Scholars in Singapore

Ex-defence chief Ng Yat Chung joins Temasek

By Bryan Lee

FORMER defence chief Ng Yat Chung has joined the senior management of Singapore investment company Temasek Holdings. Lieutenant-General Ng, 46, took up the position of portfolio management managing director on Sunday - a newly created role, The Straits Times understands. Temasek confirmed the appointment on Tuesday but declined to provide further details. The appointment comes less than four months after Lt-Gen Ng stepped down as Chief of Defence Force and handed the baton to then Major-General Desmond Kuek. It mirrors similar movements of other military leaders to civilian positions. Lt-Gen Ng's predecessor, Lt-Gen Lim Chuan Poh, for example, is the chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research. A career soldier since 1979, Lt-Gen Ng was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Overseas Scholarship in 1980 and has since held many key command and staff positions. Before taking the helm of the SAF in 2003, he was Chief of Army. He has also served as director for joint operations and planning and Chief of Staff (Joint Staff). During his four years at the head of the SAF, Lt-Gen Ng was credited with improving the SAF's operational readiness and steering it into the next generation. Outside the military, he is a member of the board of trustees at the National University of Singapore, chairing its campus planning and development committee. Lt-Gen Ng is a Cambridge University graduate, has an MBA from Stanford University and recently completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard University.

Why would people think that Singapore is an elitist society? Look at Lt-Gen Ng. Look at his credentials. He is more than qualified to be Managing Director of Portfolio Management in Temasek Holdings. A Cambridge University graduate, MBA from Stanford University and Advanced Management Programme from Harvard. Wow wow wow.
Hey wait a minute. Isn't Lt-Gen Ng the Chief of Defence? And this is the post for portfolio management managing director that was newly created? How does the jobscope fit? Don't you all know that Chief of Defence controls how many soldiers in the military. Humans are resources, resources are money, therefore humans=money. He has the experience of controlling so much resources, of course he will do a better job controlling portfolios.
There is no iron rice bowl/pension schemes in society now, so please don't think that he got his job just because he was a scholar. He got it on merit and based on his job experience. He is a highly sought after individual who took 4 months to consider his numerous job offers before deciding on working in the management of Temasek Holdings.