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SINGAPORE \u2013 Former air force chief Ng Chee Khern will take over at the helm of the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute when veteran top civil servant Choi Shing Kwok steps down on March 31. <\/p>\n
Mr Choi, who was Iseas director for eight years, will become adviser to the think-tank\u2019s Asean Studies Centre and the Climate Change in South-east Asia programme.<\/p>\n
Mr Ng, who will take over on April 1, was permanent secretary at the Manpower Ministry between 2022 and 2025. <\/p>\n
Before joining the civil service, he was chief of air force from 2006 to 2009. He later served in key roles including director of the Security and Intelligence Division, and permanent secretary for defence development.<\/p>\n
From 2014 to 2016, Mr Ng was permanent secretary for Health before becoming the first permanent Secretary for Smart Nation and Digital Government in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office from 2017 to 2022.<\/p>\n
Education Minister Desmond Lee said Iseas has grown into a leading research centre with distinguished international recognition under Mr Choi\u2019s leadership. <\/p>\n
Iseas, a brainchild of former deputy prime minister Goh Keng Swee, was set up in 1968. It is dedicated to the study of social and political trends, as well as developments in the security and economic sectors in South-east Asia. <\/p>\n
It also houses the Asean Studies Centre and the Singapore Apec Studies Centre.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n