A new deputy chairman has been appointed to the Public Service Commission (PSC), the Prime Minister's Office said yesterday.

Ms Chua Sock Koong, 62, began her new appointments as member and deputy chairman of PSC yesterday. She is PSC's first female deputy chairman and the second deputy chairman in the commission.

Ms Chua is the group chief executive officer of Singtel. She sits on the boards of Singtel, Bharti Airtel, Bharti Telecom, the Defence Science and Technology Agency, Cap Vista and key subsidiaries of the Singtel Group.

She is also a member of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council and the Indonesia-Singapore Business Council, and is an alternate member of the Council of Presidential Advisers.

Ms Chua serves alongside the commission's deputy chairman Kwa Chong Seng, 73, who is Singapore Technologies Engineering chairman.

The PSC's chairman is Mr Lee Tzu Yang, 65.

There are two other changes to the PSC.

Mr Richard R. Magnus, 75, retired on Tuesday after serving 11 years as a member of the PSC.

Mr Tan Yam Pin, 79, will be retiring tomorrow after serving 30 years on the PSC, including almost 10 years as deputy chairman.

With these changes, the PSC will have 10 members other than Mr Lee.

The PSC is an independent body, comprising members appointed by the President, that selects and develops scholarship holders, appoints senior public officers and maintains discipline in the public service.

Under the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, the PSC shall have a chairman and between five and 14 other members.