Simon Tay

Simon Tay (Simon Seong Chee Tay or Simon S.C. Tay), (Chinese: 戴尚志; pinyin: Dài Shàng Zhì), is a Singaporean law professor, author, and former Nominated Member of Parliament.

Tay was born on 4 January 1961 in Singapore. His father, Tay Seow Huah, was a senior civil servant.

Tay graduated with a LL.B (Honours) degree from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1986. During his time as an undergraduate, Tay served as the President of the NUS Students' Union for three terms. In 1993, Tay went on to pursue an LL.M. from Harvard University as a Fulbright Scholar. There, he won the Laylin Prize in 1994 for the best graduate paper in Public International Law.

1986–1995

From 1986 to 1991, Tay began his career as a lawyer with Shook Lin & Bok, Advocates & Solicitors. There, he specialised in corporate litigation, advising corporate clients, including major banks and property companies. In 1989, Tay was also a columnist for The Sunday Times newspaper for two years. In 1991, Tay started the Singapore Volunteers Overseas (now known as Singapore International Volunteers) with the Singapore International Foundation, which recruits young volunteers to provide technical assistance in developing countries. In 1995, Tay was on the board of directors of the non-governmental, Singapore Environment Council. He remained on the board for eight years.

1995-Early 2000s

In 1997, Tay, nominated by the public, was selected by a special Parliamentary committee and appointed by the President of the Republic of Singapore to serve in parliament as one of nine non-elected and independent members of parliament. During his time as a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP), Tay focused on issues relating to civil society, environment and human rights. On 30 June 1998, Tay moved a motion in parliament pertaining to the haze pollution. The motion appealed for the government to do more to help control and prevent fires in Indonesia, which impacted Singapore with haze pollution, and affected the region's environment, human health and economic activity. The motion was supported by NMP Mr Zulkifli Bin Baharudin, as well as Mr Yeo Cheow Tong, former Minister for Health and Minister for the Environment. Tay continued to serve as a NMP until 2003, for a record three terms. In 1998, Tay was appointed by the Prime Minister to lead a public consultation, known as the Singapore 21, on the future needs and aspirations of Singapore in the future. He was part of the Main Committee of 11 members of parliament and was also the Co-Chair of the committee on “Consultation and Consensus vs Decisiveness and Quick Action”. In 1999, Tay took up the position of Chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. With the SIIA, Tay went to Jakarta on a fact-finding mission for solutions to the forest fires and the haze. The mission aimed to find out how NGOs from the region can work together to find a possible solution.

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