President Halimah Yacob handing letters of appointment to Ms Lai Wei Lin and Mr Joseph Leong Weng Keong at the Istana as they were sworn into their new roles in the Government yesterday.

Mr Leong was appointed Permanent Secretary (Defence Development) at the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) and the Second Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications and Information.

He was Mindef's head of joint plans and transformation department when he received the Public Administration Medal (Silver) (Military).

He has held other positions at the ministry. Ms Lai is the Second Permanent Secretary at the Education Ministry.

She was previously the ministry's Deputy Secretary (Policy), a post she has held since 2017. Ms Lai, 43, previously held various posts at the Civil Service College, ministries of Trade and Industry, Health, and National Development.