Tan Tee How Retires from Administrative Service

Mr Tan Tee How, 58, Commissioner of Inland Revenue and Chief Executive Officer of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, will retire on 1 February 2018, after 34 years of distinguished service in the public sector. Thanking Mr Tan for his service, Minister in charge of the Civil Service, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said “I worked closely with Tee How at the Ministry of Home Affairs and also in his other capacities over the years. He is an effective leader who has made an impactful contribution to the Public Service. I thank him for his 34 years of dedicated service and significant contributions.”

Mr Tan held various appointments in the early part of his career, including Controller of Immigration from 1994 to 1995 and Deputy Secretary (Services) in the then Ministry of Information and the Arts from 1995 to 1997, before being appointed Principal Private Secretary to then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in 1997.

In 2000, Mr Tan was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Healthcare Group (NHG). As its founding CEO, Mr Tan led the new healthcare network to work closely across all its institutions to deliver seamless, accessible and comprehensive healthcare services. He built up a strong infrastructure and set up a system for good corporate governance. During his term with NHG, the healthcare group implemented various initiatives and programmes that brought improved patient-centred healthcare services to the community. This included the Integrated Care Services which provided patients with seamless transfer from one level of care to the next and shorter waiting times for transfers. Mr Tan was also responsible for the establishment of the NHG College in 2002 which facilitated continuous learning and development of the NHG workforce.

Mr Tan was appointed Permanent Secretary (National Development) in 2004. Under his leadership, MND agencies embarked on remaking the HDB heartlands, transformed the construction industry to be more forward-looking, and developed the Marina Bay district including Gardens by the Bay. He also spearheaded the setting up of the Centre for Liveable Cities. 

In 2011, Mr Tan was appointed Permanent Secretary (Home Affairs). As Permanent Secretary (Home Affairs), he oversaw policies and programmes that contributed to making Singapore safe and secure, spearheaded the reorganisation of MHA for greater efficiency and clearer delineation of functions, and set up the Procurement and Logistics Division and the Operation-Technology Group to improve operations. He also steered the Home Team to operate as a more collaborative and cohesive team. Under his leadership, a number of major programmes such as the Community Policing programme, Safer Roads Singapore and the Mandatory Aftercare System, were implemented. 

As Commissioner of Inland Revenue and Chief Executive Officer of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) since 2014, Mr Tan was instrumental in transforming IRAS and leveraging technology to improve service excellence and make IRAS more taxpayer-friendly. Under Mr Tan’s leadership, IRAS launched the LEA:D movement to transform the tax experiences of the taxpaying community and the work experiences of IRAS staff by leveraging analytics, design thinking and digitalisation. Various initiatives such as a Hackathon to co-create with industry solutions for better service experiences, and a portal to improve tax agents’ productivity were implemented. Mr Tan also played a key role in building new capabilities among IRAS officers, such as in analytics and robotic process automation, to achieve greater efficiency and increase productivity.

Mr Tan was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 1997 and the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 2008 for his significant contributions to the Public Service.