Leadership Changes in the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and Central Narcotics Bureau

1. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will be making leadership changes in the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB).

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority

2. Mr Marvin Sim Wai Meng, 54, currently Commissioner of ICA, will relinquish his appointment on 15 September 2025 and take on another leadership appointment in MHA in due course.

3. Mr Sim steered ICA through the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was the first line of Singapore’s defence to prevent the import of the virus. He drove complex border operations in this regard, including the Stay-Home Notice Regime and Safe Travel Office. These measures helped safeguard public health and at the same time, allowed essential travellers and supplies to flow in and out of Singapore when borders in many parts of the world were closed.

4. Under Mr Sim’s leadership, ICA embarked on a multi-year transformation plan to redefine border clearance and service delivery. At the checkpoints, the New Clearance Concept has enhanced border security (e.g. with pre-arrival risk assessments), and yet has significantly speeded up and eased the immigration clearance process (e.g. with automated lanes, passport-less clearance and QR code clearance). The new ICA Services Centre, which was operationalised in April 2025, brings ICA closer to fulfilling its vision of providing a “No Fuss, No Visit, No Waiting” experience for its customers. These initiatives have transformed ICA’s frontline jobs, making them more meaningful for ICA officers.

5. Mr Lian Ghim Hua, 45, currently Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), SPF, will be appointed as the Commissioner of ICA – Designate on 1 September 2025 and Commissioner of ICA on 15 September 2025. Mr Lian has held several key appointments in SPF, including Director of the Operations Department, Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigation Department and Commander of Ang Mo Kio Police Division.

6. As Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), Mr Lian led SPF in executing several high-profile security operations in Singapore, such as the Presidential Election 2023, Ukrainian President Zelensky’s visit to Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue 2024, the Pope’s visit to Singapore in 2024, and General Election 2025.

7. Under his leadership, SPF has significantly advanced the use of technology in policing operations. Mr Lian drove the expansion of the Police camera network to enhance public safety and spearheaded the deployment of unmanned systems such as drones, unmanned surface vessels and patrol robots to support frontline policing. He also strengthened Police-community partnership with the launch of new volunteer programmes, Industry Safety and Security Watch Groups, and community outreach initiatives. Mr Lian transformed SPF’s regulatory operations through the digitalisation of systems and formulation of more pro-enterprise, customer-centric, and risk-tiered policies, while maintaining a high level of safety and security. As SPF’s Chief Learning Officer, Mr Lian enhanced SPF’s training programmes, infrastructure and systems, including the adoption of simulation technologies to more effectively train police officers.

Central Narcotics Bureau

8. Mr Sebastian Tan Say Hwee, 49, currently Senior Director of the International Cooperation and Partnerships Division (ICPD) in MHA HQ, will be appointed as Director of CNB on 1 August 2025. In Mr Tan’s 23 years of service with the Home Team, he has held various key appointments within CNB, including Deputy Director CNB (Operations), Director Intelligence and Director Enforcement.

9. In his appointment as Deputy Director CNB (Operations), Mr Tan oversaw the line divisions and maintained a high tempo of anti-drug enforcement operations. He also oversaw the operationalisation of significant policy and legislative amendments, including the review of the Drug Rehabilitation Centre - Long Term Imprisonment regime, and introduction of video recorded interviews of suspects of drug offences. He drove transformation projects such as the Next Generation Reporting Centre, the first-of-its-kind solution in the world for automated urine collection, analysis and reporting, which significantly improves the efficiency and hygiene of the process. He also led his team to enhance CNB’s Integrated Drug Enforcement Administrative System that leveraged digitalisation and analytics tools to allow officers to perform enforcement, supervision and engagement work more effectively.

10. As the Senior Director of ICPD, Mr Tan leads his team to develop bilateral, and multilateral relations to advance Singapore’s interests in homefront safety and security. Under his charge, Singapore secured our inaugural membership in the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (for the period of 2024 to 2027). This has allowed Singapore to contribute more substantively to policy discussions at the UN on drug matters and strengthened the international mindshare of Singapore’s harm prevention approach to tackling the drug scourge.

11. During his time as Senior Director ICPD, Mr Tan has also strengthened cooperation with international partners to counter transnational crime, including scams. Additionally, under his leadership, the team has been working with other government agencies in preparation for Singapore’s fifth round of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Mutual Evaluation in early 2026.

12. Mr Leon Chan Liang Hua, 44, who was appointed as Acting Director CNB on 1 September 2024, will relinquish his role on 1 August 2025. He will return to SPF and be appointed as Director of the Operations Department, SPF – Designate, on the same day.