PUBLISHED ONJuly 30, 2026 3:53 AMBYSean LerFormer permanent secretary for home affairs development Chew Hock Yong will take over as chairman of National Parks Board (NParks) from August 1, the Ministry of National Development (MND) announced on Thursday (July 30).
He takes over from Loh Khum Yean, who became NParks's board chairman in October 2023.
Chew, 58, has over three decades of public service experience and leadership roles across multiple ministries, including serving as permanent secretary in the Ministry of Social and Family Development and Ministry of Home Affairs.
After retiring from the civil service in 2022, the 58-year-old was appointed as chairman of the former Workforce Singapore (WSG), until June 30, when the agency merged with SkillsFuture to from the new Skills and Workforce Development Agency.
MND also paid tribute to outgoing chairman Loh Khum Yean, saying the 61-year-old had helped the board advanced Singapore's vision of becoming a City in Nature, integrating nature within the urban environment to strengthen liveability while addressing urbanisation and climate change.
The ministry noted that during Loh's tenure as chairman, NParks had achieved "significant progress" in extending the city state's natural capital by expanding nature parks, restoring habitats and advancing terrestrial and marine conversation.
Alongside these, Singapore also saw its green space connectivity steadily enhanced through the expansion of park connectors, nature corridors and nature ways, enhancing both biodiversity outcomes and public access to green spaces, MND said.
According to NParks, Singapore now has more than 380km of park connector network trails.
The outgoing chairman's tenure also saw the launch of the Cat Management Framework in 2024 and the establishment of the Veterinary Council.
"Under Mr Loh’s leadership, NParks also advanced research, industry development, technology adoption and digitalisation to support the City in Nature vision.
"This included strengthening capabilities in biosurveillance and socio-ecological studies, enhancing wildlife monitoring through data and sensor-based technologies, and progressing digitalisation efforts to improve operational efficiency and service delivery," MND said in its statement.
The ministry also announced three new appointments to NParks's board: co-chief executive officer of Avanda Investment Management, Susan Soh; deputy editor-in-chief at SPH Media Han Yong May; and, Greendale Primary School's principal, Noorismawaty Binte Ismail.
They replace Mediacorp's chief executive officer Tham Loke Kheng, Business Selection's executive director Gerald Tan Kwong Ming, and Lasalle's faculty dean Assoc prof Nur Hidayah Binte Abu Bakar.
All appointments are effective from August 1.
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