Who is he?

Wong Hong Kuan is currently chief executive of the Singapore Workforce Development Agency. Wong joined the Singaporean civil service in 1995 as an assistant superintendent in the Singapore Police Force (SPF), and was later promoted to chief of staff of the SPF. In that role, Wong oversaw security for the APEC summit in 2009 and the ASEAN Summit in 2007, which took place in Singapore.

Why is he in the news?

On August 6, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Wong would officially replace Eric Tan as director of the country’s anti-corruption agency, the Corruption Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), on September 30. Tan stepped down following the misappropriation of $1.3 million at the agency by one his subordinates.

What can we expect from him?

Wong will face the task of restoring public trust in government institutions, especially the CPIB, in order to maintain Singapore’s image as one of the most transparent governments in the world. Wong’s long and successful career in the SPF will drive his anti-graft policy, as he strives to deliver the government’s promise to take “strong measures to tighten up processes” in public institutions. Expect him to deploy strict policies among CPIB employees, and potentially launch more investigations in an effort to reassure foreign investors of Singapore’s good governance principles.