GE2025: From policymaker to politician – PAP new face Jeffrey Siow wants to take public service ‘to the last mile’
Working on ‘tangible issues’ that affect people’s lives has been very energising, he says
[SINGAPORE] Some 13 years ago, public servant Jeffrey Siow and his co-workers had a lofty goal for the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) that they had been tasked to plan.
“We said, ‘This will be our best MRT line, we need to show Singaporeans that we’re committed to building a public transport system that’s really, really good’,” he told The Business Times.
“If you take the TEL, I think you will appreciate what I mean,” he said, noting the longer trains and larger stations with more exits.
“It was our aspiration then, it was a piece of paper when I was there, and it’s a reality now,” he said. “And for many public officers… that sort of reward is very energising.”
Working on policies that address “tangible issues” kept him going for the last 24 years, across portfolios such as education, transport and manpower.
From 2017 to 2021, he was also principal private secretary to then-prime minister Lee Hsien Loong.
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Now, having left the service in late March, Siow will be part of the People’s Action Party (PAP) team for Chua Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency.
He sees politics as an extension of public service, saying: “The reason why I decided to take this step is really to think about how to extend public service to the last mile... bring government programmes and policy closer to the individual.”
Growing the economy versus immigration
Siow’s last position was second permanent secretary for the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
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Speaking to BT, he reiterated the government’s economic stance: Singapore must stay relevant to large economies and companies; local companies must keep heading overseas; and growth is “a means to an end” – that is, ensuring good jobs for Singaporeans.
But his portfolio also touched upon thornier topics. His work included striking a balance between upskilling Singaporeans and helping businesses get manpower – local and foreign.
Foreign workers are necessary to complement Singaporeans in talent and numbers, as well as augment the population, he said.
This is even as the government “fully understands” concerns, not just about job security but also population density.
“We have to then manage the immigration issue very sensitively, not to suddenly change things or bring in a new influx of people that cannot be managed or creates discomfort,” he said. “It’s a matter of persuading Singaporeans that we are going to do this properly.”
Anxiety-assuaging efforts, Siow noted, include creating good jobs while ramping up housing and public transport.
As for the fear that the city-state will run out of space, Siow said Singapore has always been able to “optimise and rebuild and re-adjust”.
It has been “fairly innovative” in using space, such as storing liquid fuel in Jurong Rock Caverns, he said.
Clean, quiet electric vehicles could also be a “game changer” for road design.
“It means that actually, we can build roads very differently – you can build them closer to the building, you can potentially even build them in buildings,” he said. “That’s a different way of reconfiguring the city.”
From policymaking to politics
Siow was officially introduced as a PAP candidate for Chua Chu Kang GRC on Monday (Apr 14) – though entering politics is a “very considered decision” that he thought about for a long time, he told BT.
In the public service, “making a difference” is about creating policies, he said.
“In the political space, what we would be doing is to make these government policies and programmes relevant, and help people understand what they mean for them.”
As a politician on the ground, he can also see when policies do not always work – which could contribute towards improving policies.
And as someone who has “benefited tremendously from different types of government policies”, he sees it as his “responsibility and mission in life” to strengthen the Singapore system for future generations.
Siow grew up in a one-room rental flat, as his family “wasn’t very well-off”, but his parents ensured that he worked hard and had the “right values”.
Eventually, he clinched a Public Service Commission scholarship to read economics and urban planning at Cornell University in the US.
“I’m fortunate to be in a system, in a place like Singapore, where hard work and capability can translate to progress,” he said.
Asked what worries him about the future, Siow said he tries not to worry about problems that he cannot do much about.
But he hopes young people will understand that “the world is quite different from Singapore”, a place that is safe and “where everything works”.
He believes it is important to give young Singaporeans opportunities “to go overseas and experience the world”.
“Then hopefully, they’ll be able to understand that Singapore is a very different, very special, very unique place.”
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