Jeffrey Siow
Jeffrey Siow | |
|---|---|
| 萧振祥 | |
| Minister for Transport | |
| Assumed office 23 May 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Lawrence Wong |
| Preceded by | Chee Hong Tat |
| Senior Minister of State for Finance | |
| Assumed office 23 May 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Lawrence Wong |
| Minister | Lawrence Wong |
| Member of Parliament for Chua Chu Kang GRC (Brickland) | |
| Assumed office 3 May 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Don Wee |
| Majority | 23,578 (27.20%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1978 or 1979 (age 46–47) Singapore |
| Political party | People's Action Party |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Cornell University (BA, BS) MIT Sloan School of Management (MBA)[1] |
| Occupation |
|
Jeffrey Siow Chen Siang (Chinese: 萧振祥, born 1978 or 1979) is a Singaporean politician and former civil servant. A member of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), he is the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Brickland ward of Chua Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) since 2025.
Siow served as a civil servant within multiple government agencies for 24 years. He previously served as principal private secretary (PPS) to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong between 2017 and 2021, and was serving as second permanent secretary at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) at the time of his resignation. He was the most senior of public servants who stepped down to join politics ahead of the 2025 general election.
Early life and education
[edit]Siow grew up in a one-room public housing rental flat in Henderson.[2] He earned a Public Service Commission scholarship and studied economics and urban planning at Cornell University.[3]
Civil service career
[edit]Siow became a deputy director at the Civil Service College in 2005 and served until 2009. He then served as a deputy director at the Ministry of Education (MOE) between 2009 and 2011.[1]
From 2012 until 2017,[1] Siow was a director at the Ministry of Transport (MOT). During his tenure, he oversaw projects such as the Bus Contracting Model, the failed Kuala Lumpur–Singapore high-speed rail and the Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System, and was part of a team tasked to plan the Thomson–East Coast MRT line.[4][3]
In 2017, Siow was appointed as principal private secretary (PPS) to then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, a role which he served until 2021.[2][3] In September that year, he became a member of the board of directors at the Infocomm Media Development Authority, and held this position until 2022.[5][1] He was the first managing director and chief operating officer of Enterprise Singapore from September 2021 until he stepped down on 31 December 2023.[6]
Siow was appointed as second permanent secretary at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in October 2023, with his tenure beginning on 1 January 2024.[7] He concurrently served as second permanent secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) since September 2024.[8]
Political career
[edit]On 2 April 2025, Siow retired from his positions at MOM and MTI. He was the most senior of civil servants to resign ahead of the upcoming general election that year.[9][10]
Siow was revealed to have joined the People's Action Party (PAP) team contesting Chua Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency (GRC), alongside Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim and neuroscientist Choo Pei Ling.[11] He said to The Business Times that he viewed politics as "an extension of public service",[3] and told The Straits Times that while he did not consider joining politics until "recently", he felt "it was just time for [him] to take a different tack".[2] During nomination day, Gan was transferred to Punggol GRC, with Manpower Minister Tan See Leng transferring from Marine Parade–Braddell Heights GRC to take his place.[12] Henceforth Siow contested Chua Chu Kang GRC with Tan, Zhulkarnain, and Choo, with the team winning the election with 63.59% of the votes and a majority of 23,512 against the Progress Singapore Party.[13]
Acting Minister for Transport (2025–present)
[edit]On 21 May 2025, Siow was appointed as acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance in the Second Lawrence Wong Cabinet. He succeeded Chee Hong Tat who became Minister for National Development in the former role.[14]
Personal life
[edit]Siow is married and has a son and a younger daughter who were born two years apart. He is a football enthusiast and plays the sport during his free time on weekends. He is also interested in science fiction, listing The Three-Body Problem and authors including Isaac Asimov and Ted Chiang as among his favourites in the genre.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Jeffrey Siow". LinkedIn. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ a b c d Baharudin, Hariz (15 April 2025). "GE2025: PAP's Jeffrey Siow sees politics as a 'more direct, personal way' of public service". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ a b c d See, Sharon (14 April 2025). "Singapore election 2025: PAP new face Jeffrey Siow wants to take public service 'to the last mile'". The Business Times. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "Permanent Secretary Retirement and Appointments". Public Service Division. 25 March 2025. Archived from the original on 15 April 2025. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "Infocomm Media Development Authority Annual Report 2017/18" (PDF). Infocomm Media Development Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "New Managing Director and board changes at Enterprise Singapore" (PDF). Enterprise Singapore. 14 February 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2025. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "Enterprise Singapore managing director Jeffrey Siow to be Second Permanent Secretary at MOM". The Business Times. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ Ang, Qing (5 August 2024). "MTI Permanent Secretary Gabriel Lim to retire from public service after 24 years". The Straits Times. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "Singapore permanent secretary Jeffrey Siow and two other senior civil servants resign ahead of GE 2025". The Star. 26 March 2025. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "Two senior civil servants to retire, with new permanent secretaries appointed". CNA. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "GE2025: PAP retains Chua Chu Kang GRC with 63.59% of votes; wins 75.83% of votes in Bukit Gombak SMC". The Straits Times. 4 May 2025. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ Goh, Yan Han (23 April 2025). "GE2025: PAP keeps opposition guessing with last-minute deployments on Nomination Day". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
- ^ "GE2025: PAP retains Chua Chu Kang GRC with 63.59% of votes; wins 75.83% of votes in Bukit Gombak SMC". The Straits Times. 4 May 2025. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ "Cabinet reshuffle: Jeffrey Siow, David Neo to be acting ministers; 7 new MPs to take political office". The Straits Times. 21 May 2025. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 May 2025.