Ahmad Mattar
Dr. Ahmad Mattar, whose full name is Ahmad bin Mohamed Mattar, is a former Singaporean politician and member of the Cabinet.
An alumnus of the Raffles Institution, Ahmad Mattar graduated from the University of Singapore with a degree in physics in 1963. He completed his master's degree at the University of Sheffield on a Colombo Plan scholarship and then his doctorate at the University of Singapore. Prior to entering politics, he was a lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic and conducted the first large-scale study on the effects of traffic noise on housing estates; the study would later inform future legislations and studies on traffic noise. In 1972, he ran for the Leng Kee Single Member Constituency at the recommendation of Abdul Rahim Ishak, then the MP for Siglap SMC. From 1985 to 1995, he was appointed as the Minister for the Environment. During his tenure as the Minister for the Environment, he was known for tightening restrictions on the sale of aerosols containing CFCs and introducing the Corrective work order to combat littering. He had intended to resign from Cabinet in 1991 but was persuaded to remain by newly elected Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. In 1996 he retired from politics and has largely kept a low profile.
Dr Ahmad Mattar was also the founding president of Mendaki, which was established to look into the educational and welfare needs of the Malay/Muslim community.
