Chee Hong Tat (Chinese: 徐芳达; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chhî Hong-ta̍t; pinyin: Xú Fāngdá; born 1973)[1] is a Singaporean politician and former civil servant who has been serving as Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance since 2024. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Toa Payoh West–Thomson division of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC since 2015.
Chee Hong Tat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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徐芳达 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Chee in 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister for Transport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 18 January 2024 Acting: 12 July 2023 – 17 January 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong Lawrence Wong | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | S. Iswaran | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Second Minister for Finance | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 18 January 2024 Serving with Indranee Rajah | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong Lawrence Wong | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister | Lawrence Wong | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Lawrence Wong (2021) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 15 May 2021 – 12 June 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary-General | Ng Chee Meng | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Koh Poh Koon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Desmond Tan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament for Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC (Toa Payoh West–Thomson) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 10 July 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Himself | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 32,259 (34.52%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament for Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC (Toa Payoh West–Balestier) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 11 September 2015 – 23 June 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Hri Kumar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Himself | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 32,259 (34.52%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1973 (age 50–51)[1] Singapore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | People's Action Party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley (BS, BA) University of Adelaide (MBA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prior entering politics, Chee worked at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the Ministry of Transport (MOT), and the Ministry of Education (MOE), and was Principal Private Secretary to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew from 2008 to 2011. He subsequently served as Chief Executive Officer of the Energy Market Authority (EMA) between 2011 and 2015.
Chee made his political debut in the 2015 general election as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC which won 73.59% of the vote. Chee was elected as the Member of Parliament representing the Toa Payoh West–Balestier division of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC. Since then, he has retained his parliamentary seat in the 2020 general election and had been appointed Minister of State and subsequently Senior Minister of State.
Education
editChee was educated at The Chinese High School and Raffles Junior College before graduating from the University of California, Berkeley in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science with highest honours degree in electrical engineering and computer science, as well as a Bachelor of Arts with highest honours degree in economics, under the Overseas Merit Scholarship awarded by the Singapore Government.[2]
He subsequently went on to complete a Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Adelaide in 2006,[3] and was awarded the Newmont Australia Prize for being the Most Outstanding MBA Graduate.[4]
Public service career
editChee joined the Singapore Administrative Service in 1998 and worked at various Ministries, including Home Affairs, Finance, Transport and Education.[5]
Chee was also Principal Private Secretary to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew from 2008 to 2011. During this time, he attracted attention after he wrote on behalf of Lee to The Straits Times forum on 7 March 2009 in response to a call by Nanyang Technological University's Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies for a return to the use of Chinese dialects. In the letter, he wrote that "it would be stupid for any Singapore agency or NTU to advocate the learning of dialects, which must be at the expense of English and Mandarin".[6] Lee later mentioned Chee's letter in his book My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore's Bilingual Journey and said that the call to return to the use of Chinese dialects was a "daft call".[7] During Lee's state funeral in 2015, Chee was one of the eight pallbearers.[8]
From 9 May 2011 to 1 April 2014, Chee served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Energy Market Authority.[9][10] He also was Second Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry from 1 December 2014 to 11 August 2015.[11]
Political career
editChee resigned from the Singapore Administrative Service on 11 August 2015 to run for election in the 2015 general election as part of a five-member People's Action Party (PAP) team contesting in Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC after Wong Kan Seng, Hri Kumar and Zainudin Nordin stepped down from their respective wards and politics. [12] Two years before that, he had been attending grassroots events in Bishan–Toa Payoh[13] and Marine Parade GRCs.[14] On 1 September 2015 (Nomination Day), Chee's fist-clenching and chest-thumping action in response to hecklers[15] shocked a few observers and amused others. When he was asked about that, Chee replied, "I'm new to this, so there's much for me to learn. I'll certainly try to improve."[15] On Polling Day, the PAP team won with 73.59% of the vote against the Singapore People's Party.[16] Chee was elected Member of Parliament representing the Toa Payoh West–Balestier ward of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC.
On 1 October 2015, Chee was appointed Minister of State at the Ministries of Health and Communications and Information.
Chee was promoted to Senior Minister of State on 1 May 2017[3] and served at the Ministries of Communications and Information and Health from May 2017 to April 2018. On 9 November 2017, he alleged in a Facebook post that Leon Perera, a Non-constituency Member of Parliament, had made false accusations about Mediacorp making partisan edits on the video of a parliamentary debate on Presidential Elections (Amendment) Bill in February 2017.[17] In response, Perera refuted Chee's allegation and stated that his questions were about the ownership of the copyright to parliamentary video footage and why parliamentary video live feed cannot be made publicly available, as is the case in many other countries. Perera later apologised in Parliament.[18]
On 10 March 2018, Chee was one of the PAP Members of Parliament who responded to Workers' Party Member of Parliament Sylvia Lim over her remark that the government had intended to raise the goods and services tax in the current term but backtracked due to negative public reaction. He chided the Workers' Party for using this issue to discredit the PAP government, saying that it was an attack on its integrity and not responding as strongly as they did would imply that the government is dishonest.[19] Lim acknowledged that she "may have been wrong".[20]
On 24 April 2018, Chee was redesignated as Senior Minister of State at the Ministries of Trade and Industry and Education.[21]
In the 2020 general election, Chee contested in Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC as part of a four-member PAP team and they won with 67.26% of the vote against the Singapore People's Party.[22] He thus retained his parliamentary seat, representing the Toa Payoh West–Thomson ward of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC. He is also a member of the Bishan–Toa Payoh Town Council and an advisor to the Bishan–Toa Payoh grassroots organisations. On 27 July 2020, he was appointed Senior Minister of State at the Ministries of Transport and Foreign Affairs. Following a Cabinet reshuffle, on 15 May 2021, his portfolio as Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs was dropped, but he remained Senior Minister of State for Transport as he was shifted to the Labour Movement following a request by PM Lee to send him in return for Koh Poh Koon. Chee was however appointed Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance on 13 June 2022, he was replaced by Desmond Tan at NTUC.[23]
On 2 May 2024, Chee was appointed as a Director at the Monetary Authority of Singapore Board of Directors with his term lasting from 1 June to 31 May 2027.[24][25] On 29 July, it was announced that Chee would be appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Board of Directors, taking over the role from Gan Kim Yong who went on to become Chairman of MAS with his term as Deputy Chairman lasting from 23 August 2024 to 31 May 2027. [26]
Minister of Transport (2023–present)
editOn 12 July 2023, Chee was appointed Acting Minister for Transport after S. Iswaran was put on a leave of absence while he is under an investigation launched by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).[27]
On 18 January 2024, Chee was promoted as full Minister for Transport after resignation of S. Iswaran after the latter was charged for 27 counts related to bribery and corruption. He was also appointed Second Minister for Finance.[28]
Personal life
editChee is married with four children.[29]
References
edit- ^ a b "MP | Parliament of Singapore".
- ^ "Mr Chee Hong Tat". www.mti.gov.sg. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ a b "SMS Chee Hong Tat" (PDF). Parliament of Singapore.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Tan, Martino (7 June 2015). "6 potential PAP candidates who are so senior they won't be MPs if they entered parliament". mothership.sg. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ "Second Perm Sec for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat leaves civil service". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 7 August 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ "Foolish to advocate the learning of dialects". Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ Lee, Kuan Yew (2012). My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore's Bilingual Journey. Straits Times Press.
- ^ "Pallbearers". www.remembering.sg.
- ^ "Lawrence Wong steps down as Chief Executive of Energy Market Authority, may enter politics". 29 March 2011.
- ^ "New Chief Executive For Energy Market Authority". Ministry of Trade and Industry.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Second Permanent Secretary". Ministry of Trade and Industry. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ Yong, Charissa (4 August 2015). "Senior civil servant Chee Hong Tat, 41, resigns from the civil service". The Straits Times.
- ^ hermes (30 July 2015). "Three potential candidates spotted with PAP MPs". The Straits Times. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ "New PAP candidates: This 'small brother' wants to pay it back". The New Paper. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ a b Yong, Charissa (3 September 2015). "Stepping out of comfort zone to serve". The Straits Times. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ "GE2015: PAP wins Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC with 73.59% of votes". Business Times. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ "Leon Perera made 'serious accusation' that Mediacorp 'edited' parliamentary video: Chee Hong Tat". CNA.
- ^ Sen, Ng Jun (8 January 2018). "Parliament: WP's Leon Perera apologises, withdraws statements on Mediacorp's editing of parliamentary footage". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
- ^ "Important for Govt to remove any doubt about timing of GST hike to protect its integrity: Chee Hong Tat". The Straits Times. 10 March 2018.
- ^ "Sylvia Lim says her suspicions 'may have been wrong'". The Straits Times. 9 March 2018.
- ^ "Cabinet reshuffle: 4 backbenchers promoted, lawyer Edwin Tong to be Senior Minister of State for Law and Health". The Straits Times. 24 April 2018.
- ^ "GE2020 official results: PAP wins Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC in 3rd successive challenge by SPP". The Straits Times. 11 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- ^ Lim, Min Zhang (6 June 2022). "Tan Kiat How, Eric Chua and Rahayu Mahzam to be promoted in latest Cabinet changes". The Straits Times. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "Chee Hong Tat appointed to MAS board of directors".
- ^ "Chee Hong Tat appointed to MAS board". The Straits Times. 2 May 2024.
- ^ "Chee Hong Tat appointed deputy chairman of MAS".
- ^ "Transport Minister S Iswaran assisting in CPIB investigation, instructed to take leave of absence by PM Lee". CNA. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ Iau, Jean; Zachariah, Natasha Ann (18 January 2024). "Iswaran resigns as Transport Minister, from the PAP amid charges including corruption". The Straits Times. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ "Chee Hong Tat" (PDF). Pap.org.sg. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2015.