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Singapore Civil Service
The Singapore Civil Service is the bureaucracy of civil servants that supports the Government of Singapore. Along with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), statutory boards, and other independent government bodies, the civil service makes up the overall public service of Singapore. As of 2022, the civil service has about 87,000 employees.
Thomas Friedman of The New York Times considers the Singapore Civil Service to be one of the most efficient and uncorrupt bureaucracies in the world, with a high standard of discipline and accountability. In Singapore, Confucian values and meritocratic principles shape the nation's public administration, with the government promoting a culture that reveres education, discipline, and respect for authority. According to the Singapore government, this dual emphasis has enabled individuals from modest backgrounds to rise to leadership positions; helped build an efficient, corruption‑free bureaucracy; and upheld public trust in government institutions. It is also considered a key contributor to the success of Singapore since its independence from Malaysia.
Non-state commentators have argued that the persisting dominance of the People's Action Party (PAP) on the civil service has led to complacency and groupthink, with the supporting ministries being resistant to alternative views and fundamentally unprepared for a change of government.
The Civil Service was inherited from the British system. Since Singapore's independence in 1965, the Civil Service has been closely tied with the governing People's Action Party (PAP).
A prominent way in which the civil service recruits Singaporeans is through the limited and highly-competitive Public Service Commission (PSC) scholarship. These fully-funded government scholarships are awarded to prospective undergraduate and postgraduate students based on their academic performance and extra-curricular activities; they are not need-based scholarships. Upon graduation, PSC Scholars are mandated to work in the Civil Service for a number of years on a bond, usually ranging from 4 to 6 years. Scholars must repay the bond if they choose to resign from the Civil Service before the completion of their mandated service. Many scholars who have remained in government have gone on to hold senior positions. Most Singaporean ministers past and present, were previously merit-based academic scholars who attended elite universities in Singapore and worldwide, and had served various positions within Civil Service, before being selected by the PAP to join politics as their representative in elections and elected government.
The highest-ranking civil servant within a ministry is known as the permanent secretary. Permanent secretaries in each ministry used to be permanent in their postings. The current practice is to rotate them in various ministries every few years.
The highest-ranking civil servant in Singapore is the Head of the Civil Service. The incumbent Head of the Civil Service is Leo Yip, who took office in September 2017. He also holds the position of Permanent Secretary at both the Strategy Group, and National Security and Intelligence Coordination (NSIC) under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
The Singapore Government also appoints a cabinet minister to take charge of the operational responsibilities in the public service division and its integrity of the service, where the minister is duly liable to the Parliament of Singapore as well. The current minister appointed to this designation is Chan Chun Sing. Chan is serving concurrently as Minister with the Ministry of Defence (Singapore).
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Singapore Civil Service
The Singapore Civil Service is the bureaucracy of civil servants that supports the Government of Singapore. Along with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), statutory boards, and other independent government bodies, the civil service makes up the overall public service of Singapore. As of 2022, the civil service has about 87,000 employees.
Thomas Friedman of The New York Times considers the Singapore Civil Service to be one of the most efficient and uncorrupt bureaucracies in the world, with a high standard of discipline and accountability. In Singapore, Confucian values and meritocratic principles shape the nation's public administration, with the government promoting a culture that reveres education, discipline, and respect for authority. According to the Singapore government, this dual emphasis has enabled individuals from modest backgrounds to rise to leadership positions; helped build an efficient, corruption‑free bureaucracy; and upheld public trust in government institutions. It is also considered a key contributor to the success of Singapore since its independence from Malaysia.
Non-state commentators have argued that the persisting dominance of the People's Action Party (PAP) on the civil service has led to complacency and groupthink, with the supporting ministries being resistant to alternative views and fundamentally unprepared for a change of government.
The Civil Service was inherited from the British system. Since Singapore's independence in 1965, the Civil Service has been closely tied with the governing People's Action Party (PAP).
A prominent way in which the civil service recruits Singaporeans is through the limited and highly-competitive Public Service Commission (PSC) scholarship. These fully-funded government scholarships are awarded to prospective undergraduate and postgraduate students based on their academic performance and extra-curricular activities; they are not need-based scholarships. Upon graduation, PSC Scholars are mandated to work in the Civil Service for a number of years on a bond, usually ranging from 4 to 6 years. Scholars must repay the bond if they choose to resign from the Civil Service before the completion of their mandated service. Many scholars who have remained in government have gone on to hold senior positions. Most Singaporean ministers past and present, were previously merit-based academic scholars who attended elite universities in Singapore and worldwide, and had served various positions within Civil Service, before being selected by the PAP to join politics as their representative in elections and elected government.
The highest-ranking civil servant within a ministry is known as the permanent secretary. Permanent secretaries in each ministry used to be permanent in their postings. The current practice is to rotate them in various ministries every few years.
The highest-ranking civil servant in Singapore is the Head of the Civil Service. The incumbent Head of the Civil Service is Leo Yip, who took office in September 2017. He also holds the position of Permanent Secretary at both the Strategy Group, and National Security and Intelligence Coordination (NSIC) under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
The Singapore Government also appoints a cabinet minister to take charge of the operational responsibilities in the public service division and its integrity of the service, where the minister is duly liable to the Parliament of Singapore as well. The current minister appointed to this designation is Chan Chun Sing. Chan is serving concurrently as Minister with the Ministry of Defence (Singapore).
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