Former ISD chief Tan Chye Hee to take over from Pang Kin Keong as Home Affairs permanent secretary on June 1


PUBLISHED ONApril 16, 2026 9:05 AMBYSean LerTan Chye Hee, permanent Secretary (Information and Development) at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI), will take over as Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs from Pang Kin Keong on June 1.
Pang, 59, will be retiring after 35 years of service in the public sector.
Coordinating Minister for Public Services and Minister-in-charge of Public Service Chan Chun Sing thanked Pang for his "significant contributions and dedicated service".
"Kin Keong has served with distinction and made lasting impact, in particular, as chairperson of the Homefront Crisis Executive Group during the Covid-19 pandemic, and during his time at the Ministry of Home Affairs where he worked tirelessly with other agencies and the community to make Singapore a safer and more harmonious country," Chan said.
Pang joined the public service in 1993.
Since then, he has served in various roles, including as principal private secretary to then-prime minister Goh Chok Tong, director of the Internal Security Department (ISD), and director in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Pang was also Permanent Secretary for Transport between 2012 and 2017 and is credited for leading several major initiatives to position Singapore's transport infrastructure for the future, including the planning of Changi Airport Terminal 5 and Tuas Port.
Since becoming permanent secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in September 2017, he has led the development and implementation of policies and laws, and MHA's efforts to deal with new security threats such as foreign interference and scams, including in critical and sensitive operations.
"Mr Pang also spearheaded the Home Team's technology-led transformation to strengthen its capabilities, such as the setting up of the Home Team Science and Technology Agency and the new clearance concept for more secure, faster and more convenient immigration clearance," the Public Service Division said in a statement.
As MHA's permanent secretary, he is the chairperson of the Homefront Crisis Executive Group (HCEG).
The work of the group, which coordinates between multiple government agencies to deal with catastrophic events and crises, was recently in the spotlight when Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam explained why the Homefront Crisis Ministerial Committee was set up to due with the ongoing energy crisis.
Apart from the Covid-19 pandemic, the HCEG's crisis management group was also activated to deal with the 2013 transboundary haze and the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003.
Pang was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2024.
Tan, 52, who will take over from Pang — including as chairman of HCEG — joined the Singapore Police Force in 1992.
He rose through the ranks to become Deputy Commissioner of Police for Investigations and Intelligence from 2015 to 2020.
Tan later became director of ISD at MHA in 2020.
He was appointed Permanent Secretary (Home Affairs Development) at MHA and concurrently Permanent Secretary (Information and Development) at MDDI on October 1, 2025.
The National Environment Agency's (NEA) chief executive officer Wong Kang Jet, 46, will be appointed as Second Permanent Secretary (Home Affairs), Second Permanent Secretary (Information) at MDDI, and Second Permanent Secretary (Cybersecurity) at the Prime Minister's Office on June 1.

Prior to his role at NEA, he was principal private secretary to then-Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.
He has also held various appointments in the defence, education and finance ministries.
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