Mrs Lim Hwee Hua pointed out that Temasek was not part of the civil service, but a commercial company wholly owned by the Government. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
SENIOR Minister of State (Finance) Lim Hwee Hua yesterday debunked the notion that confidential information must be restricted to Singaporeans only.
Non-citizens have been hired by the Government even for sensitive work and projects, she told Parliament on Tuesday.
The condition: These persons must be assessed to have the requisite expertise, and have been security-cleared.
In all cases, access to sensitive information is governed by the Official Secrets Act (OSA), she added.
She was replying to a question from Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim, who asked why 'the civil service's hiring practice of restricting access to state secrets to Singaporeans' was not applied to Temasek Holdings.
Temasek has a multinational staff and recently named American Charles Goodyear as its first foreign CEO-designate.
Mrs Lim pointed out that Temasek was not part of the civil service, but a commercial company wholly owned by the Government.
She acknowledged that as Temasek's CEO, Mr Goodyear will be privy to information about the company's operations.
'Although Temasek publishes all key information about the company and the value of its assets, some information about its operations is proprietary and restricted to those who need it for proper management of the company,' she noted.
