Singapore
Major-General Melvyn Ong will become Chief of Defence Force while Brigadier-General Goh Si Hou will be Chief of Army.
Major-General (MG) Melvyn Ong Su Kiat. (Photo: MINDEF)
SINGAPORE: Major-General (MG) Melvyn Ong has been appointed the Chief of Defence Force and Brigadier-General (BG) Goh Si Hou the Chief of Army, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) announced on Monday (Mar 12).
MG Ong, 43, is also the outgoing Chief of Army. He assumed the post in August 2015 from fellow guardsman Lieutenant-General Perry Lim. MG Ong was previously also Chief Guards Officer and in 2011 led the SAF’s earthquake relief efforts in New Zealand.
He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) (Military) in 2012. From 2013 to 2014, through a dual-career scheme, MG Ong served as Deputy CEO of the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). In addition to setting up the agency, he crafted policies and worked to raise the quality, accessibility and affordability of early childhood services.
BG Goh, 40, now succeeds MG Ong as the new Chief of Army.
MG Ong takes over from LG Lim, who held the Chief of Defence Force post since August 2015 after the retirement of current Minister for Education (Schools) Ng Chee Meng.
LG Lim, 46, was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) (Military) in 2016, and the same year was conferred the Most Exalted Order of Paduka Keberanian Laila Terbilang (First Class) (Brunei) and the Bintang Kartika Eka Paksi Utama (Indonesia).
According to the Defence Ministry’s website, he was seconded to the Ministry of Education from 2006 to 2008 to serve as Director of Higher Education. There he was responsible for formulating policies, planning and funding for the local university and technical education sectors, and regulating the private education sector.
He now sits on the boards of Singapore Technologies (ST) Engineering, Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), and JTC Corp.
