DPM Heng put service above self in four-decade career in public service: PM Wong

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong wrote valedictory letters to Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, thanking them for their service to Singapore as they retire from politics.

- Hariz Baharudin

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat dedicated his entire working life to serving Singapore and its people, and consistently upheld the ethos of service above self throughout his more than four decades in public service, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

In a valedictory letter on May 6, PM Wong said DPM Heng brought rigour and determination to every role he was given, mastering every policy detail and working tirelessly to shape a better future for Singapore.

DPM Heng, 64, confirmed his retirement from politics on Nomination Day on April 23, ending speculation over his plans for the 2025 General Election. He said in a Facebook post then that it was time to make way for a new team to serve Singapore.

Having started his career as a police officer, he then took on key positions in the Administrative Service — such as managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and permanent secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry — before joining politics in 2011.

PM Wong said that as minister for education from 2011 to 2015, DPM Heng believed deeply in nurturing the full potential of every child, regardless of their starting point.

"Your slogan, 'every school is a good school', captured a key objective of our education system: That every school should bring out the best in all its students, in its own ways," he said.

DPM Heng spearheaded reforms to emphasise character development while balancing academic achievement. These included abolishing secondary school rankings and piloting subject-based banding, which paved the way for the complete removal of streaming, said PM Wong.

He expanded university pathways for Singaporeans, and, under his watch, the Singapore Institute of Technology became Singapore's fifth autonomous university.