Ex-chief of defence force Melvyn Ong to be permanent secretary for defence development at Mindef

SINGAPORE - Former chief of defence force Melvyn Ong will be appointed permanent secretary for defence development at the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) from June 1, the Public Service Division said on Friday.

He will retire from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) on the same day.

The role is currently filled by Mr Chan Heng Kee, who is also the permanent secretary for defence at Mindef.

Lieutenant-General (LG) Ong, 48, joined the SAF in 1994 after receiving the SAF Overseas Scholarship.

He held various key command and staff appointments

before being chief of defence force between March 2018 and March 2023. His prior appointments in the SAF included commanding officer of the Army Deployment Force, brigade commander of the 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade, chief guards officer and chief of army.

Between 2013 and 2014, LG Ong was seconded to the civil service as deputy chief executive of the Early Childhood Development Agency, then a newly established agency in the Ministry of Social and Family Development.