SINGAPORE - Surbana Jurong's board of directors has accepted the resignation of Mr Liew Mun Leong as its chairman, but did not name a successor to the post.

In a statement on Friday night (Sept 11), the consulting firm's group chief executive, Mr Wong Heang Fine, said: "While the change in chairmanship has taken place unexpectedly, the board, management and global workforce of Surbana Jurong have the collective resolve to carry on with business as usual.

"Everything we have achieved thus far serves as a solid foundation to advance our work as a technical platform for creating a smart, sustainable and resilient built environment."

He added that Surbana Jurong remains focused on its clients and supporting them in their plans for a post-Covid-19 future.

Mr Liew, 74, resigned from his posts in Surbana Jurong and three other organisations on Thursday after the High Court acquitted his former maid of theft and questioned his motivation in lodging a police report against her, sparking an online backlash.

He stepped down as chairman of Changi Airport Group and Surbana Jurong, and from his positions as senior international business adviser at Singapore investment firm Temasek and as a board member of Temasek Foundation.

Announcing his decision to "bring forward" his retirement, Mr Liew said at the time that he did not want his current situation to be a distraction to the organisations' respective boards, management and staff, amid their many critical priorities.

When asked on Friday about who would succeed Mr Liew, Surbana said it would make an announcement in due course.

In its statement on Friday night, Surbana Jurong paid tribute to the contributions made to the firm by Mr Liew,who was its founding chairman since he joined it in 2015.

"Under his guidance, Surbana Jurong made a series of transformative acquisitions to forge an integrated technical consultancy services platform with a complete value proposition for the built environment," it said, adding that he had encouraged Surbana Jurong's foray into non-traditional consultancy fields , allowing it to form "valuable partnerships" for project investments in the region.

"Harnessing relationships he built over decades with partners around the world, Mr Liew paved the way for Surbana Jurong to expand its global presence.

"As a result, since its formation, the Group has increased its revenue five-fold, more than half of which is derived from business outside Singapore," said the firm.

Aside from this, Surbana Jurong said that Mr Liew was "committed to building talent" and had made great efforts to strengthen its management, going so far as to personally interview potential senior management candidates.

"He will always be remembered for the business and leadership lectures he delivered to staff and the Sunday e-mails he invested time to write, a vehicle for sharing his wealth of insights and experience," said Surbana Jurong.

It added: "Throughout his tenure, Mr Liew demonstrated the exceptional vision, leadership, courage and passion needed for Surbana Jurong to succeed, grow and serve its clients around the world.

"His immeasurable contributions to the Group will not be forgotten. With deepest gratitude, we thank Mr Liew for his service and wish him the very best in the future."