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Singapore's founding father quits cabinet

Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, pictured in April 2011, said Saturday he will quit the cabinet to make way for younger leaders after the ruling party's worst performance in an election

Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew said Saturday he will quit the cabinet to make way for younger leaders after the ruling party's worst performance in an election. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, the city-state's second premier, will also leave the cabinet, according to a statement he released jointly with the 87-year-old Lee, who holds the special title Minister Mentor. The surprise move by Lee and Goh, who turns 70 next week, came after general elections on May 7 revealed deep resentment against the People's Action Party (PAP), which has ruled Singapore for over half a century. It will be the first time Lee will be out of government in 52 years -- he was first elected prime minister in 1959, when colonial ruler Britain granted self-rule to Singapore, and stepped down in 1990 in favour of Goh. Lee's son, current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 59, took over from Goh in 2004, but kept his two predecessors as his closest advisers to tap their experience and international connections. "After a watershed general election, we have decided to leave the cabinet and have a completely younger team of ministers to connect to and engage with this young generation in shaping the future of our Singapore," Lee and Goh said. The two veteran politicians, who will remain in parliament, said the time had come for "a younger generation to carry Singapore forward in a more difficult and complex situation". Prime Minister Lee, who is due to form a new government soon, called the pair's decision to quit a "major event" for Singapore, adding that he will likely decide on Monday whether to accept their resignations. "The basic consideration is what is the best approach for forming a team which would be most effective in solving problems and establishing rapport and trust with the people going forward for the next five years," broadcaster Channel NewsAsia quoted him as saying. Although the ruling party won 81 out of the 87 elected seats at stake, the opposition managed to break the PAP's stranglehold on power by scoring its best performance since Singapore became a republic in 1965 after separating from Malaysia. Foreign Minister George Yeo was the biggest casualty of opposition gains when his five-member PAP ticket was toppled by the Workers' Party. In the most telling result, the PAP's share of all votes cast -- the equivalent of an approval rating -- fell to an all-time low of 60 percent from 67 percent in 2006 and 75 percent in 2001. The election outcome has prompted soul-searching within the PAP and the two former premiers said the new cabinet should have "a fresh clean slate". The elder Lee is widely credited for Singapore's rapid rise from a third-world trading port to one of Asia's wealthiest, most stable and safest societies with a per capita income of $48,000 in 2010. But he was also criticised for sidelining political rivals and stifling freedom of expression as he consolidated power. People who dared to oppose Lee often found themselves in court, charged with defamation and other offences. Ahead of the May 7 election, however, thousands of Singaporeans joined opposition rallies and vented their anger on issues including high living costs, the large intake of foreign workers in recent years and the PAP's perceived arrogance and aloofness after many years in power. Ordinary Singaporeans used the web, particularly social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to air their gripes and bypass the pro-PAP mainstream media, while former PAP activists and civil servants ran as opposition candidates. "I think the feedback was that the people are really very angry with the PAP," said Seah Chiang Nee, who operates the independent socio-political website www.littlespeck.com.