Pang Tee Pow


Pang Tee Pow   was a Singaporean civil servant and former chairman of the Housing and Development Board between 1969 and 1970. From 1966 to 1970, Pang was also the chairman of the Central Provident Fund Board.

Early life and education

Pang attended Raffles Institution, and obtained a Senior Cambridge in 1949. He then joined the Singapore Civil Service as a laboratory assistant. In August 1950, Pang was promoted and became a labour inspector in the Labour Department.
On 26 January 1951, Pang was awarded a government scholarship to study at the University of Malaya. In October 1955, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in economics.
In September 1975, together with J. Y. Pillay, Pang attended the 13-week Advanced Management Program at Harvard University.

Career

Early career

Upon graduation, Pang joined the administrative service in the Singapore Civil Service, serving as the assistant commissioner for labour. During his tenure, Pang represented Singapore at numerous International Labour Organisation conferences.
In September 1959, Pang was transferred from the Prime Minister's Office to the Ministry of Home Affairs to serve as an administrative officer. In October 1959, Pang was also appointed as a registrar of citizens and an assistant registrar of societies. In the next month, Pang requested 15 societies thought to have ceased operations to proof their existence.
In April 1960, Pang was appointed as acting deputy deputy controller of immigration. In October 1961, he was promoted to registrar of societies. On 26 December 1961, Pang succeeded Kok Ah Loy as commissioner for the Ministry of Labour. In January 1962, during a strike by the union of the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Pang invited both the bank management and the union representatives for talks to settle the dispute and end the strike. In February 1962, Pang was appointed by Chief Justice Alan Rose to be a commissioner of oaths.
In May 1963, Pang was appointed by Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin to chair a committee of inquiry to probe into the conversion of daily-rated government employees to a monthly-rated scale. A year later, in May 1964, the committee published an interim report, and recommended the government to implement a wage revision for daily-rated government employees as soon as possible.

Ministry of Labour (1966–1970)

In 1966, Pang was promoted to become permanent secretary for the Ministry of Labour. On 6 September 1966, Pang succeeded K. M. Byrne as chairman of the Central Provident Fund Board. On 1 February 1969, Pang replaced Howe Yoon Chong as chairman of the Housing and Development Board. In September 1969, Pang was also appointed as permanent secretary for the Home Affairs Division and Central Manpower Base of the Ministry of Interior and Defence.

Ministry of Defence (1970–1977)

On 11 August 1970, Pang was appointed as the permanent secretary for the Ministry of Defence. As such, he stepped down as chairman of HDB, however, there was no immediate successor. On 1 September 1970, Pang stepped down as chairman of CPF, and he was succeeded by Lim Joo Hock. In December 1970, Pang took over Hon Sui Sen as chairman of Sembawang Shipyard.
On 17 March 1974, during the opening of the Singapore Armed Forces Non-Commissioned Officers Club on Beach Road, Pang explained that construction costed, and he hoped that the club will be self-financing through the support of SAF NCOs.

Personal life

Pang was married to Moonlight Hing, and they had three daughters and a son. He was also an avid golf player, and he often played at the Singapore Island Country Club. In May 1975, Pang lead the Singapore team at golf against Malaysia during the annual civil service tournament.
On 29 July 1977, Pang was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Singapore General Hospital after suffering a myocardial infarction. Dr Kwa Soon Bee, the hospital's superintendent of nursing and brother of Kwa Geok Choo, said Pang's condition was "satisfactory".
On 15 November, Pang died from lung cancer in Singapore General Hospital. A funeral was held at his residence located at 24A Berrima Road, and he was later buried in Choa Chu Kang Cemetery. Minister for Defence Goh Keng Swee, alongside many high-ranking military officers, attended his funeral. In a condolence letter addressed to his wife, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew wrote:

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