PSC | News

25 July 2025

Guest of Honour, Mr Chan Chun Sing, Coordinating Minister for Public Services and Minister-in-Charge of the Public Service

Head of Civil Service, Mr Leo Yip

Members of the Public Service Commission

Awardees of the 2025 PSC Scholarships

Distinguished guests, family members, school leaders and friends

1. We are also honoured today by the presence of ambassadors and representatives from China, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States. Your commitment to education, diplomacy and cultural exchange profoundly enriches our scholarship recipients’ experience. Thank you.

2. Now today is a proud day. Not just for you, our 60 PSC scholarship recipients, but also for all those who have helped you — your parents, your teachers, your friends who have supported you. Thank you all for helping to nurture these remarkable young men and women, for believing in them, and for encouraging them to join the Public Service.

3. To our scholars: you are here because of the promise you show for the future, and also because of the promise you make to serve your country and your people. I know you have been very busy rehearsing the performance for this afternoon. So please remember the scholarship holder’s pledge that you have been rehearsing. This is the beginning of your journey to making a difference to the lives of the community who made it possible for you to come this far. When you seek to achieve great things, remember not only skills and experience matter, but most important of all — your character, your commitment, and keeping the faith with others who believe in you. Carry that responsibility with humility, and let it remind you of the challenges that now lie ahead.

4. A commitment to Public Service is a promise to serve Singapore and Singaporeans. Unlike many in the private sector, you will not be able to choose who to serve. But you still must learn and understand the complexity of all the people that you serve in order to meet their needs and their aspirations. Your service to them is grounded in purpose – to build better lives – and can only be delivered if you retain their trust. I know you will still be tackling studies and examinations in these next few years, but your success is not only about these. It is about how you lead, how you serve, and how you learn to maintain the trust of others in you, to uplift their lives.

5. This year’s recipients of scholarships have a wide range in background and experience, and will pursue studies in fields in different environments. This reflects the diversity of strengths we seek in the Public Service.

6. In total, 52 out of 60 – or 87 per cent – of our scholarship recipients this year will be proceeding for their studies overseas. Twenty-eight will go to the United Kingdom, 19 to the United States, and five to Germany, France, and China. I am pleased that 87 per cent is the highest percentage of overseas scholarship studies in recent years.

7. The range of institutions and disciplines – from Computational Analysis and Public Policy at University of Chicago, Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to Engineering at Tsinghua University in China – reflects the complexity of the world in which we live and must find our way.

8. This year also, we welcome our first recipient of the revamped PSC (Public Finance) Scholarship. Designed to groom future leaders for finance portfolios in the Public Service, the Public Finance scholarship now supports a wider range of disciplines, including Business, Economics, and Finance-related courses, in addition to what was previously Accountancy. Our inaugural recipient of the revamped PSC (Public Finance) Scholarship is Immanuel Lau, and he will pursue Politics and Economics at Northwestern University.

9. Whether studying locally or overseas, your opportunity is to look at what others do and learn from it, critically assess and apply not just brains but also your heart, to be curious but also discerning, in taking charge of your own development. Better understanding the world around us necessitates more than books or digital media, it requires building external networks of people with whom you can have good conversations, discussions and friendships. Your objective is not just to obtain a good degree, which I am sure all of you will, but you should use your opportunities wisely to understand how, for example, social policies impact different people, how science and business serve societies but can also present a threat if choices are not guided by ethics, and how, perhaps most important of all, good ideas are tested and shaped by realities.

10. Singapore’s Public Service is respected around the world. As you prepare for your career, please ask yourself what kind of leader do you want to become, and what can you do to be the best at it. Embrace literacy in new fields like digital and AI but keep people at the heart of your decision-making.

11. As I conclude, let me express our gratitude to the many partners who have made this possible — to our international partners and diplomatic missions; to our families, educators, university leaders and Public Service agencies.

12. And to our scholars — thank you for stepping forward to serve. I wish you every success in the journey ahead.

25 June 2025

Dr Asyifah Binte Mohamed Rashid (left), Ms Loo Qingwen, Jean (right)

2025 LEE KUAN YEW SCHOLARSHIP AWARD CEREMONY

The Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship was set up in 1991 by the Tanjong Pagar Citizens’ Consultative Committee in commemoration of the significant contributions made by Singapore’s founding Prime Minister. The scholarship, which receives funding support from the Lee Kuan Yew Centennial Fund, is awarded to exceptional individuals who demonstrate a strong sense of commitment to serve Singapore and Singaporeans.

2. Two outstanding candidates have been awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship this year for their postgraduate studies. The recipients are:

S/N	Name/Age	Field of Study, University and Country
1	Dr Asyifah Binte Mohamed Rashid Age 34	Master In Business Administration, INSEAD Singapore
2	Ms Loo Qingwen, Jean 吕晴文 Age 40	Master of Social Work, National University of Singapore, Singapore

S/N

Name/Age

Field of Study, University and Country

1

Dr Asyifah Binte Mohamed Rashid

Age 34

Master In Business Administration,

INSEAD

Singapore

2

Ms Loo Qingwen, Jean

吕晴文

Age 40

Master of Social Work,

National University of Singapore,

Singapore

3. Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship holders are fully sponsored for their tuition fees and receive an annual allowance of S$50,000 for the duration of their postgraduate studies. They may choose to pursue their postgraduate studies in any country and field of study that best develops their potential as leaders and are expected to continue contributing in their respective fields of work to benefit Singapore and society.

4. “The Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship has enabled me to pursue the INSEAD Global Executive MBA, which will equip me with advanced capabilities in strategic leadership, organisational transformation, and decision-making in complex environments. These capabilities are critical as I continue to lead national efforts within A*STAR to translate scientific innovation into impactful health and economic outcomes for Singapore,” said Dr Asyifah Binte Mohamed Rashid, recipient of the 2025 Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship.

5. Fellow recipient of the 2025 Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship, Ms Loo Qingwen, Jean, said, “It is a privilege to be awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship. Its significance inspires me to broaden my perspectives on social change and systemic problem solving and expands my toolbox and leadership skills to better contribute towards disability inclusion and social services.”

6. More details on the scholarship can be found at https://www.psc.gov.sg/scholarships/postgraduate-scholarships/lee-kuan-yew-scholarship.

13 August 2024

Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education and Minister-in-Charge of the Public Service

Chairman and Members of the Public Service Commission

Distinguished Guests

1. My heartiest congratulations to this year’s President’s Scholarship recipients!

2. I am glad that your parents, family members, school principals and teachers are here with you for the occasion.

3. Each year, the public sector awards many scholarships to outstanding young Singaporeans who are committed to serving the nation through a career in the public service. Among these scholarships, the President’s Scholarship is awarded to the most exceptional individuals in each cohort, who demonstrate all-round excellence and dedication towards improving the lives of Singaporeans.

4. When we award a public sector scholarship, whether it is the President’s Scholarship or one of our other scholarships, we are first investing in capabilities.

5. Over the years, I have often told my peers and friends abroad that a capable public service has been one of Singapore’s stand-out strengths.

6. There is high international regard for our incorruptibility. But less well known are the constantly evolving capabilities within the public service, its rare ability to work on a whole-of-government rather than siloed basis, and the networks between government, the business sector, the labour movement and the community that give Singapore significant advantage. Never perfect, always being improved, but a real stand-out strength for Singapore. It has enabled us to overcome crises relatively quickly, and helped Singapore and Singaporeans make steady progress.

7. These capabilities within the public service are now needed more than ever. We live in an unstable and profoundly uncertain world. More polarised, faced with an accelerating crisis of global warming and the environment, growing energy and food security challenges, and more prone to conflicts. We have to live with these risks, hold together, and do well as a people.

8. It will require a continuous stream of capable, dedicated leaders at every level of society. The public service in particular will have to be innovative, forward-thinking and constantly responsive to the needs of Singaporeans. It will have to develop greater expertise in each field, be prepared for a world of more frequent crises, listen to different voices, and respond in creative and sustainable ways to the evolving aspirations of our citizens.

9. For our scholarship recipients embarking on their undergraduate studies, it is not too early to find ways to develop these capabilities. It means expanding your intellectual horizons, and engaging with a broad range of people.

a. Your time in university is an opportunity to step out of your comfort zones, and go beyond excelling in your studies.

b. An opportunity to get to know people from diverse places and backgrounds, and engage meaningfully in the local community.

c. You will, I’m sure, take away something valuable with these engagements, whether it is a new skill, a different perspective, or a deeper empathy for ordinary people in the community.

10. Remember, above all, that our public sector scholarships are fundamentally a call to service. They are not merely a privilege, but a responsibility placed on you.

11. The President’s Scholarship in particular is a pinnacle award within each cohort, but it is not the pinnacle of your life, nor an assurance that you will reach the pinnacles of the public service. It reflects your exceptional record to date and potential as a young Singaporean, and trust in your ability to inspire others and work with them, tirelessly, for the betterment of our nation.

12. This year, we are proud to have Emily Tan, Dylan Toh, and Marianne Wang as the recipients of the President’s Scholarship. Emily and Marianne have also been awarded the Public Service Commission Scholarship and Dylan the Singapore Police Force Scholarship.

13. We will soon hear the full citations for each of them. They have each demonstrated all-round excellence, in different combinations of sports, the arts and volunteer work, alongside their studies.

14. I encourage each of you, Marianne, Dylan and Emily, to keep your intellectual and social horizons wide. As President’s Scholars, you will be role models in both the pursuit of excellence and humility, and in your commitment to improve the lives of all Singaporeans.

Conclusion

15. Your success is a result of collective effort and the many people who have been supporting you. I extend my congratulations to your families, school principal and teachers, and friends, for making you who you are.

Once again, my heartfelt congratulations to each of you, and I wish you the best in the journey ahead.