SINGAPORE - Former MP Sitoh Yih Pin and media veteran Patrick Daniel have been appointed Non-Resident High Commissioners to the Maldives and Sri Lanka respectively, said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on July 21.

Both men received their letters of credence from President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on July 21, the MFA said.

Sitoh, 62, replaces Soo Kok Leng, who was appointed to the post in 2020.

Since diplomatic relations were established in February 1975, Singapore does not have a physical embassy in the Maldives. Instead diplomatic relations are managed from Singapore.

A three-term MP for Potong Pasir SMC until 2025, Sitoh is a member of the Board of Management of the People’s Association since 2021, and non-executive director of China Taiping Insurance in Singapore.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Acccountancy from the National University of Singapore in 1987 and started his career as an auditor with KPMG.

Media veteran Daniel will take up his Non-Resident High Commissioner post to the consulate in Sri Lankan capital Colombo, which was previously headed by S. Chandra Das from 2015 to 2025.

Currently the non-executive chairman of AlphaInvest Holdings and President of the Singapore Press Club, Daniel also holds non-executive director positions with SBS Transit and SPH Media Trust, publisher of The Straits Times.

He had a three-decade career with SPH, starting as a senior writer with ST in 1986, before heading The Business Times from 1992 to 2002 and becoming SPH’s Editor-in-Chief from 2007 to 2016.

Daniel graduated from University College, Oxford in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in Engineering Science and Economics. He also obtained a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

As non-resident envoys, both are not expected to reside in their assigned countries but instead will make regular representational visits there to manage diplomatic relations.