Steven Sim Chee Keong

Steven Sim Chee Keong (born 13 May 1982) is a Malaysian politician who is serving as the Minister of Human Resources in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim since December 2023 as well as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukit Mertajam since May 2013. He served as the Deputy Minister of Finance II in the PH administration under Prime Minister and Minister Anwar from December 2022 to December 2023 and the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports in the PH administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and former Minister Syed Saddiq from July 2018 to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020. He is a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the PH coalition. He has also served as the National Organising Secretary of DAP since March 2022. He is presently the youngest Cabinet minister at the age of 42.

Early life and education
Sim Chee Keong was born in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, Malaysia on 13 May 1982. His early education started at SK Stowell and Bukit Mertajam High School (HSBM). He graduated from University of Malaya in Computer Science in 2004. He later pursued a Masters in Sustainable Development at the Jeffrey Sachs Centre on Sustainable Development in Sunway University and graduated in 2020.

Early career
Steven served in a multinational corporation for three years before joining the Penang state government in 2008. He also sits on the governing board of the Penang Institute, a leading public policy think tank based in Penang, Malaysia.

Steven was formerly the executive secretary of the Network of Social Democracy in Asia, a regional dialogue of political parties, scholars and NGOs of the social democratic persuasion.

Early political career
In January 2011, Steven was appointed as a member of the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP), one of the largest local governments of Malaysia.

In 2012, he was named as a Young Global Leader of the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Penang Institute, a public policy think-tank based in Penang.

Steven writes regularly for Penang Monthly (formerly Penang Economic Monthly) as well as contributing opinion pieces to prominent Malaysian online news portals such as Malaysiakini and the Malaysian Insider. He has authored 4 books, including "A contemporary socio-political critique of the Malay classic Hikayat Hang Tuah, Hang Tuah: Adiwira Bangsa" in 2021.

Steven was elected into the DAP central executive committee (CEC) in 2022.

Minister of Human Resources (since 2023)
In a cabinet reshuffle on 12 December 2023, Steven was promoted to a Cabinet minister and assigned a new portfolio. He was appointed as the Minister of Human Resources to replace V. Sivakumar, who was the only Cabinet minister to be dropped in the reshuffle and whose aides were facing corruption charges.

Personal life
Steven is married to Chan Jo Rin.

He speaks English, Malay, Hokkien, and Mandarin.

Books

 * The Audacity to Think: An Invitation to Rethink Politics (2012)
 * Being Malaysia (2018)
 * An anthology of Malay poems, Dalam Salju Ada Bunga (2018)
 * A contemporary socio-political critique of the Malay classic Hikayat Hang Tuah, Hang Tuah: Adiwira Bangsa (2021).

Award

 * Young Global Leader (2012)