GE2025: PM Wong thanks Ng Eng Hen, Maliki Osman for service to Singapore as they retire from politics

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday (Apr 21) thanked Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman for their service to Singapore as they retired from politics. 

Dr Ng announced his retirement on Apr 18, with Dr Maliki doing the same on Monday. In a Facebook post, Mr Wong said both ministers would be “deeply missed”.

“But I have to let them go, so as to renew the leadership team for Singapore. I wish them the very best as they begin new chapters and pursue future endeavours,” he wrote.

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong also thanked Dr Ng and Dr Maliki, with both having served as ministers on Mr Lee’s Cabinet when he was prime minister.

“I thank Eng Hen and Maliki for their years of service and contributions to Singapore, and wish them both all the very best in the next phase of their lives,” Mr Lee wrote in a Facebook post.

DR NG “STEADY IN CRISIS”

In his Facebook post, Mr Wong said Dr Ng brought clarity and depth to every Cabinet discussion. 

“He is steady in crisis, bold in imagining possibilities, and thoughtful in analysing problems. I experienced all these personally during my early days in politics when I had the chance to work with him in MINDEF (Ministry of Defence),” said Mr Wong.

Calling him a role model and source of advice for both him and other younger ministers, Mr Wong noted that Dr Ng had served in the manpower, education and defence ministries.

“But he will be best remembered as Minister for Defence, a role he held for more than a decade. Well respected regionally and internationally for his thoughtful and incisive assessments, he raised Singapore’s stature and standing,” said the prime minister.

Dr Ng has been the Minister for Defence since 2011. He guided the modernisation of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), which acquired and developed next-generation capabilities, said Mr Wong in a letter to Dr Ng.

The SAF not only stood ready for battle but proved its worth in peacetime, playing a crucial role in supporting COVID-19 response operations.

“You never lost sight of the people who form the heart of the SAF,” said Mr Wong, listing Dr Ng’s achievements as defence minister.