The National Family Council (NFC) has begun its new two-year term with a new Chairman and new members from Aug 1, said the Ministry of Social and Family Development in a statement on Tuesday.

OCBC Bank chief operating officer Ching Wei Hong, who previously served on the Businesses for Families Council, has taken over the reins from Mr Lim Soon Hock who had served NFC for the past seven years.

Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing said the NFC has been instrumental in strengthening family bonds. He said: "It has worked hard to rally people and organizations to make time for family and to place the family at the top of their agenda."

The new members of the council are: Ms Anita Fam, deputy chairman of the Assisi Hospice; Mr Brian Liu, manager at Ernst & Young; Mr Chinnu Palanivelu, audit manager at audit firm BDO; Mrs Claire Nazar, lawyer at Kalco Law; Mr Effendy Ibrahim, director of commercial segment and channel marketing at Symantec; Mr Ling Kin Huat, president of the Society of Sheng Hong Welfare Services; Mrs Sarojini Padmanathan, senior director at the Singapore Indian Development Association; and Dr Tan Ern Ser and Dr Thang Leng Leng, associate professors at the National University of Singapore.