SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced Singapore’s new Cabinet on Saturday (Jul 25), 15 daysafter the People’s Action Party (PAP) took 61.24 per cent of the votes in the 2020 General Election.
Three office holders will retire and six office holders will be promoted. In addition, there will be seven new political office holders. These changes take effect from Jul 27 unless stated otherwise.
AdvertisementAdvertisementMr Lee continues as Prime Minister.
Mr Heng Swee Keat remains in his posts as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister after he was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister in May last year. Mr Heng will also become Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies.
Mr Teo Chee Hean retains his post as Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, while Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam stays as Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies.
Mr Lee said the new Cabinet seeks to balance continuity, exposure and renewal, and be a team that leads Singapore through the current public health and economic crisis and into the future.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"First, continuity. In normal times, we need experienced ministers to provide steady hands, and also to mentor the younger ministers. And in this crisis, this need is even greater," he added, pointing out that older ministers like Mr Gan Kim Yong and Mr K Shanmugam are staying on.
"Secondly, I'm rotating the ministers, especially the younger ones to gain exposure and experience. We regularly do this during Cabinet reshuffles, and the intent is to expose the office holders to different portfolios, to gain both breadth and depth, to understand the intricacies of the issues and to see things from different perspectives. And ultimately from a national perspective.
"Thirdly, I'm renewing the lineup and bringing in fresh blood and promoting several junior office holders and backbenchers who have performed well. I'm also bringing in fresh faces from the newly elected Members of Parliament, including several from the private sector, and one of whom as a full minister. They will reinforce my team and offer new ideas and perspectives."
In total, the new Cabinet will have 37 political office holders, the same as the previous Cabinet.
APPOINTMENT OF MINISTERS
- Ms Grace Fu will be appointed Minister for Sustainability and Environment. (The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources will be renamed the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment.) She will relinquish her appointment as Minister for Culture, Community and Youth;
- Mr Lawrence Wong will be appointed Minister for Education. He will remain Second Minister for Finance, and relinquish his appointment as Minister for National Development;
- Mr Masagos Zulkifli will be appointed Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health. He will remain the Minister?in-charge of Muslim Affairs and relinquish his appointment as Minister for the Environment and Water Resources.
- Mr Ong Ye Kung will be appointed Minister for Transport. He will relinquish his appointment as Minister for Education;
- Mr Desmond Lee will be appointed Minister for National Development. He will relinquish his appointment as Minister for Social and Family Development but will remain in the Ministry and be concurrently appointed as Minister?in-charge of Social Services Integration;
- Ms Indranee Rajah will be appointed Second Minister for National Development, and relinquish her appointment as Second Minister for Education. She will remain Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and as Second Minister for Finance;
- Dr Tan See Leng will be appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry.
- Dr Maliki Osman will be promoted to full Minister. He will be appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Education and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs. He will relinquish his appointment as the Mayor of South East District;
- Mr Edwin Tong will be promoted to full Minister. He will be appointed Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Second Minister for Law;
- Mr Zaqy Mohamad will be promoted to Senior Minister of State. He will remain at the Ministry of Manpower and take up an additional appointment at the Ministry of Defence;
- Ms Low Yen Ling will be promoted to Minister of State, and take up new appointments at the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and at the Ministry of Trade and Industry. She will relinquish her appointments at the Ministry of Manpower and Ministry of Education. She will also remain as Mayor of South West District.
- Associate Professor Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim will be promoted to Minister of State, and take up new appointments at the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of National Development. He will relinquish his appointments at the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Social and Family Development;
- Ms Sun Xueling will be promoted to Minister of State, and take up new appointments at the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social and Family Development. She will relinquish her appointments at the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of National Development.
- Mr Heng Swee Keat, the Deputy Prime Minister, will take on an additional appointment as Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies;
- Dr Amy Khor will be appointed Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Transport. She will continue in the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment;
- Ms Sim Ann will be appointed Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of National Development. She will continue in the Ministry of Communications and Information but relinquish her appointment in the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth;
- Mr Chee Hong Tat will be appointed Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transport. He will relinquish his appointments in the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Trade and Industry;
- Dr Janil Puthucheary will be appointed Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Health. He will continue in the Ministry of Communications and Information but relinquish his appointment in the Ministry of Transport;
- Dr Koh Poh Koon will be appointed Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Health. He will relinquish his appointment in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
- Ms Gan Siow Huang will be appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of
Education and the Ministry of Manpower; - Mr Alvin Tan will be appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture,
Community and Youth and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, with effect from
Sep 1; - Mr Desmond Tan will be appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of
Home Affairs and the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment; - Mr Tan Kiat How will be appointed Minister of State in the Prime
Minister’s Office and the Ministry of National Development. He will also be
Chairman of REACH; - Mr Eric Chua will be appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of
Culture, Community and Youth, and the Ministry of Social and Family
Development; - Mdm Rahayu Mahzam will be appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the
Ministry of Health, with effect from Sep 1.
- Mr Alex Yam will be appointed Mayor for North West District;
- Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman will be appointed Mayor for South West District.
Dr Maliki Osman and new Marine Parade Member of Parliament-elect Dr Tan See Leng take over from NTUC secretary general Ng Chee Meng as Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Mr Ng, together with former Senior Minister of State for Health and Transport Lam Pin Min, former Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Home Affairs Amrin Amin and lawyer Raymond Lye, contested in Sengkang GRC at the General Election.
The team from the Workers’ Party took the new constituency with 52.13 per cent of the votes in the election.
The Swearing?in Ceremony for the Cabinet and other office holders will
take place on Jul 27, 7pm at the Istana and Parliament House.
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