15 high-ranking SAF officers in senior public service positions, 'best available' persons for the job: Chan Chun Sing

Worker's Party MP Gerald Giam asked for the number of retired SAF officers with the rank of colonel or ME7 and above with senior positions in the public sector.

Lean Jinghui | October 05, 2021, 02:48 PM

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15 high-ranking officers formerly from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), currently hold senior leadership positions in the Public Service, said Minister for Education and Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing.

The principle of "best available person for the job" is generally adopted for the recruitment of these senior appointments, he added.

Chan was responding to three parliamentary questions by Member of Parliament Gerald Giam from the Worker's Party on Oct. 4, 2021. The three questions by Giam were:

  1. The current number of retired SAF officers with the rank of colonel or ME7 and above with senior positions in the public sector
  2. How the Public Service Division (PSD) determined the competencies of officers to lead public sector organisations, despite them not having civilian work experience
  3. If PSD has considered requiring these officers to spend several years building up sectoral experience before leading these organisations

Giam's questions were publicised by the Workers' Party on their social media platforms before the Parliamentary sitting:

Best fit person considered

In a written response, Chan said that there are 15 former SAF officers holding about 10 per cent of senior leadership appointments in the Public Service as of Sep. 24, 2021.

These include for roles such as Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries and Chief Executives.

He went on to explain that amongst the SAF personnel holding the rank of Colonel or ME7 and above who retired between 2010 and now, about seven per cent went on to senior Public Service appointments.

He said:

"Agencies typically consider candidates from within the ranks of their organisations, the wider Public Service including the Uniformed Services, and where relevant, the private sector."

This means that the PSD would take a "considered view" of former officers' career experience and competencies, together with other available candidates, before deciding on the best person for the job.

Chan added that candidates from the SAF, or the Uniformed Services, including the Home Team, would have served in roles that have built a range of competencies relevant to senior management positions in the public service.

These include strategic leadership, organisation transformation, and policy formulation, and the running of large-scale operations and technology management.

They would also have had "valuable experience" in working with Full-time and Operationally Ready National Servicemen – "Singaporeans from all walks of life", said Chan.

Leaders with diverse experiences

Chan also explained that officers who demonstrate the capacity to assume top leadership positions are tested and groomed through challenging postings and leadership programmes.

For examples, opportunities are provided to officers' to develop "Whole-of-Government perspectives" through inter-agency projects, board directorships and external postings to the Public Service during their military careers.

"Sector-specific knowledge and skills are part of the considerations in senior appointments, but not the only consideration", said Chan.

He added, "Public Service leadership teams are expected to comprise leaders who bring diverse experiences to the table and operate cohesively as a team, tapping on each other’s skills and experiences."

Former general appointed as CEO of Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA)

In Sep. 2021, former Singapore Armed Forces brigadier-general Tan Chee Wee, 47, was appointed chief executive of the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA).

He will oversee the pre-school sector from Dec. 15, 2021.

Stanley Loh, the Second Permanent Secretary for Social and Family Development, said then that Tan's extensive experience in Mindef and the SAF would position him well to lead ECDA.

On Oct. 4, MP from the Worker's Party He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (MSF) if many candidates had been considered for the role, and why the final decision had been to appoint a CEO with no early childhood experience.

Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said in a written response that "several qualified candidates" had been considered", and Tan had been assessed to be the most suitable.

He added that Tan is not unfamiliar with the social sector, as he "had previously served in the then-Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports from 2006 to 2008, where he supervised the macro-planning of government-funded social services and development of the social service sector, building up capabilities and human resources".

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