Chee Hong Tat Becomes Minister For Transport At 51
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been edited to reflect the latest political appointments following the changes to the Cabinet on Thursday (18 Jan 2024).
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Following a rush of updates on the CPIB probe into Mr S Iswaran, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced on 18 Jan that the Transport Minister has resigned.
Acting Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat was thus appointed as the full Minister for Transport, effective immediately.
Source: Chee Hong Tat 徐芳达 on Facebook
Mr Chee had to step up as Acting Minister for Transport in July 2023 following Mr S Iswaran’s leave of absence.
The latter is 11 years Mr Chee’s senior. At 51, he’s only the second-youngest Transport Minister ever, after Mr Raymond Lim, who assumed the role at 47 back in 2006.
That said, the transport ministry seems to be in good hands, going by Mr Chee’s 18-year experience as a public servant.
Promoted after 8 years as a junior minister
Mr Chee started his career in politics in 2015, having been elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.
He first took on the role of Minister of State for the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Communications and Information concurrently.
Since then, he has built a diverse portfolio in various ministries — from education to trade and industry, among others.
Source: Chee Hong Tat 徐芳达 on Facebook
The Singapore Parliament website states that Mr Chee has served in seven ministries in his eight-year political career.
He has been a Senior Minister of State since May 2017 up to the present day.
Chee Hong Tat was Principal Private Secretary to Lee Kuan Yew
Before he joined politics, Mr Chee was already heavily involved in public service.
He had the chops to serve as the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s Principal Private Secretary from 2008 to 2011.
Source: Chee Hong Tat 徐芳达 on Facebook
In a Facebook post about his time as the late Mr Lee’s Private Secretary, Mr Chee shared that it was the “best posting” he had ever had.
“I had the opportunity to learn directly from Mr Lee and observe how he dealt with different types of people and handled difficult issues,” he said.
During the three years, he also “became friends” with Mr Lee’s daughter, Dr Lee Wei Ling.
Carried Lee Kuan Yew’s casket during the send-off at Sri Temasek
When the former Minister Mentor passed away in Mar 2015, Mr Chee was one of the eight pallbearers at the Sri Temasek send-off for Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
TODAY reported that the group included personal staff who had served the statesman at different points in his life.
“(They) represent the many who served him loyally over the years, including in the most tumultuous of times,” said the Ministry of Communications and Information.
Source: Remembering Lee Kuan Yew on Facebook
Mr Chee represented the late Mr Lee’s Private Office as the latter’s last principal private secretary before he stepped down as Minister Mentor.
During his time in that role, Mr Chee most notably responded to an article advocating for the study of dialects.
On behalf of Mr Lee, he wrote:
It would be stupid for any Singapore agency or Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to advocate the learning of dialects which must be at the expense of English and Mandarin.
He then noted that this was the reason why the Government stopped all dialect programmes on radio and television after 1979.
Chief Executive at Energy Market Authority after DPM Lawrence Wong
In 2011, Mr Chee joined the Energy Market Authority as its Chief Executive Officer.
He replaced DPM Lawrence Wong, once again, as the new chief of the statutory board.
Source: Chee Hong Tat 徐芳达 on Facebook
According to TODAY, the latter served as EMA’s CEO for two years since 2009.
Mr Chee, on the other hand, served as EMA’s CEO for close to four years until Dec 2014.
He had to step down from his position before his electoral debut in the 2015 General Elections.
Thought hard about joining politics
Speaking to TODAY in 2015, Mr Chee shared that it was not easy for him to decide to join politics.
Then 41 years old, Mr Chee was a father of four children between the ages of four and 15.
As such, he and his wife were worried about how his schedule would impact their young kids.
After some discussion, Mr Chee chose to pursue politics with the support of his wife.
Source: Chee Hong Tat 徐芳达 on Facebook
“We are at a very critical juncture of our nation’s development and this is the time when we need people who can contribute to step forward,” he said.
Following a successful campaign in 2015 by the People’s Action Party (PAP) in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Mr Chee was elected again in the 2020 General Elections.
Political career just beginning for Chee Hong Tat
As it stands, Mr Chee Hong Tat already has many notable achievements under his belt.
Now that he’s a full minister, all eyes will be on him to see what he’ll achieve.
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Featured image adapted from Chee Hong Tat 徐芳达 on Facebook and Facebook.
