MFA Press Statement: Appointments of Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassadors to Denmark, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Republic of Chile; and Singapore’s Non-Resident High Commissioner to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea

The Government has appointed Mr Karan Singh Thakral as Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to Denmark, Mr Shamsher Zaman as Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Ms Chong Siak Ching as Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to the Republic of Chile and Mr Chaly Mah as Singapore’s Non-Resident High Commissioner to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.

Non-Resident Ambassador to Denmark

                   Mr Karan Singh Thakral served as Singapore’s High Commissioner to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, resident in Singapore from July 2013 to April 2015.  He is an Executive Director in the Thakral Group of Companies.  Among his other appointments, Mr Thakral is Chairman of the South Asia Business Group and Business India in Singapore as well as Chairman of Givo Limited in India.  He also serves as a Board Member of the ASEAN India Business Council.

                   Mr Thakral is married to Mrs Devinder Kaur Thakral.  They have a son and four daughters.

Non-Resident Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

                   Mr Shamsher Zaman is the Managing Director of Linkers (Far East) Pte Ltd.  Among his other appointments, he serves as Director and Board Member of Singapore Chemical Industry Council. 

                   Mr Zaman is married to Mrs Riffat Shamsher Zaman.  They have two daughters.

Non-Resident Ambassador to the Republic of Chile

                   Ms Chong Siak Ching is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Gallery Singapore.  Among her other appointments, she serves as Independent Director on the Board of Singapore Press Holdings Ltd, and also as Board Member of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Board of Trustees and Jurong Health Services Pte Ltd. 

                   Ms Chong is married to Mr Seah Cheng San.  They have a daughter.

Non-Resident High Commissioner to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea

                   Mr Chaly Mah Chee Kheong is the Chairman of Deloitte Singapore and Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Southeast Asia.  Among his other appointments, he serves as Chairman of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce and Sentosa Leisure Management Pte Ltd.  He is also Deputy Chairman of the Singapore Accountancy Commission. 

                   Mr Mah is married to Mdm Penny Khong Yim Mui.  They have two sons.

.   .   .   .   .

MINSTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

30 JULY 2015

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY

Non-Resident Ambassador to Denmark

Mr Karan Singh Thakral was Singapore’s High Commissioner to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, resident in Singapore from July 2013 to April 2015.

Mr Thakral was born in Singapore on 7 April 1955. He is an Executive Director in Thakral Group of Companies. Mr Thakral is also the Chairman of South Asia Business Group and Business India in Singapore.

He is Chairman of Givo Limited in India, a company listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India and is Director in many Thakral Group of companies.

Mr Thakral is a Board Member of the ASEAN India Business Council, Member Advisory Board of Singapore Global Schools Foundation (Worldwide). He is Chairman Emeritus of The Indus Entrepreneus (TiE) Singapore and Member Emeritus of The Indus Entrepreneus (TiE) Global Board of Trustees. Mr Thakral takes keen interest in promoting budding entrepreneurs in Singapore mentoring them and helping in Angel investment activities in Singapore and many other countries. He has joined as an active member of may Angle Networks around the world.

Mr Thakral is married to Mrs Devinder Kaur Thakral. They have a son and four daughters.

. . . . .

Non-Resident Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Mr Shamsher Zaman is the Managing Director of Linkers (Far East) Pte Ltd.

Mr Zaman was born on 1 June 1951 in Karachi, Pakistan. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (First Class Honours) and obtained a Master of Commerce (First Class) from the University of the Punjab, Lahore in Pakistan.

Mr Zaman is also the Director and Board Member of Singapore Chemical Industry Council. He has represented Singapore Chemical Industry Council at Asia Petrochemical Industry Conferences held in Malaysia (2004), Japan (2005), Thailand (2006) and Taiwan (2007 and 2012).

Mr Zaman was also the Organizing Committee Chairman for the 33rd Asean Chemical Industries Conference held in Singapore in 2004 as well as Organizing Chairman of Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference held in Singapore in 2008. He was a Mission Leader for Singapore Chemical Industry Council’s Delegation to Vietnam in 2010.

Mr Zaman was appointed as a founding member of the Middle East Expert Panel set up by International Enterprise Singapore in 2004. He was also appointed as an Advisor in 2008 by Singapore Business Federation (SBF) in their Middle East Business Group. He has been an invited speaker in Singapore and on International forums.

Mr Zaman was awarded The Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2005 and his company has also been conferred with several other corporate awards and accolades including Enterprise 50 (an award by The Business Times and KPMG in Singapore, given to 50 most enterprising, privatelyheld local companies in Singapore) for 6 consecutive years from 2005 to 2010.

Mr Zaman is married to Mrs Riffat Shamsher Zaman. They have two daughters.
. . . . .

Non-Resident Ambassador to the Republic of Chile

Ms Chong Siak Ching is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Gallery Singapore.

Ms Chong was born on 11 December 1958 in Penang, Malaysia. She graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1981 with Honours in Estate Management and obtained a Master in Business
Administration in 1991. Ms Chong also completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School in 1998.

Ms Chong is also an Independent Director on the Board of Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. She is a Board Member of the NUS Board of Trustees and Jurong Health Services Private Limited. She is a member of the Advisory Board at Nanyang Business School and Yale-NUS College Governing Board.

Ms Chong was previously Assistant Chief Executive Officer and then Deputy Chief Executive Officer of JTC Corporation, from 1999 to 2001 and President and Chief Executive Officer of Ascendas from 2001 to
2013. She was also the Deputy Chairman of SPRING Singapore, from 2008 to 2014. Both JTC Corporation and SPRING Singapore are statutory bodies under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Ms Chong represented
Singapore in the APEC Business Advisory Council from 2004 to 2010 and chaired the APEC CEO Summit in Singapore in 2009.

Ms Chong was awarded a Gold Medal by the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers in 1981, NUS Distinguished Alumni Award by the Faculty of Architecture and Building Management in 1999 and NUS
Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2009. She received the Outstanding CEO of the Year in 2009 for her leadership and dynamism in establishing Ascendas as Asia’s leading business space provider.

Ms Chong is married to Mr Seah Cheng San. They have a daughter.
. . . . .

Non-Resident High Commissioner to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea

Mr Chaly Mah Chee Kheong is the Chairman of Deloitte Singapore and Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Southeast Asia.

Mr Mah was born on 24 March 1956 in Batu Pahat, Malaysia. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne in 1977. He is a fellow member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He is also an associate member of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants in Australia and fellow member of CPA Australia.

Mr Mah is also the Chairman of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce and Sentosa Leisure Management Pte Ltd and Deputy Chairman of the Singapore Accountancy Commission. He serves as
a member of the Board of Sentosa Development Corporation and Singapore Economic Development Board. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the National University of Singapore.

Mr Mah was awarded The Public Service Medal in 2014. He was also awarded the Accountant of the Year (Individual Excellence Award) in 2014.

Mr Mah is married to Mdm Penny Khong Yim Mui. They have two sons.
. . . . .