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The cabinet of Singapore's Prime Minister designate, Lee
Hsien Loong was announced Tuesday, 10 August.
Prime Minister designate Lee will retain his finance portfolio.
Outgoing Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong will take on the position
of Senior Minister, and chairman of the Monetary Authority
of Singapore.
Singapore's outgoing Senior Minister, Lee Kuan Yew will now
take on a new role as Minister Mentor.
Prime Minister designate Lee has also named Dr Tony Tan,
and Professor S Jayakumar as his deputy Prime Ministers.
Both are long serving members of the cabinet with a wealth
of experience between them.
For more on the cabinet appointments, Melanie Yip spoke with
Dr Suzaina Kadir (SK) , Assistant Professor of Political Science
at the National University of Singapore.
Dr. Kadir commented on Mr Lee's choice of Deputy Prime Ministers.
SK: I think it is indicative of the importance the new Prime
Minister is placing on experience being key, and also a level
of stability within the new cabinet, so that as much as you
want new members in, it is not going to be a revolutionary
reshuffle, where you have entirely new people handling very
top portfolios.
Dr. Tan, who is also the Coordinating Minister for Defense,
will stay in the cabinet until the new National Security Coordination
Secretariat is operational next June. After which, Home Affairs
Minister, Wong Kan Seng will be appointed Deputy Prime Minister
when Dr Tan retires. What is your view on this?
SK: I think it makes a lot of sense. Tony Tan has been in
the cabinet and in government for a long time. But he has
been key in trying to set up this new Security Secretariat,
so it makes sense that he be there to put it up, get it working
before he retires. I think after his retirement, a lot of
us expected Wong Kan Seng to be appointed as DPM. So I think
it is not surprising because it is the process in which they
agreed upon.
Senior Minister, Lee Kuan Yew will now take on a new post
of Minister Mentor. What would the duties of Minister Mentor
encompass? Would he have executive powers?
SK: It's an interesting question but the title was not something
that I had thought about before, I had wondered about what
Lee Kuan Yew's position would be within cabinet. I'm hearing
this title for the first time, and I do have those similar
questions, I do not have the answers to it. It makes me wonder
if the position of Minister Mentor has any executive jurisdiction,
I'm not sure. It's certainly something very new, and for somebody
like myself, as a political scientist would have to look at.
It's a bit unclear to me at this stage.
Singapore’s Prime Minister-designate, Lee Hsien Loong
will retain his Finance portfolio, what are the reasons for
that?
SK: I think that's not entirely surprising either. Lee has
done well in his Finance portfolio, so it indicates a level
of continuity, in terms of the kind of policies, and vision
he may want for the economy in looking forward.
What is the significance of Mr Goh Chok Tong’s appointment
as the chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
SK: It's another interesting appointment. In some ways, it
is not surprising because if we look at Goh Chok Tong's background,
in what he was in charge of before he entered politics and
became Prime Minister, he held a high position in NOL. In
a sense, he has the expertise to make him the chairman of
MAS.
The Environment Ministry has been renamed the Ministry of
The Environment and Water Resources, and Dr Yaacob Ibrahim
will head the Ministry. What is your reaction to this?
SK: Again, I think it is interesting that the environment
ministry has expanded to look into the issues of water. I
think it means greater responsibilities for the ministry,
and it looks to me that this is some form of important portfolio
that's been given to Dr Yaacob to be in charge of.
What are your views on the appointment of 2 women Minister
of State, Mr Lim Hwee Hua and Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon?
SK: I think I'm beaming. I'm quite happy with the move. I
think it's about time we give or put women who are capable
into positions where they can carry their responsibilities
and duties. I think this is a good step forward because these
are promotions that have been given to women who have shown
that they can do the job and get the job done. This was something
I hoped to see in the new cabinet lineup and it is a good
move as far as I'm concerned.
Former Minister of Trade and Industry, Brigadier General
George Yeo will be the new Minister for Foreign Affairs. How
would his previous MTI portfolio come in useful in his new
position in MFA?
SK: If we look at the track of Singapore's foreign policies,
as it has evolved in the past few years, we've engaged in
a lot of FTAs, we're in bilateral negotiations or economic
agreements with a whole host of other countries. So I think
the expertise that BG Yeo has gained in the previous ministry
will become key in MFA. Again, here, George Yeo's appointment
was not a surprise because a lot of us had expected him to
get the Foreign Ministry portfolio.
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