SINGAPORE, Sept 1109 — The Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) announced that Tan Gee Paw will be taking over as acting chairman of the group yesterday, as they thanked former chairman Liew Mun Leong for his contributions.

Tan, 76, has been a non-executive director of CAG since May 2017.

A civil engineer by training, he previously served as chairman of national water agency PUB from April 2001 until his retirement in March 2017.

He is a member of CAG’s executive committee on airport development and is concurrently a director of urban and infrastructure consultancy firm Surbana Jurong, where Liew was also chairman until yesterday.

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Yesterday evening, Liew broke his silence after a court case involving his former Indonesian domestic worker Parti Liyani caused a furore. He said that he would be retiring from the various public service and business roles he holds with immediate effect.

In a follow-up statement, MOF said that Liew had informed both the ministry and CAG that given extensive publicity arising from the case, he had chosen to resign from his position as chairman of the board of directors and director of the company immediately, so as not to create a distraction to the organisation.

MOF said that it has taken note of the observations of the High Court judge who had acquitted Parti, as well as the further review that the Attorney General’s Chambers is undertaking on matters arising from the case.

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“Mr Liew has made significant contributions to the development of Changi Airport as a premier air hub, as CAG’s founding chairman since 2009,” it said. 

“Under his leadership, CAG has completed Terminal 4 and Jewel, and Changi Airport has won multiple awards as the one of the best airports in the world. 

“The ministry thanks Mr Liew for his public service contributions.”

In a separate statement, CAG thanked Liew “for his many years of service.”

It noted his “pivotal role” in the corporatisation of Changi Airport, which paved the way for it to operate more flexibly to meet the challenges of a competitive aviation environment.

Under his leadership, the group achieved a “very strong first decade” since 2009, which saw passenger traffic at Changi rising 84 per cent and revenue more than doubling, it added.

“During this period, CAG also pushed the boundaries in airport development. Mr Liew provided stewardship and strategic counsel on three landmark projects simultaneously, namely Terminal 4, Jewel Changi Airport and Changi East.”

Lee Seow Hiang, CAG’s chief executive officer, said: “Mr Liew’s vision and passion for Changi was an inspiration to the people of CAG and the airport community to always strive for excellence to deliver an exceptional Changi Experience.

“We are truly appreciative of Mr Liew’s dedication to growing Changi Airport over the years and to securing Singapore’s position as a major aviation hub.” — TODAY