[h=2]Perm Sec who went to France to learn cooking retires as millionaire[/h]
September 1st, 2012 |
Author: Editorial
Perm Sec Tan Yong Soon learned French cooking at the famous french cooking school 'Le Cordon Bleu'. (Photo ST)
THE Permanent Secretary of the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) in the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Tan Yong Soon, 57, is retiring after 35 years in public service.
Mr Niam Chiang Meng, who is currently the Perm Sec of the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) will take over from Mr Tan on 1 Oct. However, Mr Niam will still concurrently oversee the NPTD as well. In other words, PMO is having 1 Perm Sec to run 2 Govt agencies instead of having 2 to oversee previously.
In a statement, the Public Service Division said Mr Tan has been instrumental in developing and strengthening Singapore’s national climate change structure and capabilities.
Before heading the NCCS, Mr Tan was the Perm Sec in the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) from 2004 to 2010. It was during his tenure in MEWR that his famous French cooking trip caused a storm in Singapore.
It was supposedly an innocuous travelogue about his family holiday in Paris, France. When he accepted the Straits Times’ invitation to write about his experiences at the prestigious french cooking school, ‘Le Cordon Bleu’, he probably did not anticipate the backlash from Singapore’s vociferous blogging community after the publication of his article on ST Life (‘Cooking up the holiday spirit’, 6 Jan 2009).
The 3 week lesson cost $15,500 per head and in total $46,500 for Mr Tan, his wife and son, not including air tickets and living expenses in France. In all, his 5-week holiday-cum-cooking trip to France in Dec 2008 with his family, probably cost more than $50,000.
Netizens lampooned Mr Tan for his apparent lack of empathy and sensitivity in flaunting his wealth during an economic recession then which had seen many ordinary Singaporeans struggling to make ends meet. The focus was initially on Mr Tan, but soon snowballed to engulf other contentious issues such as the high salaries and perks enjoyed by civil servants and ministers. In an online poll, 76% of 683 respondents expressed dismay and outrage at Mr Tan’s excesses.
To make matters worse, Mr Tan, a top civil servant who earned $1.54M a year, wrote in the article, “Taking five weeks leave from work is not as difficult as one thinks. Most times when you are at the top, you think you are indispensable. But if you are a good leader who has built up a good team, it is possible.”
The public was so infuriated that even international news agency, Reuters, picked up the news and reported it (‘Singapore bureaucrat’s cooking trip sparks outcry‘).
Facing the public wrath, the minister-in-charge of the civil service, DPM Teo Chee Hean had no choice but to criticize Mr Tan’s article in Parliament later as “lacking sensitivity and being ill-judged”.
Mr Tan, a former SAF Overseas Scholarship holder, was principal private secretary to then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong from 1995 to 1997. He was also deputy secretary in the Finance Ministry and in 2001, was appointed chief executive of the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Mr Tan now retires as a millionaire.
.
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THE Permanent Secretary of the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) in the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Tan Yong Soon, 57, is retiring after 35 years in public service.
Mr Niam Chiang Meng, who is currently the Perm Sec of the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) will take over from Mr Tan on 1 Oct. However, Mr Niam will still concurrently oversee the NPTD as well. In other words, PMO is having 1 Perm Sec to run 2 Govt agencies instead of having 2 to oversee previously.
In a statement, the Public Service Division said Mr Tan has been instrumental in developing and strengthening Singapore’s national climate change structure and capabilities.
Before heading the NCCS, Mr Tan was the Perm Sec in the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) from 2004 to 2010. It was during his tenure in MEWR that his famous French cooking trip caused a storm in Singapore.
It was supposedly an innocuous travelogue about his family holiday in Paris, France. When he accepted the Straits Times’ invitation to write about his experiences at the prestigious french cooking school, ‘Le Cordon Bleu’, he probably did not anticipate the backlash from Singapore’s vociferous blogging community after the publication of his article on ST Life (‘Cooking up the holiday spirit’, 6 Jan 2009).
The 3 week lesson cost $15,500 per head and in total $46,500 for Mr Tan, his wife and son, not including air tickets and living expenses in France. In all, his 5-week holiday-cum-cooking trip to France in Dec 2008 with his family, probably cost more than $50,000.
Netizens lampooned Mr Tan for his apparent lack of empathy and sensitivity in flaunting his wealth during an economic recession then which had seen many ordinary Singaporeans struggling to make ends meet. The focus was initially on Mr Tan, but soon snowballed to engulf other contentious issues such as the high salaries and perks enjoyed by civil servants and ministers. In an online poll, 76% of 683 respondents expressed dismay and outrage at Mr Tan’s excesses.
To make matters worse, Mr Tan, a top civil servant who earned $1.54M a year, wrote in the article, “Taking five weeks leave from work is not as difficult as one thinks. Most times when you are at the top, you think you are indispensable. But if you are a good leader who has built up a good team, it is possible.”
The public was so infuriated that even international news agency, Reuters, picked up the news and reported it (‘Singapore bureaucrat’s cooking trip sparks outcry‘).
Facing the public wrath, the minister-in-charge of the civil service, DPM Teo Chee Hean had no choice but to criticize Mr Tan’s article in Parliament later as “lacking sensitivity and being ill-judged”.
Mr Tan, a former SAF Overseas Scholarship holder, was principal private secretary to then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong from 1995 to 1997. He was also deputy secretary in the Finance Ministry and in 2001, was appointed chief executive of the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Mr Tan now retires as a millionaire.
.
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