The majority of members are Chinese, reflecting Singapore’s ethnic division, with Minister for Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli representing the Malay-Muslim community, and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister within the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, and Minister for Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam representing Hindus .
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The Eurasian community is represented by Christopher de Souza, a 42-year-old lawyer and chairman of the parliamentary committee examining the laws of the inside and law ministries.
In terms of gender representation, there may be yet another woman than before. Immediately after the party polls, Personnel Minister Josephine Teo was co-opted to the commission, joining the Rajah and Culture, Community and Youth Minister Grace Fu, who were voted for by the cadres.
Various skilled backgrounds are represented. Although a major variety of members have served as public officials, there are also those that have extensive experience within the private sector. Backbench MP Sitoh Yih Pin runs his own accounting firm. Masagos, who can also be deputy chairman of the PAP, worked with telecommunications company Singtel for over 17 years before joining politics. PAP Chairman Gan Kim Yong, who’s the Minister of Health, has over 15 years of experience within the private sector.
Both Indranee and Shanmugam were senior advisers within the private sector before becoming ministers. Education Minister and PAP Deputy Treasurer Ong Ye Kung has diverse experience in the private and non-private sectors. As chairman of the China Development Assistance Council, Ong has knowledge and powerful connections with the Chinese community.
The person tasked with bringing these numbers together is the brand new First Deputy Secretary-General, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat. The 57-year-old’s nomination is considered one of the strongest indications to date that he’ll develop into the subsequent prime minister after Lee Hsien Loong, who announced that he would retire by 2022.
Heng worked as a senior civil servant and was a detailed associate of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew before joining politics in 2011. He worked within the police force before joining the civil service. As the town’s central banker from 2005 to 2011, Heng was amongst the important thing staff answerable for steering Singapore through the 2007-2008 financial crisis. In 2011, British magazine Banker called him the perfect central bank governor within the Asia-Pacific region.
After his election, he served as Minister of Education, and in 2015 he was appointed Minister of Finance, where he served as Chairman of the Commission for the Future Economy.
In May 2016, Heng suffered a stroke, prompting each an outpouring of support and questions on the long run of his political profession. However, he recovered and returned to his duties in August 2016, and since then his health has been positive.
Heng was Ong’s superior once they each worked as officials on the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Ong once described Heng as “a superb boss”, a sentiment shared by many individuals who worked with him.
Lesson for Singapore: the concentration of power in a couple of people led to the autumn of Venice
Lesson for Singapore: the concentration of power in a couple of people led to the autumn of Venice
Heng will likely be complemented by Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing. Due to his diverse experience within the military and various ministries, Chan, 49, is widely seen as a possible deputy prime minister.
While Chan gave the impression to be favored by some party leaders, the collection of Heng – based on his leadership qualities and social appeal – shows that the views of PAP cadres and other committee members were taken into consideration during succession planning.
However, in politics nothing is for certain and anything can occur. Heng will likely be over 60 when he becomes prime minister and there are still concerns about his health.
The current team is characterised by a secure and stable approach to succession planning, consistent with previous leadership changes.
As before, current senior ministers were closely involved in choosing the subsequent generation of leaders.
And while a consensus was reached on who can be first amongst equals, the person appointed to the highest job made it clear that Singapore’s leadership didn’t rely on one prime minister but on the strength of the complete team.
Will this be the subsequent Prime Minister of Singapore? Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat is to interchange Lee Hsien Loong
Will this be the subsequent Prime Minister of Singapore? Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat is to interchange Lee Hsien Loong
“It is essential that as a team we will work together to realize the support and trust of Singaporeans,” he said of the fourth-generation leaders, adding that he hoped they’d introduce “game-changing policies that could have a positive impact on Singaporeans.”
The recent team must connect with the bottom and create a compelling vision of the long run for Singapore’s increasingly diverse electorate to supply a transparent plan of action that may win their hearts and minds.
Edmund Lim, who taught social sciences at Nanyang Technological University, is the educational director and district councilor
