Who's who in the new Cabinet, and why
Also, WP’s largest parliamentary contingent ever
Hi everyone,
The big Cabinet shake-up was on Wednesday, with most of the group sworn in at the Istana on Friday. The stage is set for the next term of Government and Parliament, and the political leadership of Singapore’s civil service is now in place.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong made as many moves as he could – which he says are to test his new team – while leaving steady hands on economic and outward-facing portfolios. Breaking with tradition, he didn’t appoint a second deputy prime minister, keeping Gan Kim Yong as his solo right-hand man.
Chan Chun Sing – a former army chief – has succeeded Ng Eng Hen as Defence Minister. This move triggered a round of musical chairs among the 4G ministers.
New blood is plugging some gaps. Jeffrey Siow, a former permanent secretary who spent five years at the Transport Ministry from 2012 to 2017, is returning as acting minister for the perennial hot potato portfolio. In what must be quite a change of pace, former army chief David Neo is Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.
This wraps up a heavy month of domestic politics before this week’s Asean Summit and Shangri-La Dialogue, where the newly (re-)minted ministers will see their first international tests post-election.
This week, we look at what the Cabinet reshuffle means for the 4G and the potential 5G, and the WP’s two Non-Constituency MP picks:
Cabinet 4G
The news: The reshuffle created a core team of four senior leaders: DPM Gan and three coordinating ministers (K. Shanmugam, Chan and Ong Ye Kung).
PM Wong also kept experienced hands at the helm of five portfolios traditionally seen as weightier and more sensitive: Finance, Trade and Industry, Foreign Affairs, Manpower and Home Affairs.
Some younger/newer ministers have new portfolios: Chee Hong Tat takes National Development while Desmond Lee takes Education. Edwin Tong takes Law from Shanmugam, and has also been made Second Minister for Home Affairs.
The take: Nearly two-thirds of the Cabinet is now 4G, an almost-complete transition as the 3G takes a firm step back. At the press conference, PM Wong did not mention Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his opening remarks, while Gan and Shanmugam, who were among the seven on the panel, barely spoke.
The PM’s choice to not appoint a second deputy has kept us guessing about the internal hierarchy of the 4G. He was widely expected to pick either Chan or Ong, as past PMs have clearly marked out two key lieutenants. It remains to be seen if he will eventually appoint any of his peers to the post – practicality suggests that he will have to, as Gan will be 70 by the next GE.
Further changes are expected in one to two years, when more junior office-holders are ready to step up.
Then, we may see a handover of heftier portfolios still helmed by the 3G – including those held by Gan (MTI), Shanmugam (MHA) and Vivian Balakrishnan (MFA).
The 5G seven
The news: Seven new office-holders are fresh from their first election: Siow, Neo, Dinesh Vasu Dash, Goh Pei Ming, Jasmin Lau, Goh Hanyan and Syed Harun Alhabsyi.
Siow and Neo were pushed high – both are Acting Ministers and Senior Ministers of State.
Dinesh, Goh Pei Ming and Lau are ministers of state, while Goh Hanyan and Syed Harun come in as senior parliamentary secretaries. Dinesh will also be Mayor for the South East District, while Lau also oversees Govtech.
Six of the seven come from the top ranks of the public service. The last one – Syed Harun – is a psychiatrist from the private sector (he was also a Nominated MP, and resigned before the hustings to stand).
PM Wong said the large crop of new office-holders – who had all been tipped for political office during the hustings – reflects the importance of leadership renewal.
The take: In 2001, then-PM Goh Chok Tong brought in the Super Seven – a group of young MPs who took political office immediately.
Five of them, including now-President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Balakrishnan and former Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, became full ministers.
PM Wong has done something similar in appointing these seven newcomers – the largest crop of newly-elected MPs and office-holders since the original Super Seven.
They have taken political office immediately, and generally at high ranks, with no parliamentary secretaries among them.
All (except Dinesh, 50), are in their 40s or younger.
Their appointments reflect an assessment from the PAP leadership that they have potential for greater things.
They may be the building blocks of the 5G leadership, though more could be among the new backbenchers.
Two senior civil servants who resigned to join the PAP were not put into political office this time around – Foo Cexiang and Shawn Loh.
Surgeon Hamid Razak was also tipped for office during the hustings but was not included in the reshuffle. These three could find their way in down the line.
The WP dozen
The news: WP’s Andre Low and Eileen Chong will take up the two Non-Constituency MP seats.
Both were first-time candidates.
Low, 34, contested Jalan Kayu SMC and had the closest losing margin with 48.53 per cent of the vote.
Chong, 33, was part of the Tampines GRC team that got 47.37 per cent of the vote.
Their presence brings the total number of WP MPs to 12, and confirms that the 15th Parliament will only have two political parties in its aisles.
The picks also mean that senior party leader and three-term MP Faisal Manap will not be in Parliament.
The take: This is the largest contingent the WP has ever had in Parliament.
It had 10 elected MPs after GE2020, and retained those seats. Its presence has now grown with the two new NCMPs.
There was some side chatter about whether the WP would even accept the NCMP seats, now that it has a sizeable group of elected MPs and given its long-standing opposition to the scheme.
Accepting the seats gives the two rookies a chance to grow their national profile. At 34 and 33, Low and Chong are the youngest of the 12.
Some thought that 37-year-old Michael Thng, who gave the team’s concession speech on Polling Night and has volunteered with the party since 2011, would be the party’s choice instead of Chong.
But Chong’s selection rounds out the WP team. She is fluent in Mandarin and dialect, and adds to the WP’s thin slate of women.
She also has a background in the foreign service, a policy area the WP has traditionally been light on and may want to bolster.
The NCMP scheme currently provides for spots if there are fewer than 12 elected opposition MPs.
Labour chief Ng Chee Meng, who had asked not to be given a Cabinet position to focus on his NTUC and Jalan Kayu work, was not made a minister. But PM Wong kept the option open, saying that this was a temporary arrangement, and that he hoped the labour chief would be part of the Cabinet “before too long”. It could be Ng, or it could be someone else – the next NTUC election is due in 2027.
The new Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Faishal Ibrahim got to work right away with a Friday night Facebook post after being sworn in. He expressed grave concern about remarks made by a Polish blogger known as Critical Spectator, saying: “While it is valid to draw attention to suffering in other parts of the world, we should reject any statement that minimises the suffering of Palestinians.” He reiterated his views that Israel’s actions in Gaza are “oppressive and unacceptable”, acknowledged that many Singaporeans, including those in the Muslim community, continue to feel deeply about the tragedy unfolding in Palestine, and called for more understanding, not division.
What role will SM Lee play in the new Cabinet? He has been relatively quiet since the polls, and on Facebook after the reshuffle said he would continue to support PM Wong. He continued to speak broadly and often on national issues after handing over to PM Wong last May, and could still feature strongly in this term of government. Based on his activity in the past year, we could see him continue to use his clout on the international stage or wade in as an elder statesman on thorny issues.
Thanks everyone for being along with us for the GE ride. We’re thinking about the future of Unpacked post-election and would like to hear from you.
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