Key Responsibilities
The PSC performs the following functions, without fear or favour:
The PSC Scholarships attract and nurture talents with leadership potential for the Public Service.
The PSC is the authority for the appointment of officers to the Administrative Service, as well as appointments and promotions to senior management ranks (Superscale D or Grade 7 and above). The PSC also considers candidates for appointment as Chief Executive Officers of Statutory Boards and assesses their suitability for promotion to Superscale D/Grade 7 and above. The PSC ensures impartiality in the process of selecting the best person for the job.
The PSC is the authority for the dismissal and disciplinary control of civil servants. It has delegated to the Permanent Secretaries and Commissioner of Prisons its authority to discipline certain populations of civil servants for minor misconduct. The PSC ensures that all cases of irregularities, regardless of seniority, are treated with impartiality and fairness.
In 1995, several of the PSC’s functions were devolved to a hierarchy of personnel boards, leading to the PSC retaining a role as the final board of appeal so that it may continue to maintain a check on the Civil Service personnel system. As the final board of appeal, in cases where officers disagree with decisions taken by the Special Personnel Board, the PSC eradicates any bias and prejudice in the system and ensures that officers are treated fairly and consistently.
Members
Members hail from diverse backgrounds and are not allowed to hold any positions in the Public Service after their terms of office. They are appointed by the President, in consultation with the Prime Minister.
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Mr Lee Tzu Yang was appointed as Chairman of the Public Service Commission on 1 Aug 2018 and from 14 Jan 2022 concurrently serves as the Vice-President of the Judicial Service Commission and the Legal Service Commission. From July 2022 he chairs the World Cities Summit Science of Cities Knowledge Council. He also chairs the board of the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
Mr Lee graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1976. He joined Shell in 1979 and retired as Chairman of Shell Companies in Singapore in 2014 after serving in operational, commercial and strategy functions in a range of markets. He was recognised by the Institution of Chemical Engineers as an Honorary Fellow in 2016.
He was awarded the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Star) in 2005, the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Meritorious Service Medal) in 2014, and the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Distinguished Service Order) in 2022.
Ms Chua Sock Koong was appointed as a Member of the Public Service Commission in January 2009, and Deputy Chairman in January 2020.
Ms Chua is Senior Advisor at Singapore Telecommunications Limited, Asia’s leading communications technology group, and was previously its Group Chief Executive Officer for 13 years until 31 December 2020.
Ms Chua sits on the Boards of Bharti Airtel Limited, Bharti Telecom Limited, Prudential plc, Ayala Corporation and the Dubai Financial Services Authority, as well as the Supervisory Board of Royal Philips.
She is also a member of the Council of Presidential Advisers and the Securities Industry Council.
Ms Chua was conferred the Medal of Commendation (Gold) at NTUC May Day Awards 2016 and the Public Service Star (BBM) at the Singapore's 2019 National Day Awards.
Ms Chua holds a Bachelor of Accountancy (First Class Honours) from the University of Singapore. She is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants and a CFA charterholder.
Professor Lily Kong was appointed as a Member of the Public Service Commission in January 2009.
Professor Kong is Singapore Management University (SMU)'s fifth President, and the first Singaporean to lead the 24-year old university. She is also the first Singaporean woman to head a university in Singapore. She was previously Provost of SMU, and Vice Provost and Vice President at the National University of Singapore (in various portfolios).
Professor Kong is internationally known for her research on social and cultural change in Asian cities, focusing on issues ranging from religion, cultural policy and creative economy, urban heritage and conservation, to smart cities. An award-winning researcher and teacher, Professor Kong has received five international fellowship awards and has also won the Association of American Geographers Robert Stoddard Award for Distinguished Service (Geography of Religion and Belief Systems).
Professor Kong was conferred the Public Service Star in 2020 and Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2006. In a global study by Stanford University (2020), Professor Kong was identified as among the world’s top 1% of scientists in the field of Geography. She was recognised in Forbes Asia’s Power Businesswomen list (2020), Forbes inaugural 50 over 50 (Asia 2022) and Tatler’s Asia’s Most Influential (2022).
Mr Alan Chan was appointed as a Member of the Public Service Commission on 6 September 2010.
He holds the appointments of Chairman of the Land Transport Authority and the Singapore-China Foundation. He is also Deputy Chairman of the Pavilion Energy Group of Companies.
Mr Chan retired as CEO of Singapore Press Holdings Ltd after a stint of 15 years. He had served on the boards of various Statutory Boards, listed and non-listed companies.
Before joining SPH, he was an Administrative Officer in the Civil Service. Some of his appointments included Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Principal Private Secretary to Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
He is a President's Scholar and was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold and Silver) and the Meritorious Service Medal for his contributions to the public service.
Dr Sudha Nair was appointed as a Member of the Public Service Commission on 9 January 2015.
An Alternate Member of the Council of Presidential Advisers, Dr Nair also serves as a Director and Member of the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship Fund; Chairperson of the Singapore Youth Award Panel; and Member of the Board of Term Trustees, SINDA where she also chairs the Family Development Committee.
Dr Nair received her doctorate in social work from the National University of Singapore in 2006, and has been serving as Executive Director of PAVE since 2012. She was the inaugural winner of the Outstanding Social Worker Award in 1998.
Dr Nair was conferred the Public Service Medal (PBM) in 2017, and the Public Service Star (BBM) in 2022.
Professor Benjamin Ong was appointed as a Member of the Public Service Commission on 1 December 2020.
Prof Ong is a Senior Consultant with the Division of Neurology, National University Hospital (NUH). He also serves as Chairman of the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and Chairman of the National Health Innovation Centre Singapore Board Oversight Committee (BOC).
He was formerly Director of Medical Services, Ministry of Health (MOH), and prior to his MOH appointment, Prof Ong was the Chief Executive, National University Health System and Senior Vice President of Health Affairs at NUS. He has also held positions as Chairman, Medical Board at the NUH, Head of the Department of Medicine at NUS, as well as Chairman of the Integrated Health Information Systems Singapore. He was also formerly Senior Vice President (Health Education and Resources) at the National University of Singapore and a former member of the National Health Innovation Centre Singapore Board Oversight Commitee.
Prof Ong was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold and Silver) and the Meritorious Service Medal for his contributions to the public service.
Ms Euleen Goh was appointed as a Member of the Public Service Commission on 1 April 2021.
Mr Ramlee Bin Buang was appointed as a Member of the Public Service Commission on 1 August 2022.
Mr Ramlee has more than 30 years of experience with multinational corporations in business development and corporate roles. He was the Executive Vice President, Chief Finance Officer and Director of Cerebos Pacific, before he set up Uyko Advisory which he founded in 2014 to provide corporate advice, mentorship, and coaching.
He chairs the board of 1FSS Pte Ltd, an MOH Holdings Finance Shared Service Centre and is a board member of the Singapore University of Technology and Design, for which he chairs the Audit and Risk Committee. He is on the board of Halogen Foundation (Singapore) for which he also serves as the Audit and Risk Management Committee Chairman, and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) for which he also serves as a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee. Outside the public sector, Mr Ramlee is a board member of Far East Orchard Limited.
Mr Ramlee is a member of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (United Kingdom), CPA (Australia) and a non-practicing member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants. He attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2011.
He was conferred the Public Service Medal (PBM) in 2018.
Mr Warren Fernandez was appointed as a Member of the Public Service Commission on 1 June 2023.
Mr Fernandez is the Chief Executive Officer of Edelman’s Asia-Pacific region, a global communications firm. He has more than three decades of experience in the news, media and communications sector, having served in key appointments such as editor-in-chief of the English/Malay/Tamil Media Group in SPH Media and editor of The Straits Times. He was previously President of the World Editors Forum and Chairman of The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.
Mr Fernandez has also contributed to numerous public sector boards, including the National Heritage Board, National Parks Board, and the National Environment Agency, and is currently a board member of the National Arts Council and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
He is a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford University and holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Milestones
Our History
The British set up the Civil Service Commission, on which Colonial Commissions would later be based. The Public Services Salaries Commission of Malaya, under the chairmanship of Sir Harry Trusted, recommended the setting up of a Public Service Commission (PSC) in 1947. In 1949, the PSC was constituted by the Public Services Commission Ordinance to advise the British governor on matters of recruitment, appointment and promotion of civil servants.
The PSC was established on 1 January 1951 as an independent body to advise the British Governor on matters related to Civil Service recruitment, appointment and promotion. In 1957, the PSC’s role evolved to include dismissal and disciplinary control. In line with the constitutional reforms when Singapore attained self-governance in 1959, the PSC was reconstituted more as an executive body advising the Yang di-Pertuan Negara on the appointment, dismissal and discipline of public officers. The Queen’s Scholarship was abolished and replaced with the Singapore State Scholarship, awarded by the PSC.
In 1961, to build up the pool of local talent for the Civil Service, the PSC took over the selection for all scholarships, fellowships and training sponsored by the Singapore Government. In 1963, Singapore merged with the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo to form Malaysia. From its earlier advisory role, the PSC was transformed into a fully executive body with powers to “appoint, confirm, emplace on the permanent or pensionable establishment, promote, transfer and exercise disciplinary control over public officers”. As Singapore’s political status changed, the Singapore State Scholarship was transformed first into the Yang di-Pertuan Negara Scholarship in 1964, and subsequently renamed the President’s Scholarship after 1965.
A Constitutional amendment in 1970 expanded the membership of the PSC to provide for a minimum of four and a maximum of seven members, excluding the Chairman. Due to a labour shortage in the Civil Service, more females were employed for various technical and other jobs traditionally confined to male candidates. The PSC decided to select, promote and appoint officers based on merit and beyond the vacancies available where there were deserving candidates. The PSC also recruited foreign talent for areas with a shortage of qualified local candidates. It also began to administer the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship, as well as the ASEAN and Hong Kong Scholarships.
In 1983, the PSC handed over personnel management of the Civil Service to the newly-formed Public Service Division, and delegated to the Permanent Secretaries its authority to appoint officers to junior grades. It then focused on its core Constitutional role: ensuring impartiality of appointments, promotions and disciplinary action.
On 1 July 1990, two sub-commissions of the PSC, the Education Service Commission (ESC) and the Police and Civil Defence Services Commission (PCDSC), were established to further improve the responsiveness and effectiveness of the Civil Service personnel management. A further Constitutional amendment in 1994 devolved functions from the PSC to personnel boards in the Ministries. From 1 January 1995, the PSC served as an appellate board to consider appeals against personnel board decisions other than those under the Education and Police and Civil Defence Services. The PSC retained the power to consider appeals from these personnel boards. On 1 April 1998, the ESC and PCDSC were amalgamated with the PSC into a single Commission. Dr Andrew Chew was appointed Chairman – the first ex-civil servant to hold the position.
The PSC sharpened its focus on top-tier scholarships. It delegated administration of other tied scholarships to Ministries, while retaining overall authority to uphold standards. In 2002, the Management Associates Programme (MAP) was established to groom outstanding young officers for leadership positions. The PSC delegated to the Permanent Secretaries and Commissioner of Prisons authority to discipline certain populations of civil servants for minor misconduct. To meet the diverse needs of the Civil Service, the PSC Mid-Term Scholarship, PSC Master’s Scholarship and PSC China Scholarship were introduced between 2005 and 2009.
The PSC celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2011. Scholarships have continued to evolve alongside the Civil Service. In 2013, the MAP was superseded by the Public Service Leadership Programme (PSLP), which aims to widen and deepen the leadership corps. From 2015, the various PSC scholarships, with the exception of the President’s Scholarship, were combined into a single PSC Scholarship. The PSC Scholarship has three career pathways: Public Administration, Professional Service and Uniformed Service. The PSC Scholarship (Engineering) and the PSC Scholarship (Public Finance) were inaugurated under the Professional Service pathway in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
