Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim on giving up a 20-year legal career for politics

Just days after being re-elected in the 2025 General Election, Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim received a call from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong that brought him back to a day in 2012 that changed his life.

- Ng Wei Kai

He was then an up-and-coming lawyer in international arbitration work - "cutting my teeth against silks in England, the Middle East and North Africa region" - when a client asked him what he had done besides his corporate work.

"My client asked me, what have you done for your country, your community?" Mr Zhulkarnain, now 44, recalled. "I thought: Am I so arrogant as to say that I've done enough?"

The question prompted him to start offering his services pro bono, and to volunteer at Casa Raudha, a crisis shelter for women and children. He eventually followed these causes into politics and was elected an MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC in the 2020 General Election.

Over the phone, PM Wong made a convincing case for him to join the Government, the clincher being that this was his chance to "make a deep impact" for the Malay/Muslim community.

PM Wong's call, Mr Zhulkarnain said, was as defining as his client's challenge for him to go further in giving back to society.

On May 21, PM Wong announced his new Cabinet line-up, with nine new office-holders.

Mr Zhulkarnain was one of two backbenchers, alongside Mr Desmond Choo, joining the Government, and the only one who will take up his appointments - as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Social and Family Development in 2026.

"I'm the guy that PM wants to wait for," he quipped.

Mr Zhulkarnain said he enjoyed his five years as a backbencher, which allowed him to champion causes he was passionate about, such as fighting against stigma, social stratification and domestic violence.

As deputy chair and later chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs and Law, he literally had a front row seat to the cut and thrust of debate in the House.