Mrs Irene Chow was Siong Guan’s secretary for almost all of his civil service appointments. She was his personal assistant from 1981 to the middle of 2006.
“I always tell my family and friends
that there won’t be another Lim Siong Guan.
I think that he should be cloned!”
This photo of Mrs Irene Chow and Siong Guan was taken in 2006 – the year Mrs Irene Chow retired and the year Siong Guan retired from the Singapore Civil Service.
Photo Credit: Many thanks to Mrs Irene Chow for sharing this photo.
“My father was a taxi driver”
Mrs Chow moved with Siong Guan from the Ministry of Defence to the Public Service Division of the Prime Minister’s Office, then to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance.
Through the various postings, she interacted up close with some of the most influential people in government.
She looks back at those years with a sense of awe — they have stayed vivid with her all her life. But the corridors of power are not what she remembers.
Instead, the one episode that recurs in her mind is a civil service exhibition where there were photographs of all the permanent secretaries from every ministry.
A six-worded line under Lim Siong Guan’s photograph stopped her in her tracks.
“I walked up to the photograph, and I saw the caption: ‘My father was a taxi driver’.
“I asked myself: ‘Which permanent secretary would say that?’ Mr Lim was just being his straightforward and honest self.
“His authenticity inspired people, especially those from humble backgrounds, to be honest and proud of who they were and where they came from.”
His decision to lay bare his background can be traced to Edmund, his assigned driver in the Ministry of Defence. As a national serviceman, Edmund drove the permanent secretary to several destinations a day.
Mrs Chow shared: “On one of the trips, Mr Lim asked Edmund what his father did. Edmund was a bit shy when he shared that his father was a taxi driver, to which Mr Lim immediately replied: ‘Oh, so was mine!’
“It was a big deal for Edmund to hear that the permanent secretary had a similar background.”
Talk to the Rank and File
Through her interactions with Siong Guan, it was clear to Mrs Chow that it was important to Siong Guan to talk to the rank and file, the people who undertook the actual work.
“Mr Lim wanted to establish a direct line to everyone who worked for him.
“The permanent secretary was the highest-ranking civil servant in the ministry, yet any officer could e-mail him directly if they had something to say to him.
“The importance of getting feedback from the people at the working level was formalised when he introduced Public Service for the 21st Century (PS21) t inhe civil service.”
“My God Shall Supply All My Needs”
In Mrs Chow’s view, Siong Guan was the perfect boss, and there would be no other civil servant like him.
She attributes his humility, honesty, and integrity to his strong relationship with God.
“I think that God comes first for Mr Lim. He had a big poster in his office that stated: ‘My God Shall Supply All My Needs’.
“When he came to work early, he would sit in his car and have his quiet time with God.”
Mrs Irene Chow: “Mr Lim never ever abused his position.”
Mrs Chow added that Siong Guan is an exemplary family man, and a good husband and father.
“As he had an assigned driver in the Ministry of Defence, he could have easily asked the driver to fetch his kids, especially when he was so busy. But as far as possible, he wanted to fetch his children himself so that he would have time to talk to them.
“While he loved his children, when his son got into trouble during National Service, he did not intervene, even though he could easily have done so.”
Mrs Chow shared: “As a permanent secretary, you have so much power, but Mr Lim never ever abused his position.”
Reputation as an Upright and Effective Leader
Over time, Mrs Chow saw Siong Guan’s reputation as an upright and effective leader spread across the entire civil service.
Everywhere he went, his reputation preceded him.
“One day I was at the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board to have lunch with the personal assistant of the chief executive.
“When we were in the lift, she introduced me to one of the officers as the personal assistant of Mr Lim Siong Guan — you could see so visibly their admiration for him.”
Generosity and Humanity
Mrs Chow retired from the civil service when Siong Guan went on to head the Singapore Economic Development Board and GIC Private Limited.
He might have been the perfect boss while she was employed, but it was when she retired that she experienced the full force of Lim Siong Guan’s generosity and humanity.
“When I retired, my husband wasn’t working. Mr Lim was worried for me financially, so he asked the accountant-general to review my personal file to see if I had any other benefits. I am so lucky that he asked!
“I had opted for CPF and had been paid a sum of S$16,000. The accountant-general found that, in my case, there was a provision which allowed me to revert to pension.
“So, I returned the S$16,000 to receive pension for life. If not for Mr Lim’s intervention, I wouldn’t have had the civil service card and the pension that came with medical benefits.
“Over the years, I have had many medical issues and have needed to get so many magnetic resonance images (MRIs) done.
“If I had to pay for these myself, I would be in financial trouble as I do not have life insurance income. I am so eternally thankful to Mr Lim.”
On top of helping her with her pension, Mr Lim gave her a cheque of S$25,000 for her retirement.
“I returned the money to him because I knew it was his own money. I had been paid a salary every month working for him, and for that I am thankful.
“Mr Lim continued to look out for me. During Chinese New Year for example, he gave me a very big ang pow of S$400. There was one year he gave me S$600!
When my husband passed on, Mr Lim, his wife, his son, and his daughters all came.
Mrs Irene Chow: “I think that he should be cloned!”
“It is through God’s amazing grace that I have been blessed to work for and to know such a man.
I always tell my family and friends that there won’t be another Lim Siong Guan.
I think that he should be cloned!”
Share your thoughts with us at Hello@LimSiongGuan.sg.
Text edited and article prepared by Joanne H. Lim
Many thanks to Mr Woon Tai Ho for interviewing Mrs Irene Chow.
__________________________________________________________________________
✨ Let's Connect! ✨
📬 Email Hello@LimSiongGuan.sg
🌐 Website www.LimSiongGuan.sg
📝 Previous Blog “KISS” to create your future 👥 Facebook Lim Siong Guan Official 🎥 Video www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_9HnNxrqG4