{"id":45007,"date":"2026-04-16T22:53:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T14:53:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=45007"},"modified":"2026-04-16T22:53:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T14:53:46","slug":"mha-permanent-secretary-pang-kin-keong-to-retire-from-civil-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=45007","title":{"rendered":"MHA permanent secretary Pang Kin Keong to retire from civil service"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE &#8211;<!-- --> Veteran civil servant Pang Kin Keong, who is Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, will retire from the administrative service on June 1 after 35 years in the public service. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Mr Pang, 59, who joined the civil service in 1993, has served in various appointments, including as principal private secretary to then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, director of the Internal Security Department (ISD), and director in the Ministry of Trade and Industry. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He was appointed Permanent Secretary for Law in 2010, and was also at the Ministry of Transport from 2012 before taking on his post in the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2017. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">As Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, he played a central role in Singapore\u2019s fight against Covid-19, chairing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/what-is-the-homefront-crisis-ministerial-committee-spores-apex-body-during-national-crises?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\">the Homefront Crisis Executive Group (HCEG)<\/span><\/a> that guided the Government\u2019s response to the pandemic, said the Public Service Division (PSD) in a statement announcing his retirement. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Mr Pang is also chairman of the HCEG convened alongside the Homefront Crisis Ministerial Committee (HCMC) to coordinate Singapore\u2019s response to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The HCEG, which comprises senior civil servants, reports to the HCMC. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing thanked Mr Pang for the lasting impact he made, in particular as chairman of the Homefront Crisis Executive Group and during his time at the Ministry of Home Affairs where he worked with other agencies and the community to make Singapore a safer and more harmonious country. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cI would like to thank Kin Keong for his many years of significant contributions and dedicated service to the public service and to Singapore,\u201d said Mr Chan, who is also Minister for Defence. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">At the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Pang led efforts to deal with new security threats such as foreign interference and scams, as well as the ministry\u2019s responses in many critical and sensitive operations, said the PSD. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He also spearheaded the Home Team\u2019s transformation through technology, such as by setting up the Home Team Science and Technology Agency and implementing the New Clearance Concept for contactless and more secure immigration clearance at Singapore\u2019s borders. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Before his stint at MHA, he was Permanent Secretary for Transport from 2012 to 2017, during which he led several major initiatives to position Singapore\u2019s transport infrastructure for the future, including the planning of Changi Airport Terminal 5 and Tuas Port. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He also helped develop a more sustainable public transport system, such as through the New Rail Financing Framework and the Bus Contracting <!-- -->Framework<!-- -->, said the PSD. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">At the Ministry of Law, from 2010 to 2012, he led the development of the masterplan to build up Singapore as an international hub for arbitration and legal services as well as intellectual property services. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Before being appointed permanent secretary, Mr Pang was director of the ISD. It was under his watch that terrorist leader Mas Selamat Kastari escaped detention in 2008 before being recaptured over a year later. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In a previous interview in Challenge, the Singapore Public Service\u2019s magazine, Mr Pang had described the saga as the lowest point in his public service career. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He\u00a0spoke of his worry that he would be posted out of ISD before his team could recapture\u00a0Mas\u00a0Selamat. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cI wanted at least to be able to say, yes, the mistake happened under me, but I rectified it under my watch as well,\u201d he had said in the interview. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He had also said the \u201cincredible teamwork\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0loyalty of his staff was what kept him going, and that the experience taught him to stand by good staff who make honest mistakes, just as his superiors had stood by him. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In recognition of his contributions to the public service, Mr Pang was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2024. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He will be succeeded at the Ministry of Home Affairs by Mr Tan Chye Hee, 52, who will relinquish his appointment as Permanent Secretary (Information and Development) at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, said the PSD. As Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tan will take over as chairman of the HCEG. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">A former police officer who joined the force in 1992, Mr Tan was previously also director of the Internal Security Department. He was appointed to the administrative service in 2001. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Meanwhile, Mr Wong Kang Jet, 46, will be appointed Second Permanent Secretary (Home Affairs), Second Permanent Secretary (Information) at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, and Second Permanent Secretary (Cybersecurity) at the Prime Minister\u2019s Office. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Mr Wong will relinquish his appointment as chief executive officer of the National Environment Agency (NEA). Dr Benjamin Koh, who is Deputy Secretary (Sustainability) in the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, will be appointed the interim CEO. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The changes will take effect from June 1. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The NEA said in a statement that it will announce the appointment of a new CEO in due course.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/politics\/mha-permanent-secretary-pang-kin-keong-to-retire-from-civil-service\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE &#8211; Veteran civil servant Pang Kin Keong, who is Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, will retire from the administrative service on June 1 after&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}