1.Mr Lam Yi Young will be appointed Chief Executive (CE), MPA with effect from 1 May 2009. He will take over from BG(NS) Tay Lim Heng, who will assume the post of Deputy Secretary (Development) in the Ministry of National Development with effect from 1 May 2009.

2.Mr Lam was a PSC Overseas Merit Scholar. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Engineering from Cambridge University. He holds a Master of Arts (Electrical and Information Sciences) degree from Cambridge University and a Masters degree in Public Administration from Harvard University. Mr Lam held several appointments in MINDEF, MOF and MOE before becoming the Director of Manpower in MINDEF in 2005.

3.BG(NS) Tay Lim Heng was an SAF (Overseas) scholar. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Engineering Science and Economics from Oxford University. He holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from Harvard University and attended the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School. BG(NS) Tay held several senior key appointments in the SAF before being appointed Chief Executive, MPA on 1 June 2005.

4.During BG(NS) Tay's tenure at MPA, the Singapore maritime sector grew significantly. Since 2005, the number of international shipping companies based in Singapore has nearly doubled to 115, generating annual business spending exceeding $3.3 billion. Supporting maritime services also posted similar growth in areas such as shipping finance, marine insurance, legal services and ship broking. At the same time, Singapore remained the world's top port in terms of shipping tonnage, container throughput and bunker sales while ranking among the top 10 shipping registries in the world. Underlining MPA's strong pro-business orientation was its top position in the Pro-Enterprise Ranking Survey among government agencies in 2007 and 2008 - a testimony of BG(NS) Tay's efforts to strengthen government- industry partnership to grow Singapore's maritime cluster. As the leader of Singapore's delegations to IMO Council meetings, Chairman of the anti-piracy ReCAAP Governing Council, and 3rd Vice President of the International Association of Ports and Harbours, BG(NS) Tay raised Singapore's profile and contributions in the international maritime community.

5.The Ministry of Transport (MOT) would like to put on record its appreciation to BG(NS) Tay Lim Heng for his significant contributions in his four years as CE, MPA.

Issued by: Ministry of Transport

Date: 30 March 2009