Tan See Leng Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Tan See Leng
Office:Minister for Manpower
Primeminister:Lee Hsien Loong
Lawrence Wong
Term Start:15 May 2021
Predecessor:Josephine Teo
Office1:Second Minister for Trade and Industry
Primeminister1:Lee Hsien Loong
Lawrence Wong
Term Start1:27 July 2020
Predecessor1:S. Iswaran (2015)
Minister1:Chan Chun Sing
(2020–2021)
Gan Kim Yong
(2021–present)
Office2:Minister in the Prime Minister's Office
Primeminister2:Lee Hsien Loong
Alongside2:Indranee Rajah and Maliki Osman
Term Start2:27 July 2020
Term End2:14 May 2021
Predecessor2:Ng Chee Meng
Office3:Second Minister for Manpower
Primeminister3:Lee Hsien Loong
Term Start3:27 July 2020
Term End3:14 May 2021
Predecessor3:Josephine Teo (2018)
Minister3:Josephine Teo
Constituency Mp4:Marine Parade GRC
(Marine Parade)
Term Start4:10 July 2020
Predecessor4:Goh Chok Tong (PAP)
Majority4:20,143 (15.52%)
Birth Name:Tan See Leng
Birth Date:[1]
Birth Place:Singapore
Alma Mater:National University of Singapore (MBBS, MMed)
University of Chicago Booth School of Business (MBA)
Profession:Medical practitioner

Tan See Leng (Chinese: s=陈诗龙|p=Chén Shīlóng; born 1964) is a Singaporean politician and former medical practitioner who has been serving as Minister for Manpower since 2021 and Second Minister for Trade and Industry since 2020. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Marine Parade division of Marine Parade GRC since 2020.[2]

Before entering politics, Tan was a medical practitioner by profession. He founded Healthway Medical Group and had served in top positions in Parkway Holdings, Parkway Pantai and IHH Healthcare.

He made his political debut in the 2020 general election as part of a five-member PAP team and won about 57% of the vote in Marine Parade GRC.

Early life & education

Tan was born in Singapore in 1964.[3] He attended Monk's Hill Primary School and Monk's Hill Secondary School.[4] He received a Promsho scholarship to study the humanities at Hwa Chong Junior College. But in his first year at JC, his mother fell seriously ill and went into a coma. This led to his decision to switch from the humanities programme.[5] He studied at the National Junior College before graduating from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore in 1988 with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS).[6]

While in National Junior College, he joined the choir as part of his Co-Curricular Activity (CCA).

Tan funded his university education all by himself, with an annual school fee of S$3,000, by tutoring junior college students in subjects like mathematics, biology, physics and chemistry. With up to eight students at a time, he earned about S$800 to S$1,000 per month.

He subsequently went on to complete a Master of Medicine degree in family medicine at the National University of Singapore in 1998. In 2003, he was awarded the Fellow of College of Family Physicians by the College of Family Physicians Singapore.[7]

In 2004, he obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

In 2014, he became a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine Singapore.

Career

In 1992, at the age of 27, Tan founded Healthway Medical Group with a group of friends, through a bank loan of S$90,000 and an initial capital investment of S$5,000 from each of the initial stakeholders.[8] [9] As co-founder and chairman of the company, he grew the group to become the second largest private primary care group in Singapore. In 2004, he successfully divested the group to British United Provident Association Healthcare.

In 2004, Tan joined Parkway Holdings as the chief operating officer of Mount Elizabeth Hospital and was eventually promoted to as the executive director of Pantai Holdings, chief executive officer of Pantai Hospitals Division and the head of Malaysia operating division of Parkway until 2008.

From 2010 to 2019, Tan was the group chief executive officer and managing director of Parkway Holdings and Parkway Pantai Limited.[10] [11] From 2014 to 2019, he was also the chief executive officer and managing director of IHH Healthcare BHD.[12] During his tenures, some of his contributions included delisting Parkway Holdings in 2010 and relisting IHH Healthcare in 2012 into one of the largest initial public offerings in the world in 2012, expanding and growing the group from 15 hospitals in 2009 to 84 hospitals as of the end of 2019,[13] leading the mergers and acquisitions of Acibadem Healthcare (Turkey), Fortis Healthcare (India), and multiple hospitals across Asia. Under his leadership, IHH Healthcare Berhad has won multiple awards, including the Best Managed and Best Overall Corporate Governance Poll awards by Asiamoney in 2016.[14]

In 2019, he retired from the position of group chief executive officer and managing director of Parkway Holdings and Parkway Pantai Limited.

Over the years, Tan has held numerous ministerial advisory and medical committee appointments. For instance, since 2009, he has been a member of the board of trustees of the College of Family Physicians Singapore (CFPS).[15] He also served in various capacities with CFPS Holdings Pte Ltd, including as its chairman from 2008 to 2010 and vice president from 2011 to 2013. In November 2013, he was appointed by the Ministry of Health as a member of the MediShield Life review committee.[16]

Moreover, he has maintained active involvement in academia through board memberships and appointments. From 2011 to 2019, he was adjunct assistant professor of Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore, Office of Education.[17] He has also sat on the Advisory Board of Lee Kong Chian School of Business at Singapore Management University.[18]

Apart from the medical field, he has also contributed to the business scene. In 2012, Tan was appointed a council member of the Singapore-Guangdong Collaboration Council. The council aims to deepen Singapore's engagement with China's Guangdong province and benefit Singapore businesses through joint exploration of new opportunities in the region.[19]

Political career

Tan was fielded in the 2020 general election to succeed former prime minister Goh Chok Tong who retired from politics, as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in Marine Parade GRC and won. Thereafter, he was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Marine Parade division of Marine Parade GRC. Upon his electoral victory, Tan was appointed Second Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry concurrently on 27 July 2020.

On 15 May 2021, Tan succeeded Josephine Teo as Minister for Manpower while holding onto his portfolio as Second Minister for Trade and Industry.

In response to the questions filed by six MPs, during a parliamentary debate on 3 October 2022, on how the foreign workforce was complementing the local talent pipeline and how locals were getting fair consideration for jobs, Tan said that it is not a zero-sum game and that bringing in global talents create jobs for locals.[20]

Accolades

Notes and References

  1. Web site: MP | Parliament of Singapore . 2021-11-02 . 2021-11-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211102031705/https://www.parliament.gov.sg/mps/list-of-current-mps/mp/details/tan-see-leng . dead .
  2. Web site: Playing to win . . 23 October 2019 . 23 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191023022231/https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/the-raffles-conversation/playing-to-win/ . live .
  3. Web site: IHH Annual Report 2017. 2020-06-15. irplc.com. 2020-06-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133336/http://irplc.com/ihh/investor-relations/interactiveAR2017/118/. live.
  4. Web site: 2013-07-01. The Peak Interview: The Good Doctor. 2020-06-15. The Peak Singapore - Your Guide to The Finer Things in Life. en-US. 2019-10-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20191023030617/https://thepeakmagazine.com.sg/interviews/the-peak-interview-the-good-doctor/. live.
  5. News: Lunch with Sumiko: I'm a perpetual optimist, says Manpower Minister Tan See Leng . 27 March 2023 . Straits Times . 7 November 2021.
  6. Web site: Tan See Leng. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200725160947/https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/15034290. 2020-07-25. 2020-06-15. Bloomberg.
  7. Web site: IHH Annual Report 2018. 2020-06-15. irplc.com. 2020-06-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133337/http://irplc.com/ihh/investor-relations/interactiveAR2018/89/. live.
  8. Web site: PressReader - Bangkok Post: 2017-02-27 - THE DOCTOR IS IN. 2020-06-15. PressReader. 2020-06-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133337/https://www.pressreader.com/thailand/bangkok-post/20170227/282351154552453. live.
  9. Web site: Dr Tan See Leng Honour International Symposium 2018. 2020-06-15. www.honourinternational.sg. 2020-06-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133338/http://www.honourinternational.sg/dr-tan-see-leng. live.
  10. Web site: MOH News Highlights. 2020-06-15. www.moh.gov.sg. 2020-06-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133335/https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/speech-by-dr-amy-khor-senior-minister-of-state-ministry-of-health-at-the-60th-anniversary-celebration-of-gleneagles-hospital-30-june-2019. live.
  11. Web site: Heng. Janice. 2019-05-28. IHH Healthcare chief executive to retire at year-end. 2020-06-15. The Business Times. en. 2019-05-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528051625/https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ihh-healthcare-chief-executive-to-retire-at-year-end. live.
  12. Web site: Dr Tan See Leng. 2020-06-15. www.raise.sg. 2020-06-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133342/https://www.raise.sg/about/about-menu/our-board/82-dr-tan-see-leng.html. live.
  13. Web site: [IHH Healthcare Berhad]. DR TAN SEE LENG TO RETIRE AS MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CEO AT IHH HEALTHCARE, TO BE SUCCEEDED BY DR KELVIN LOH. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133341/https://www.parkwaypantai.com/docs/librariesprovider6/default-document-library/ihh-agm-media-release_ceo-transition_27052019_final.pdf?sfvrsn=cafb881e_2. 2020-06-15.
  14. Web site: 2019-06-28. Asiamoney Names IHH Healthcare Malaysia's Top Company Over Past Decade. 2020-06-15. CodeBlue. en-US. 2020-06-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133340/https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2019/06/28/asiamoney-names-ihh-healthcare-malaysias-top-company-over-past-decade/. live.
  15. Web site: 2014. Parkway Life REIT - Annual Report 2014 - page 23. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133339/http://plifereit.listedcompany.com/misc/ar2014/files/assets/basic-html/page23.html. 2020-06-15.
  16. Web site: MediShield Life review committee to focus on benefits, affordability. 2020-06-15. TODAYonline. 2019-10-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20191025074538/https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/medishield-life-review-committee-submit-suggestions-within-6-months. live.
  17. Web site: IHH - Change in Boardroom - DR TAN SEE LENG. 2020-06-15. KLSE Screener. 2020-06-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133347/https://www.klsescreener.com/v2/announcements/view/86760. live.
  18. Web site: 2020-06-15 . ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER . business.smu.edu.sg . 2020-06-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133339/https://business.smu.edu.sg/business/about/advisory-board/tan-see-leng . live .
  19. Web site: 2012. Parkway Life REIT - Annual Report FY2012 page 16. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133337/http://plifereit.listedcompany.com/misc/ar2012/files/assets/seo/page16.html. 2020-06-15.
  20. News: 4 October 2022. Bringing in global talent creates jobs for locals. The Straits Times.
  21. Web site: The Albert & Mary Lim Award » College of Family Physicians Singapore. 2020-06-15. cfps.org.sg. 2020-06-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133336/http://cfps.org.sg/about-us/albert-mary-lim-/. live.
  22. Web site: 2013. Parkway Life REIT - Investor Relations page 15. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170802075601/http://plifereit.listedcompany.com/misc/ar2013/ar2013.pdf. 2017-08-02.
  23. Web site: Chaturvedi. Neelabh. 2015-10-29. Winners of 14th Asia Business Leaders Awards. 2020-06-15. CNBC. en. 2020-06-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133334/https://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/29/winners-of-14th-asia-business-leaders-awards.html. live.
  24. Web site: IHH Healthcare Berhad. 2020-06-15. www.ihhhealthcare.com. 2020-06-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133338/https://www.ihhhealthcare.com/awards-accolades.html#:~:text=IHH%20Healthcare%20Berhad%27s%20Managing%20Director,the%202017%20Asian%20Excellence%20Award.. live.
  25. Web site: Asia Business Leaders Awards. 2020-06-15. abla.cnbc.com. en. 2018-09-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20180918111536/http://abla.cnbc.com/. live.
  26. Web site: Singapore Medical Association - For Doctors, For Patients. 2020-06-15. www.sma.org.sg. 2020-06-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615133338/https://www.sma.org.sg/aboutus/?ID=106. live.