SINGAPORE – A director in the Transport Ministry (MOT) has resigned and is set to run in the upcoming general election.
Mr Foo Cexiang’s last day is April 1, The Straits Times has learnt.
The senior public servant currently oversees private and future mobility at 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, 40, started his career at JTC Corporation and 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.
ST has contacted him for comment.
This follows the resignation of another civil servant – deputy secretary (policy) Jasmin Lau from the Ministry of Health.
Ms Lau had resigned from the role and retired from the administrative service, with her last day also on April 1.
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.
Mr Foo and Ms Lau are among the first of several resignations expected from the public service ahead of the general election, which is widely expected by mid-year after the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee’s report on March 11.
The PAP has traditionally tapped public service leaders when sourcing for candidates. Those who are chosen to stand often resign in the lead-up to the election, as they are not allowed to participate in political activities while in office.
In the past, public servants have quit their roles close to the start of the hustings.
In the 2020 General Election, East Coast GRC MP Tan Kiat How, who was then chief executive of the Infocomm Media Development Authority, stepped down from his post on June 20. His resignation was publicly announced five days earlier.
The writ of election was issued on June 23, with July 10 set as Polling Day.
Mr Tan, who is now Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information as well as National Development, was one of the last resignations from the public service that year.
Mr Desmond Tan, who used to be chief executive of the People’s Association, left the public service slightly less than a month before Polling Day.
Ng Wei Kai is a journalist at The Straits Times, where he covers politics. He writes Unpacked, a weekly newsletter on Singapore politics and policy.
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