Gan Kim Yong

Gan Kim Yong

颜金勇
Current Role	• MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC • DPM
Personal details
Party	PAP

Gan Kim Yong MP (born 9 February 1959) is a Singaporean politician from the ruling People's Action Party (PAP). He is currently MP for Choa Chu Kang GRC, which he has held since 2011. He first entered politics in the 2001 general election as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in Holland–Bukit Panjang GRC and won by an uncontested walkover. During the 2006 general election, he contested in Choa Chu Kang SMC and won. Thereafter, he joined the PAP team to contest the newly formed Choa Chu Kang GRC in GE2011.

• from 2024 - Deputy Prime Minister under the leadership of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong
• from 2021 -concurrently Minister for Trade and Industry
• also Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
• 1 Oct 2024 - appointed Director of GIC board

However, it is noteworthy that he was not part of PAP’s 37th central executive committee (CEC) in Nov 2022 when he stepped down as chair before being appointed DPM.

For the full list of positions, refer to PARL Link.

Early Education

Gan received an Overseas Merit Scholarship to study Engineering at Cambridge University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree (honours) in 1981. He subsequently earned his master’s degree in Engineering from the same university in 1985.

Career

Gan began his career in the Singapore Civil Service at the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Home Affairs. In 1989, he switched to the private sector and joined NatSteel Ltd. as a manager for Corporate Planning. He was later promoted to Executive Vice President of NatSteel and CEO of NatSteel Resorts International and NatSteel Properties in 1996. In 2005, he was appointed CEO and President of NatSteel.

Political career

He has assumed multiple ministerial positions in the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Manpower, and Ministry of Health. He also led the Ministerial Committee on Ageing to promote the formulation and implementation of ageing policies in Singapore. Also, he co-chaired the Multi-Ministry Taskforce on COVID-19 from 2020 to 2023, which directed and synchronized Singapore’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic together with then-Minister for Education Lawrence Wong.

Controversy

HIV Registry data breach

• Ministry of Health (MOH) first found out in 2016 that rogue American lecturer Mikhy Farrera Brochez had access to the confidential HIV information
• but decided in 2016 not to inform those on the list or make public the data leak
• in 2018, when Brochez revealed more information and 31 records could not be retrieved, the MOH decided to contact the 31 people and alert them to the matter
• Jan 2019 - Brochez put the full HIV registry online and provided the link to a non-government party, only then did MOH make a public announcement on Jan 28
• Gan Kim Yong defended the earlier non-disclosure as "judgment calls" amid allegations of cover-up by MOH

Silence over SNEC's COVID-19 vaccine overdosage

• 14 Jan 2021 - Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) gave a staff member the equivalent to 5 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine due to human error
• error was only announced on Feb 6 2021
• while SNEC’s medical director Professor Wong Tien Yin apologised for the incident, Gan Kim Yong and Lawrence Wong, co-chairs of the Multi-Agency Taskforce to manage the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccinations did not make any public announcement or statement

S$1 charge for chit-chat session

• 12 Dec 2020 - a "Chit-chat session with residents" with Gan Kim Yong in attendance charged residents $1 entry fee
• Chua Chu Kang Community Centre subsequently explained in a Facebook post "the nominal fees went towards logistics, souvenirs and food" and it “does not make any profit”
• People’s Voice (PV) chief Lim Tean argued that residents should have the "absolute right to speak" with their Member of Parliament (MP) "without being charged."
• reporting on this incident from mainstream news outlet like CNA and The Straits Times were not available

Personal life

Gan is married and a father of two daughters. 

Social Media Pages

Instagram

Facebook

Linkedin

X

14th Parliament

MP  : Ang Wei Neng   ●   Baey Yam Keng   ●   Cheryl Chan Wei Ling   ●   Chan Chun Sing   ●   Chee Hong Tat   ●   Cheng Li Hui   ●   Edward Chia Bing Hui   ●   Chong Kee Hiong   ●   Desmond Choo   ●   Chua Kheng Wee Louis   ●   Eric Chua   ●   Darryl David   ●   Christopher de Souza   ●   Foo Mee Har   ●   Grace Fu Hai Yien   ●   Gan Kim Yong   ●   Gan Siow Huang   ●   Gan Thiam Poh   ●   Gerald Giam   ●   Derrick Goh   ●   He Ting Ru   ●   Heng Chee How   ●   Heng Swee Keat   ●   Shawn Huang Wei Zhong   ●   Indranee Rajah   ●   S Iswaran   ●   Janil Puthucheary   ●   Amy Khor Lean Suan   ●   Koh Poh Koon   ●   Kwek Hian Chuan Henry   ●   Desmond Lee   ●   Lee Hsien Loong   ●   Liang Eng Hwa   ●   Lim Biow Chuan   ●   Jamus Jerome Lim   ●   Sylvia Lim   ●   Lim Wee Kiak   ●   Low Yen Ling   ●   Mariam Jaafar   ●   Masagos Zulkifli Bin Masagos Mohamad   ●   Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman   ●   Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman   ●   Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap   ●   Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim   ●   Murali Pillai   ●   Nadia Ahmad Samdin   ●   Ng Eng Hen   ●   Ng Ling Ling   ●   Louis Ng Kok Kwang   ●   Rachel Ong   ●   Ong Ye Kung   ●   Joan Pereira   ●   Leon Perera   ●   Denise Phua Lay Peng   ●   Poh Li San   ●   Pritam Singh   ●   Raeesah Khan   ●   Rahayu Mahzam   ●   Saktiandi Supaat   ●   Seah Kian Peng   ●   K Shanmugam   ●   Sharael Taha   ●   Sim Ann   ●   Sitoh Yih Pin   ●   Hany Soh   ●   Sun Xueling   ●   Alvin Tan   ●   Carrie Tan   ●   Tan Chuan-Jin   ●   Dennis Tan Lip Fong   ●   Desmond Tan   ●   Jessica Tan Soon Neo   ●   Tan Kiat How   ●   Tan See Leng   ●   Tan Wu Meng   ●   Patrick Tay Teck Guan   ●   Teo Chee Hean   ●   Josephine Teo   ●   Tharman Shanmugaratnam   ●   Tin Pei Ling   ●   Edwin Tong Chun Fai   ●   Vikram Nair   ●   Vivian Balakrishnan   ●   Wan Rizal   ●   Don Wee   ●   Lawrence Wong   ●   Xie Yao Quan   ●   Alex Yam Ziming   ●   Yeo Wan Ling   ●   Yip Hon Weng   ●   Melvin Yong Yik Chye   ●   Zaqy Mohamad   ●   Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim NCMP  : Leong Mun Wai   ●   Hazel Poa