Top MTI civil servant resigns, fuelling poll speculation 

SINGAPORE — Another top civil servant who has been touted as a potential People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate for the coming General Election will be leaving his position, cranking up speculation that he will enter politics.  

Mr Chee Hong Tat’s last day as Second Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Trade and Industry (MTI) is Aug 11, the Public Service Division (PSD) said in a statement today (Aug 4). 

This is less than a year after the 41-year-old was appointed to that position in December 2014. 

Public servants must resign before entering politics. Just last week, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen had announced the departure of Lieutenant-General Ng Chee Meng as Chief of Defence Force, which also prompted speculation that the 47-year-old might be stepping down to enter politics.

When asked today about his possible political aspirations, Mr Chee said: “I enjoy public sector work, I find it very meaningful. I hope to have the opportunity to continue serving Singapore and Singaporeans.”

He has been spotted at Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC community events. 

At MTI, Mr Chee’s areas of responsibilities include international trade policies, tourism, industrial land, competition policy, entrepreneurship and enterprise development. “He was active in promoting a business-friendly environment and helping SMEs to raise their competitiveness through innovation, market access and capability development. He led the review of the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act and proposed enhanced measures to protect consumers against errant retailers,” the PSD said. 

Mr Chee joined the administrative service in 1998. He held various appointments in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Education, before being appointed Principal Private Secretary to then Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in 2008. 

He was appointed chief executive of the Energy Market Authority (EMA) in 2011, where he spearheaded the review of EMA’s rules and requirements to support the deployment of solar energy here.