Update 8 Apr 2021: DPM Heng Swee Keat steps aside as leader of PAP 4G team - Who will be Singapore's next PM?
With Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announcing on Thursday (April 8) that he will step aside from the helm of the People's Action Party's (PAP) fourth-generation leadership, four men have emerged as likely candidates to fill his shoes.
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They are Mr Chan Chun Sing, Mr Ong Ye Kung, Mr Lawrence Wong and Mr Desmond Lee - with one of them possibly succeeding Mr Lee Hsien Loong as Singapore's prime minister.
All four are full ministers in PM Lee's Cabinet, and were present at Thursday's press conference on DPM Heng's decision. They are also key members of the PAP's 4G core and its central executive committee.
The Straits Times 2 January
When will Singapore's next PM be unveiled? Who are the likely contenders for the top post? http://str.sg/oovh
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Signs Point to Chan Becoming Next Prime Minister with Shan and Heng Serving as Deputies
The PAP’s CEC election on Sunday has shed more light on Singapore’s next generation of leaders from the PAP. I’m of course assuming that the opposition doesn’t do a Pakatan Harapan.
From the looks of things, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing is almost certain to become our next Prime Minister, with Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat assuming deputy prime minister positions.
Just take a look at who’s in the CEC, their ages, and their background (sorry Lawrence, looks like no space again for you this time):
- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 66
- Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam, 59
- Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, 59
- Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, 59
- Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, 57
- Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, 57
- Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, 55
- Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli, 55
- Culture, Community and Youth Minister Grace Fu, 54
- Labour Chief Ng Chee Meng, 50
- Manpower Minister Josephine Teo, 50
- Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing, 49
- Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin, 49
- Education Minister Ong Ye Kung, 48
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Chan Chun Sing conspicuously stands beside PM Lee after being elected into PAP CEC
Some have deemed the order in which the new People’s Action Party (PAP) Central Executive Committee (CEC) for 2019-2020 stood as the CEC election results were announced today to be a “dead giveaway” as to who will become Singapore’s fourth head of Government.
While all three men tipped to be the frontrunners to succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong were elected into the PAP CEC, Chan Chun Sing’s conspicuous position beside PM Lee has raised eyebrows and given rise to renewed speculation that he is the chosen one.
Along with Chan, who serves as Minister for Trade and Industry, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat and Education Minister Ong Ye Kung were among those elected into the ruling party’s highest decision-making body in the party. All three men have been deemed the frontrunners for the top position, although speculation that Chan will clinch the position has been especially resounding.
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PAP Central Executive Committee Election
PAP unveils new party leadership with 4G leaders at helm
The new PAP CEC on stage, with Home Affairs & Law Minister K. Shanmugam, outgoing party chairman Khaw Boon Wan, & Secretary-General Lee Hsien Loong pictured on the large screen in the background.
The People's Action Party (PAP) renewed its top leadership ranks on Sunday (Nov 11), formally marking the start of Singapore's next phase of political renewal that will see 4th-generation leaders at the helm.
Heavyweights like Deputy Prime Ministers Teo Chee Hean & Tharman Shanmugaratnam are no longer on the central executive committee to take the PAP to the next general election.
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For Singapore’s next PM, the journey starts with the men and women in white
It is an all-white affair that takes place once every 2 years: Over a thousand men & women congregate for the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) conference, where they will elect the party’s top decision-making body, take stock of its performance thus far and chart the party’s path forward.
However, unlike previous conferences, the one to be held later this year is set to hold added significance: For the first time, the identity of the man who will eventually become the next chief of the PAP — and in all likelihood, the Republic’s next Prime Minister — is expected to become clearer to Singaporeans through the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) election.
In the last 2 leadership transitions — first to Mr Goh Chok Tong, and then to Mr Lee Hsien Loong — both men had already been identified as the next Prime Minister before they assumed the first assistant secretary-general position in the PAP CEC during the party conference, and later the post of secretary-general. So, the party’s internal elections then were seen by many as a mere formality in that regard.
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Singaporeans will get clearer idea of next prime minister in 2019: Shanmugam
Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam at the launch of the 9th Corporate Governance Week on Mon (Sep 24)
Singaporeans will have a clearer idea of who will become the country's next prime minister next year, Law & Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said on Monday (Sep 24).
Speaking at a corporate governance event, Mr Shanmugam said the next generation of leaders have been given different portfolios.
"The phase we are at now internally is that a team has been formed," he said. "That team has been put through its paces, has held a variety of ministerial portfolios. They still need a little bit more time with Singaporeans so that Singaporeans can see them & assess them for themselves."
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CNA deletes article claiming Shanmugam said next PM will emerge after PAP election in 2019
Channel NewsAsia appears to have deleted an article claiming that Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said that “Singapore’s next Prime Minister will emerge after PAP election in 2019”. The original article was published on the Mediacorp-run publication’s website last night but was taken down within hours. This morning, Channel NewsAsia re-published the article but with a new title, new text and even a new URL.
THE DELETED ARTICLE
Google search: next Prime Minister will emerge after ....
THE REVISED ARTICLE
SCREENSHOT OF THE OLD ARTICLE
The old article asserted that the Law Minister said that an indication of who will become Singapore’s fourth PM “will come next year after the PAP elects its CEC“.
The new article appears to almost tentatively state that Shanmugam said that an indication of who will become Singapore’s next prime minister “could come from the People’s Action Party’s Central Executive Committee election which is slated for later this year.”
Further, the old article stated, “He [Shanmugam] hinted that whoever is picked as the secretary-general will have the best chance of becoming the prime minister.” This line is completely missing from the new article.
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Shanmugam: Singaporeans will know who is the next PM in 2019
Who will be the next Prime Minister of Singapore succeeding Lee Hsien Loong? That is the question on the minds of many Singaporeans ever since Lee announced that he will be relinquishing his position when he reaches 70 years of age.
Anxious and worried Singaporeans however need not wait longer as they will likely know who is their next PM in 2019, according to Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam. Speaking at a corporate governance event on Monday, Mr Shanmugam said the next generation of leaders have been given different portfolios.
“The phase we are at now internally is that a team has been formed,” he said. “That team has been put through its paces, has held a variety of ministerial portfolios. They still need a little bit more time with Singaporeans so that Singaporeans can see them and assess them for themselves.”He added that an indication of who will become Singapore’s next prime minister could come from the People’s Action Party’s Central Executive Committee election which is slated for later this year:
“This year, there will be a party conference in Singapore, (in) PAP, which happens once every two years. There will be a CEC elected …. There has got to be a general election before that and some sort of indication to the public as to what the slate looks like in terms of the top leadership well before the GE. So look out for the CEC, look out for changes next year that should indicate to you how things are working out.”Singapore has the same parliamentary system as the United Kingdom whose Prime Minister is chosen from the ruling party/coalition with the most number of seats in Parliament. Even before the next General Election is held, the ruling PAP is already confident of a victory as the opposition parties in Singapore are too weak to challenge its hegemony, especially since it has been split and weakened further by the PAP’s proxy – the Workers Party which has been confusing Singaporeans by portraying itself as a “constructive opposition” doing nothing to challenge the PAP in order to entrench and perpetuate its dictatorial rule forever.
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Political succession picking up pace: Shanmugam
"Next year will be an important year because PM said he would step down in 4 years," said Mr Shanmugam.
With the next General Election (GE) due by April 2021, Mr Shanmugam noted that there has to be "some sort of indication to the public as to what the slate looks like in terms of the top leadership well before the GE".
"So look out for the CEC (to be elected later this year), look out for changes next year that should indicate to you how things are working out," he added.
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Stable leadership transition crucial, especially for Singapore: Shanmugam
Governance has bigger impact in small states, affecting not only politics but other areas
The PAP will elect a new CEC at its party conference later this year, & Mr Shanmugam said the slate of candidates elected to the committee & the positions they hold will give an idea of where the transition process is.
Next year would be a very important year, he added, noting that PM Lee has stated his intention to step down by the time he turns 70, which is in 2022. "There's got to be a GE (general election) before that, & there's got to be some sort of indication to the public as to what the slate looks like in terms of the top leadership well before the GE," he said.
Looking ahead, he said the CEC election later this year as well as changes next year would give some indication of how things are working out.
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Next GE is likely a vote of confidence in next PM
I started thinking about the above after Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam put out the lay of the political / PAP land in a speech yesterday. It was the most expansive that I’ve heard so far on how the PAP elects its leaders, something that will happen late this year.
Yes, we know that the PAP cadres elect the members of its policy-making Central Executive Committee, which is almost a mirror of the Cabinet. And we know the members in turn select those among themselves to head the different party positions like chairman, secretary-general and so forth. We even know that those who didn’t make the electoral cut can always be co-opted into the CEC.
What we don’t know is how the candidates for the CEC were nominated in the first place, and whether cadres – the backbone of the PAP – always succeed in putting up its own candidates who may not already be in positions of power. There was just one occasion I can recall when this happened. Ayer Rajah MP Tan Cheng Bock was catapulted into the CEC decades ago, which given the current tension between the person and the party, is probably not something the PAP leadership wants to be reminded of.
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ESM Goh says 4G leadership an urgent challenge
He says he hopes PM's successor will be formally designated before 2018 ends
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has sketched out what he hopes would be a timeline for the formal designation of the next prime minister - the 1st time a senior figure from the People's Action Party has done so.
According to this timeline, Singaporeans could know who their next leader is before the year is over.
Writing in a Facebook post on the last day of 2017, Mr Goh said that the issue of the 4th-generation (4G) leadership is "one urgent challenge I would like to see settled".
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Singapore’s next PM 'very likely' already in Cabinet: PM Lee
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thu (Oct 19) that he is ready to step down as Singapore’s leader & that his successor is “very likely” already in the Cabinet.
“I am ready,” Mr Lee said in response to a question during a CNBC interview on whether he was ready to step down in a couple of years. “What I need to make sure of is somebody is ready to take over from me.”
Mr Lee, 65, has emphasised the need for leadership succession several times, saying that his successor must be ready to take over from him soon after the next general election.
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Irresponsible and incompetent of PM Lee for not picking a successor after making it a promise years ago
The Minister of Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam said that Singaporeans will have a clearer picture of the next prime minister in 2019. I didn't like what I have read. I will explain.
When the PAP won the general election in 2015, PM Lee Hsien Loong – accompanied by Tharman Shanmugaratnam – said that among his key tasks was to work on his succession. Now, 3 years have passed and there are still no clear signs of whom – among the 4G ministers – will succeed him as Prime Minister.
That is bad – what PM Lee has said so eloquently then and so many people heard him seem to have completely evaporated and gone with the winds.
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ESM Goh: "Ministers are not paid enough"
Top 20 Highest Paid Government Leaders
Govt debunks falsehoods on ministerial salaries
When will Singapore next PM be unveiled?
ESM Goh wants 4th-Gen PM to be picked this year
Next Prime Minister “likely” to be already in the cabinet
A Political Elite Class in Singapore?
3 veteran ministers step down for 4G leaders
Singapore 2018 Cabinet Reshuffle
Fourth generation of political leadership
Fourth generation political leadership taking shape
Order of Succession And Baton Passing
Ho Ching remains Temasek CEO
