Chairman's Review

Singapore celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2025. The Singapore Public Service plays a critical role in navigating the challenges to the Singapore story amidst an increasingly fragmented global order, more demanding domestic complexities, and  an ageing society. Our efforts to strengthen global and regional ties, transform our economy and innovate for growth,  engender resilience, and provide social support to build a strong unified community are key to contribute to Singapore’s continued progress.

This will require leaders who can think beyond conventional boundaries and adapt to rapidly evolving circumstances.

Developing Public Service Leaders for SG60 and Beyond

The Public Service Commission (PSC) remains committed to nurturing exceptional talent for the Singapore Public Service. In 2025, we awarded 61 PSC Scholarships to individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences, reflecting the breadth of strengths we seek in the Public Service. These scholarship holders pursued studies across different fields and environments, to prepare to tackle the multifaceted challenges ahead.

In the midst of global uncertainties, I was particularly pleased that 53 of our PSC Scholarship recipients – representing 87% of the cohort – proceeded for studies overseas. This marked the highest percentage of PSC Scholarship recipients going overseas for studies in recent years, with 28 heading to the United Kingdom, 20 to the United States, and 5 to Germany, France, and China. The international exposure will provide our future leaders with diverse perspectives and global networks essential for Singapore's progress.

We welcomed the first recipient of the revamped PSC Scholarship (Public Finance), which now supports a wider range of disciplines including Business, Economics, and Finance-related courses, beyond the previous focus on Accountancy. This broadening reflects our commitment to developing public finance leaders with expertise across multiple domains.

We continued building our PSC Scholarships (Sustainability) and (Engineering) pipelines to support Singapore's green growth and broader engineering and technology priorities. These tracks will develop talent to lead Singapore's transformation in key growth areas.

Renewing Local and Foreign Partnerships

In 2025, we strengthened our collaboration with pre-university institutions and local autonomous universities to identify high-achieving students for the PSC Scholarships.

Our Whole-of-Government PSC and Public Sector Scholarship Fair drew over 800 participants, featuring 50 public agencies, and partners from 10 overseas countries and universities. This platform serves as a vital bridge for aspiring young Singaporeans to Public Service careers.

We established a partnership with École Polytechnique, France's premier engineering institution. This collaboration will enable the PSC to identify and support scholars to enter their STEM programmes which are renowned for excellence in engineering and related fields.

The PSC visited China and Japan to refresh ties with top Chinese and Japanese universities and to open new avenues for our scholars. These partnerships reflect our commitment to providing world-class opportunities for our scholarship holders and we hope to encourage more PSC and government scholarship recipients to study in China and Japan.

Upholding Integrity to Safeguard Public Trust

Integrity is at the heart of the Public Service's values and is essential for maintaining public trust. The PSC manages discipline cases to ensure all are subject to the same rigour and fairness, regardless of seniority.

Beyond SG60: Forging Singapore's Next Chapter Together

As Singapore embarks on its next chapter beyond SG60, we call upon outstanding individuals who possess the heart to serve and conviction to build our shared future to join the Public Service. Together, we will continue writing the Singapore story with Integrity, Service and Excellence.

I would like to express my deep appreciation to my fellow PSC Members for their invaluable counsel and dedication throughout the year. My gratitude also extends to the PSC Secretariat team for their meticulous work and contributions.