Surbana Jurong thanks Liew Mun Leong for service after resignation in wake of Parti Liyani case
SINGAPORE: Surbana Jurong on Friday (Sep 11) thanked former chairman Liew Mun Leong for his service, saying that his "immeasurable contributions" to the company will never be forgotten.
The board of directors said in a media statement that it has accepted Mr Liew's resignation, following his announcement on Thursday that he is retiring from his roles in business and the private sector. The positions were at Surbana Jurong, Changi Airport Group, Temasek Foundation and Temasek International.
The announcement follows a recent decision by the High Court to acquit his former maid Parti Liyani of charges of stealing from his family.
READ: Liew Mun Leong retires from CAG, other public service and business roles after court's decision on Parti Liyani case
“Throughout his tenure, Mr Liew demonstrated the exceptional vision, leadership, courage and passion needed for Surbana Jurong to succeed, grow and serve its clients around the world,” the statement read.
“His immeasurable contributions to the Group will not be forgotten. With deepest gratitude, we thank Mr Liew for his service and wish him the very best in the future.”
Mr Liew joined Surbana Jurong as founding chairman in 2015.
“Under his guidance, Surbana Jurong made a series of transformative acquisitions to forge an integrated technical consultancy services platform with a complete value proposition for the built environment,” the company said.
“Mr Liew encouraged Surbana Jurong’s foray into non-traditional consultancy fields including infrastructure fund management, through which the Group has formed valuable partnerships for project investments in the region.”
It added that Mr Liew “paved the way for Surbana Jurong to expand its global presence”, which led to the company increasing its revenue fivefold, more than half of which is derived from business outside Singapore.
He made “great efforts to strengthen the management bench and develop staff, putting a strong focus on training and continuous learning and making time to personally interview potential senior management candidates”, the company said.
“He will always be remembered for the business and leadership lectures he delivered to staff and the Sunday Emails he invested time to write, a vehicle for sharing his wealth of insights and experience,” Surbana Jurong added.
Surbana Jurong CEO Wong Heang Fine said the company’s board, management and global workforce have the “collective resolve” to continue business as usual.
He said: “Everything we have achieved thus far serves as a solid foundation to advance our work as a technical platform for creating a smart, sustainable and resilient built environment.
"We remain focused on our clients and supporting them in their plans for a post-COVID future.”
READ: Tan Gee Paw appointed acting chairman of CAG following Liew Mun Leong retirement
READ: Timeline: How former maid Parti Liyani was acquitted of stealing from Changi Airport Group chairman's family
THE PARTI LIYANI CASE
Mr Liew, the formal employer of Ms Parti, and his family accused her of theft in 2016.
She was convicted of four counts of theft in March 2019 and sentenced to two years and two months’ jail.
Last week, she was acquitted of all theft charges by the High Court, after Justice Chan Seng Onn said the convictions against her were “unsafe” due to the presence of an “improper motive” and that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
She had filed a complaint to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in 2017 about being illegally deployed to clean the home and office of Mr Liew’s son Karl.
Mr Liew's wife, Ng Lai Peng, was issued a caution and Mr Karl Liew was issued an advisory by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in 2018.