living cost

In May 2017, Teo commented on her Facebook page about the high cost of milk powder in Singapore, saying that "milk is milk, however fancy the marketing". She further claimed that she would buy whichever brand of milk powder approved for sale by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority that was cheapest for her own children. She was criticised for being ignorant to the fact that even the cheapest milk powder in Singapore is still much more expensive compared to that in other countries in the region.

On 26 October 2018, during a conference held by the Institute of Policy Studies, Teo commented that implementing a minimum wage in Singapore may instead lead to higher unemployment and that Singapore's income inequality gap is "a problem of success" that is "difficult to overcome".

Poor manner against Jalan Besar resident

July 2020, Josephine Teo and her team, Heng Chee How, and Denise Phua, approached a male resident when distributing propaganda flyer in Jalan Besar Constituency. When the man started questioning Teo about why he didn’t receive $3,000 in financial help from the PAP government due to Covid-19 virus pandemic, Teo replied that they will help the man and they immediately left the scene before the man could finish speaking. The conversation was filmed by others at the scene and eventually published on the internet.

Controversial remark on Covid-19 and migrant worker

On 4 May 2020 parliament session, one NMP namely Anthea Ong asked if the PAP Government was willing to apologise for “dismal conditions” and the recent Covid-19 outbreak within workers’ dorms. Teo, who was the Manpower Minister at the time answered "I have not come across one single migrant worker himself that has demanded an apology." and claimed that the migrant worker are more focused on their health & wages. Her answer later draws criticism by the public and some opinion-ed that an apology should be given without being asked.