Fock Siew Wah, founding chairman of LTA and SMRT, dies aged 84

SINGAPORE: Former PSA International chairman Fock Siew Wah, who was also the founding chairman of SMRT and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), has died at the age of 84.

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in a Facebook post on Monday (Jan 6), said that he was deeply saddened to hear of Mr Fock's passing. 

“I have known Siew Wah for many years, beginning when we both served on the 1985 Economic Committee. He has served Singapore with distinction in both the private and public sectors for more than forty years.”

Mr Fock, born 1940, had been the first chairman of SMRT - then known as Singapore Mass Rapid Transit Limited - and LTA. He was also on the board of Temasek Holdings and government-linked companies such as DBS Bank and Singapore Airlines.

In August 2005, he was appointed chairman of PSA International, which he would steward until he retired in 2019.

“As one of our pioneer leaders, Siew Wah’s eye for talent and heart for service helped the many organisations he was involved in grow into what they are today,” said Mr Lee.

“We met most recently last February, where I personally thanked him for the work he has done, and more importantly, his friendship and support over four decades.

“He will be deeply missed”.

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said in a Facebook post on Monday that he was saddened to hear about Mr Fock’s passing, and expressed his deepest condolences to his family.

“Mr Fock was the first Chairman of the Land Transport Authority from 1995 to 2002,” said Mr Chee.

“Under his Chairmanship, LTA achieved many milestones, including the opening of the Woodlands Line in 1996 (what we know as the stretch connecting Choa Chu Kang to Yishun today), Bukit Panjang LRT in 1999 and the development of the first Integrated Transport Hub at Toa Payoh in 2002.”

Mr Chee noted that during Mr Fock’s tenure at PSA, the company’s international footprint grew to more than 50 terminals in 17 countries, while the total cargo volume it handled doubled to more than 80 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

“The excellent connectivity we have today and our reputation as a trusted international hub port is built on the strong foundations, hard work and sheer grit of many of our predecessors like Mr Fock,” said Mr Chee.

“We will honour their contributions and legacy by continuing to build Singapore to become even better and stronger.”