New Head of Civil Service Leo Yip to take the helm in September

SINGAPORE — There will be a new man at the helm of the Civil Service, with Mr Leo Yip taking over from Mr Peter Ong from Sept 1, the Public Service Division (PSD) announced on Tuesday (July 18).

Mr Yip, 53, is currently the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, and Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), as well as for national security and intelligence coordination.

He will also replace Mr Ong as Permanent Secretary for Strategy in the PMO.

His previous appointments include Principal Private Secretary to then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 2000, and chairman of the Economic Development Board in 2009.

Mr Ong, 56, who has been Head of Civil Service since 2010, will retire from the Administrative Service after more than three decades in the public sector.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said Mr Ong played a key role in steering the Public Service towards a “culture of innovation”.

He guided its move towards digitalisation and the use of technology and data to support policy formulation to serve Singaporeans, added Mr Teo, who is Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service.

“With his wealth of experience, I look forward to Peter continuing to contribute in different capacities,” said Mr Teo.

As Permanent Secretary for Finance previously, Mr Ong also oversaw the successful implementation of several Budgets and key measures such as Grow and Share, Pioneer Generation Package and MediShield Life, said the PSD.

The Grow and Share package of one-off measures sharing the fruits of growth with Singaporeans was part of Budget 2011, while the Pioneer Generation Package providing significant healthcare subsidies to about 450,000 seniors was part of Budget 2014.

MediShield Life is a basic insurance plan to protect against large hospital bills for all Singaporeans that took effect in November 2015.

The PSD added that Mr Ong played a “key role” in policies that helped to steer the Singapore economy through difficult periods, such as the 2009 global recession.

Taking over from Mr Yip as the top civil servant in the Ministry of Home Affairs is Mr Pang Kin Keong, 51, who will relinquish his role as Permanent Secretary for Transport.

Mr Loh Ngai Seng, 46, who is Second Permanent Secretary of Home Affairs, will move to the Transport Ministry to take over from Mr Pang.

Former Chief of Navy Lai Chung Han, 44, who became Second Permanent Secretary for Education last month, will take on an extra appointment as Second Permanent Secretary (Home Affairs).