SAF general Tan Chee Wee, 47, chosen to lead Early Childhood Development Agency

Children could use some discipline.

Faris Alfiq | September 17, 2021, 04:19 PM

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A Singapore Armed Forces brigadier-general has been appointed to oversee the pre-school sector from Dec. 15, 2021.

Tan Chee Wee, 47, has been appointed chief executive of the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA).

Tan is the first inspector-general in SAF.

He was appointed CEO-designate on Sep. 1, ECDA said on Sep. 16.

He will replace current ECDA CEO Jamie Ang, 44, who has been heading ECDA since Oct. 1, 2019, and whose term ends on Dec. 14.

Tan joined the SAF in 1993 as an air traffic controller in the Republic of Singapore Air Force.

Stanley Loh, the Second Permanent Secretary for Social and Family Development, said: "Mr Tan's extensive leadership and operational experience in Mindef and the SAF positions him well to lead ECDA to partner the pre-school community in the transition towards Covid-19 resilience."

Tan established the Inspector-General's Office to strengthen safety governance and management systems in SAF.

The role was introduced in February 2019 in the wake of a spate of military fatalities.

Tan had concurrently served as the SAF Chief of Staff - Joint Staff, where he oversaw efforts to develop the blueprint in the areas of warfighting concepts and organisation structures for the next-generation SAF, ECDA said.

Tan held other senior appointments in the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) and the SAF, including director of joint operations, commander of air defence and operations command, director of the policy office, and defence attache in Washington.

SCDF officer seconded to lead MUIS

In another change of leadership announcement, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) announced on Sep. 17 that Kadir Maideen will be appointed Chief Executive-designate of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) from Sep. 20, 2021.

He is currently the deputy chief executive of the government agency and was seconded from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

Kadir will take over from the current chief executive Esa Masood from Nov. 1, 2021.

MCCY said in the statement that prior to his secondment to Muis, Kadir was involved in the implementation of SCDF’s transformation plans through various appointments leading operational, training and service support units.

Kadir is also the chairperson of M3@Bedok where he has built close connections with the community and mobilised stakeholders to undertake outreach and develop programmes to support the needs of the Malay/ Muslim community in Bedok Town.

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