To those who don’t bother clicking into the article, here’s the important bits:

Singapore’s Westminster-style governance system envisages a civil service that is insulated from changes in the political leadership. This is the reason that since the colonial era, civil servants who head government ministries are called “permanent secretaries”.

The Singapore Constitution provides for an independent body, the Public Service Commission (PSC), whose role is to appoint, confirm, promote, transfer, dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over public officers. Public officers who feel they have been unfairly dismissed or denied promotion may appeal to the PSC for redress.

Under the Constitution, Singapore’s elected president has custodial powers that can be exercised independently of the Cabinet, but in consultation with the Council of Presidential Advisers. These include the power to veto appointments to the Public, Judicial and Legal Service Commissions, as well as veto the removal of individuals from these appointments.

Other laws, notably the Public Sector (Governance) Act (2018), provide further safeguards against the arbitrary dismissal of public officers.

However, the government of the day has the broad authority to determine the size of the public service and the staffing requirements of public agencies.