Leadership renewal needed while present team is at the top of its game: PM Lee
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong poses for a wefie with retired Cabinet Ministers Lim Hng Kiang, Yaacob Ibrahim and Lim Swee Say at the People’s Action Party's appreciation dinner for trio on Wednesday, May 30, 2018
SINGAPORE — Reiterating the importance of political renewal, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stressed on Wednesday (May 30) that it has to take place while the leadership team now is still “vigorous and at the top of our game”, instead of waiting for it to lose steam before handing over the reins.
While there is a need to avoid “abrupt discontinuities”, it is also vital for the leadership not to “keep the status quo for too long, and gradually drift out of touch”, he added.
"Otherwise, by the time this shows up in our performance, support, and election results, it will be far too late.”
Speaking at an appreciation dinner held in Parliament House and organised by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) to pay tribute to three retiring ministers, PM Lee also talked about how making changes to the Cabinet is one of his most difficult but important responsibilities, and that political renewal is a “never ending exercise”.
The latest round of changes, which saw former Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say, Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim and Trade and Industry (Trade) Minister Lim Hng Kiang stepping down from Cabinet positions, was “particularly difficult” for PM Lee because they are of his generation and he had known two of them for more than 40 years.
“It is not like moving pieces on a chessboard. It involves colleagues, comrades and close friends… people whom I have worked with for many years, who have fought battles side by side, and who have developed trust and respect for one another,” he said.
Thinking ahead and planning in advance for political succession has been the Government’s approach over the decades. The late former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who held the post from 1959 to 1990, started the ball rolling. There was a time during his tenure when three “old guard” ministers were hospitalised at the same time in 1983.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew knew “amber lights were flashing”, and that gave him “renewed impetus to press on with leadership renewal”, PM Lee recalled, adding that this has always been a key priority for the PAP.
“Most of the third-generation ministers, including myself are already in our 60s,” he noted. “We are still largely in good health... We can carry on for one more term, at most two. But time and tide waits for no man.”
Every year, he takes stock of “whom to bring in to political office, whom to promote and who should move on”, and said that redeploying political office-holders serve to expose them to new responsibilities “or to test them in more demanding positions”.
“A single round of Cabinet changes is often incremental. But over time, these regular adjustments add up, and substantially alter the shape and composition of the Cabinet.”
Just a month ago, PM Lee announced the changes to the Cabinet line-up that affected all but one ministry, with two-thirds of the ministries helmed by a fourth-generation leader.
Along with that, three longtime Cabinet ministers will retire — the highest number at one go since the 2011 Cabinet reshuffle which saw five ministers stepping down.
70 YEARS OF ‘BATTLE-TESTED’ EXPERIENCE
Paying tribute to the three retiring ministers, PM Lee said that while he has known Dr Yaacob for nearly 20 years, he knew both Mr Lim Hng Kiang and Mr Lim Swee Say for more than four decades. “In terms of ministerial experience, we are losing 70 years of solid battle-tested experience.”
PM Lee praised Dr Yaacob for always taking a “principled and sensitive approach”, when it comes to issues concerning race and religion, although his firm stand exposed him to criticism and at times cost him his personal popularity.
“This called for courage and conviction, a willingness to take flak and not just to do the easy thing,” PM Lee said.
Describing Mr Lim Swee Say as a “gifted communicator” who is able to explain policies simply to Singaporeans, PM Lee recounted how he once asked Mr Lim whether he could do a hologram to “multiply his effectiveness”, to persuade Sinagporeans on the need to raise taxes, similar to what he was doing with his constituents in Bedok.
However, Mr Lim replied that it is important to communicate with the people in person. “This is an important lesson in politics – even in the digital age, there is no substitute for working the ground in person,” PM Lee said.
Turning to Mr Lim Hng Kiang, PM Lee said that as the Trade and Industry Minister, he knew “when to let things be, and to allow the free market to make our economy competitive and efficient”, but he also knew when to step in to achieve political or social objectives “with just the right policy measure”.
Though Mr Lim Hng Kiang is “laconic” in nature, his “point of view is always rational and incisive”, PM Lee noted.
“He cuts to the core of issues calmly and decisively. His proposals are always pragmatic, and with a human touch. That is why I always take his views very seriously.”
Giving the dinner guests a serving of this “pragmatism”, Mr Lim Hng Khiang later presented some statistics about the country’s economy and said that it needs to gradually grow “in keeping with our potential”. It would be a “big mistake” if Singapore slows down, because “without the growth, the resources, there’ll be so little we can do,” he added.
Dr Yaacob and Mr Lim Swee Say were more contemplative. Dr Yaacob views his retirement as a transition to the next phase of his life, saying that he will continue to contribute to nation building.
Mr Lim Swee Say said that he has had “more time to reflect on life” since he stepped down earlier this month, and having done his part to ensure Singapore’s economic competitiveness, he was “happy” to make way for the fourth-generation leaders and help in leadership renewal.
To the retiring ministers, PM Lee said that they can take pride in their service. “You have done your duty and contributed to Singapore’s success. You are leaving Singapore and Singaporeans in a better place.”
