Low 'disappointed' by Lui's decision, but says timing raises questions
'(Mr Lui) tried his best... I don't understand why there is this development suddenly,' said Worker's Party secretary-general Low Thia Khiang. Photo: Wee Teck Hian
SINGAPORE — More answers are needed as to why Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew is leaving politics, said Workers’ Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang yesterday, saying that Mr Lui’s resignation during election season has allowed for “much interpretation and speculation”.
Speaking at his Meet-the-People session last night, Mr Low expressed disappointment at the departure of Mr Lui, pointing out that the Transport Minister has been “hardworking” in going onto the ground to address transport issues.
“(Mr Lui) is relatively young and (can) still contribute to the Cabinet and he is also Second Minister for Defence. So I was quite surprised on why he resigned and (why) his resignation has been accepted by (the Prime Minister),” he added.
Asked if Mr Lui’s resignation could be to help take the heat off transport issues for the ruling People’s Action Party during the hustings, Mr Low said he would be “very disappointed” if this was the case, as the Cabinet should function as a team.
Mr Low also questioned if Mr Lui decided to leave because he felt he was not getting enough support from his Cabinet colleagues, and whether having his ward in Moulmein-Kallang GRC “chopped off into pieces and redistributed” had affected his morale.
“And I thought the standard ethos of the PAP is that resignation doesn’t solve the problem. You have to stay on to solve the problem as a minister,” he said. “I cannot understand why it happened at this time, (allowing for) so much interpretation and speculation.”
He also noted that things appeared to be moving in the right direction, such as with the injection of more buses into the system and the introduction of new measures like the bus contracting model. “(Mr Lui) tried his best ... I don’t understand why there is this development suddenly,” he added.
Mr Lui’s decision not to stand in the coming General Election was announced on Tuesday. In his letter to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Mr Lui had noted that new blood would be brought in to strengthen the Cabinet, and that the election provided the opportunity for him to leave politics without causing a major disruption.
In a letter that said the Prime Minister accepted Mr Lui’s decision reluctantly, Mr Lee noted that senior members of the Cabinet felt Mr Lui had more to contribute, but the Transport Minister could not be persuaded.
Mr Low felt the public might “want more answers and more enlightened circumstances leading to the resignation” of Mr Lui, beyond the explanation given so far. He acknowledged that transport issues will take time to resolve and it is unlike simply building more public housing flats to address a shortage of flats.
“I think everybody knows that he inherited the problem (of train breakdowns) from the past,” said Mr Low, referring to Mr Lui’s predecessor Raymond Lim, who left the Cabinet after the 2011 GE.
Questioning the relatively short tenures of Transport Ministers, Mr Low said: “(Is) it anything that fundamentally the Government as a whole should look at in terms of transport, or is it philosophically ... how they treat transport is not correct and not convincing to the Transport Minister? I think we need more answers.”
