Ministers pledge to keep open mind, engage S’poreans
Following the announcement of sweeping changes to the Singapore Cabinet, ministers have pledged to maintain an open mind in reviewing policies and to engage Singaporeans from all backgrounds.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong unveiled the new Cabinet line-up on Wednesday, where all but three of the 14 ministries will see a new minister in charge. (Full line-up here)
Incoming Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who will take over from Minister Khaw Boon Wan, said in a Facebook post today, "I should keep an open mind as to what policies need to change."
"Boon Wan has done a great job there but I am sure there will be new challenges on healthcare and aging issues that need to be addressed."
"My immediate focus is to learn and understand the current policies and their impact on the ground," added the minister.
He will engage stakeholders and ministry staff to better understand their concerns and study how to "calibrate and improve" Singapore's healthcare policies.
The objective, he stated, is to provide "good and affordable healthcare for all Singaporeans".
"I am looking forward to working with the MOH team, and MOS Amy Khor, to better serve the healthcare needs of Singaporeans and address the issue of aging," said Minister Gan, who also thanked his Ministry of Manpower team for their hard work and dedication.
Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, who will move from the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources to the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, said on Facebook, "It's sad to leave MEWR after seven years, and I wish the MEWR team well."
Looking forward to the new challenge ahead, he said, "With the new Cabinet led by PM Lee, we will continue to engage Singaporeans from all backgrounds."
MICA Minister Lui Tuck Yew, who will take on the transport portfolio, also posted his thoughts on Facebook on Wednesday after the announcements were made.
"Moving to the Transport portfolio would be an interesting challenge given its political sensitivity," said the former chief executive of the Maritime and Port Authority.
In his first three months at the Maritime and Port Authority, Minister Lui used to make an average of one company or industry visit every day and it "proved to be most instructive," he shared. Discussions with people helped form training schemes and other plans.
Minister Lui pointed out that while land reclamation and building programmes were taking place in 2005 ahead of demand, this was not done in rail and road programmes.
"Raymond Lim had done much to redress this but it will be some time yet before the benefits are felt," he said.
And Singapore is now experiencing the "social cost" in not building up land transport ahead of demand, he acknowledged. "This is one of a number of areas that irks commuters. Going forward, we will have to do better."
He thanked people who posted feedback on transport on his Facebook page and assured them their inputs will be taken into consideration when reviewing current practices.
Minister Lui said, "We will need to explore how appropriate compromises and sensible trade-offs can be made."
