Who are the six public service leaders to resign ahead of GE2025 so far?

SINGAPORE – Six senior public servants have resigned in recent weeks following the release of Singapore’s new electoral boundaries on March 11.

With their last days slated between end March and early April, their resignations have fuelled speculation that they will join politics ahead of the next general election, which is expected by mid-year.

The Straits Times looks at who they are:

Permanent secretary Jeffrey Siow, 46

Mr Jeffrey Siow is second permanent secretary at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

His resignation was announced on March 25, and his last day in service is April 2.

He has spent 24 years in the Government and has held various senior roles, including managing director of statutory board Enterprise Singapore and principal private secretary to Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong when he was prime minister.

At MOM, he implemented policies on foreign manpower, workplace safety and health, and fair employment.

During his tenure, landmark legislation on workplace discrimination and fair workplace practices was introduced.

At MTI, he worked on strengthening Singapore’s economic growth, as well as its relations with key partners like Asean, the United States and China.

Mr Siow has also had stints at the transport, education and manpower ministries.

AIC CEO Dinesh Vasu Dash, 50

Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, the chief executive of the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), left the public service on March 27.

He has helmed AIC since 2023 – first as CEO-designate, before taking on the role officially in February 2024. 

AIC is a unit that falls under the Ministry of Health (MOH), set up to oversee and coordinate care services for seniors.

Before joining AIC, Mr Dinesh was director of MOH’s crisis strategy and operations group during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He was also behind the push to vaccinate Singaporeans against the virus, for which he received the Public Service Star (Covid-19) award in 2024. 

Before joining MOH in 2020, Mr Dinesh spent more than 25 years in the Singapore Armed Forces and rose to the rank of brigadier-general.

He was commander of the 2nd People’s Defence Force, and led an SAF taskforce providing security during the 2018 summit between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

MOH deputy secretary (policy) Jasmin Lau, 41

Ms Jasmin Lau, 41, will leave the public service on March 31. 

She served in MOH from 2013 to 2019, looking at healthcare finance and overseeing the development and regulation of medical and long-term care insurance in Singapore.

She returned to the ministry in November 2021 after a stint at the Economic Development Board (EDB).

Ms Lau oversees manpower, financing and regulatory measures in the healthcare system. 

Other projects she has overseen at MOH include the Healthier SG White Paper in 2022, which places the focus on preventive care, rather than the traditional hospital-based approach to illness.

She was on the board of the Building and Construction Authority and is a member of the board of trustees for the Singapore Institute of Technology.

Her other stints were at the Public Service Division, MOM, Ministry of Finance (MOF) and EDB.

Budget director Shawn Loh, 38

Mr Shawn Loh, 38, MOF’s director of security and resilience programmes, will leave the public service on April 6.

He oversaw the last two budgets after joining MOF in June 2023, and worked on programmes including the CDC and SG60 voucher schemes.

His team also supported the transformations within various ministries as well as developments like Kallang Alive, a masterplan covering the future of the precinct around the Sports Hub. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong spoke about the masterplan during his maiden National Day Rally in 2024.

Before joining MOF, Mr Loh was EDB’s vice-president of Singapore businesses as well as industry manpower development.

Smart Nation and AI policy director Goh Hanyan, 39

Ms Goh Hanyan, 39, who oversees Singapore’s Smart Nation and artificial intelligence (AI) activities, will leave the civil service on April 3. 

She is concurrently a director in the Smart Nation Strategy Office and the national AI group for policy and strategy in the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI).

Ms Goh was involved in shaping Singapore’s refreshed Smart Nation plan, known as Smart Nation 2.0, as well as the coordination and implementation of the Republic’s refreshed National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.

Before her stint at MDDI, she was working on economy and sustainability under the strategy group in the Prime Minister’s Office for just under four years.

She had previously spent about a decade at the EDB, which included a three-year stint in Washington, DC, in the US.

Private and future mobility transport director Foo Cexiang, 40

Mr Foo Cexiang’s last day is April 1. He currently oversees private and future mobility at the Transport Ministry (MOT), including electric vehicle policy, and has been in the service for more than a decade.

Previously, he was MOT’s director of futures and transformation. 

He spoke at the 2022 climate change conference (COP27) about Singapore’s push to encourage public transport and drive to move towards an electric ecosystem.

Mr Foo started his career at JTC Corporation, and he has also had stints at the Ministry of Education looking at pre-school education and after-school care, as well as with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Trade and Industry.