In the lead-up to Singapore’s 2025 General Election, several senior civil servants have resigned from their positions in recent weeks, sparking speculation about their potential candidacy.
It’s no secret that political parties often tap into the public service for new candidates—but who has resigned so far and what are their backgrounds?
Here’s a breakdown:
| Civil servants who have resigned | Background and career history |
| Jasmin Lau | Jasmin Lau is currently the Deputy Secretary (Policy) at the Ministry of Health (MOH). She has spent much of her career in healthcare, serving in MOH from 2013 to 2019. It was during this time that the ministry launched MediShield Life, a basic national health insurance scheme for large medical bills. She returned to MOH in 2021 after a short stint at the Economic Development Board (EDB). Her other stints were at the Public Service Division, the Manpower Ministry and Finance Ministry. In her current role, she oversees manpower, financing and regulatory measures in the healthcare system. As a deputy secretary, Lau is also among the highest-ranked civil servants in MOH. |
| Dinesh Vasu Dash | Dinesh Vasu Dash is the chief executive of the Agency for Integrated Care, which is under the health ministry. He has served in the Singapore Armed Forces for over twenty years and left as a brigadier-general to join MOH. At MOH, he was appointed as the group director of the MOH’s crisis strategy and operations group during COVID-19, and was behind the push to vaccinate Singaporeans against the virus, for which he received the Public Service Star (COVID-19) award in 2024. |
| Goh Hanyan | Goh Hanyan is a director in the Smart Nation Strategy Office and the national AI group for policy and strategy in the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI). She was involved in Singapore’s refreshed Smart Nation plan (Smart Nation 2.0), as well as the coordination and implementation of the city-state’s refreshed National Artificial Intelligence Strategy. Before joining MDDI, she spent about four years shaping economic and sustainability policies as part of the Strategy Group in the Prime Minister’s Office. Prior to that, she worked for a decade at the EDB. |
| Foo Cexiang | Foo Cexiang is the director of the private and future mobility division at the Ministry of Transport (MOT). Previously, he was MOT’s director of futures and transformation. Foo has been in the service for more than a decade. He started his career at JTC Corporation and has had stints at the Ministry of Education, as well as the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Trade and Industry. |
| Shawn Loh | Shawn Loh is the director of security and resilience programmes at the Ministry of Finance (MOF). Loh joined MOF in 2023 and was the Budget director for 2024 and 2025. He also worked on programmes including the CDC and SG60 voucher schemes in the ministry. Prior to this, he’s had stints at EDB, MOE and MOM, and he also oversaw population policy and planning during a stint at the Prime Minister’s Office in its strategy group. |
According to media reports, these civil servants are all slated to leave their jobs in the first few days of April.
In addition to the resignations, two permanent secretaries are also preparing to retire after decades of service and might make their way into politics.
These individuals are:
- Jeffrey Siow, from the Ministries of Manpower and Trade and Industry, and
- Tan Ching Yee, from the Ministry of Finance.
It’s still uncertain whether all of these civil servants will stand in GE2025, but if they do, their representation is more or less in line with past elections.
According to CNA, five of the 27 new faces (or roughly 19%) fielded by the PAP in GE2020 were from the public service, excluding those from the Singapore Armed Forces.
In GE2015, four out of 24 candidates (17%) came from public service, while in GE2011, the proportion was slightly higher, with seven out of 24 (29%) coming from the public sector.
Historically, public servants have predominantly joined the PAP, although the opposition has also fielded candidates from the public service, albeit in smaller numbers.
This includes former Workers’ Party MP Leon Perera, who started out as an NCMP after the 2015 General Election—he was an assistant head at EDB’s enterprise development division.
But what’s next for these public servants if they are not elected?
Transitioning into politics—whether coming from the public sector or not—is not an easy feat.
- Read other articles we’ve written on GE2025 here.
- Read other articles we’ve written on Singapore’s current affairs here.
Featured Image Credit: Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth/ Foo Cexiang via LinkedIn/ Goh Hanyan via LinkedIn/ Public Service Division
