5 senior PAP members step down from CEC, making way for 4G leaders
Five top brass from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) have stepped down from its highest committee, making way for fourth-generation leaders to take their spots in the next few days, both within the party and the government.
According to local media reports, Prime Minister and party leader Lee Hsien Loong, 66, made the announcement at the biennial PAP conference at the Singapore Expo on Sunday (11 November), where some 2,000 party cadres had gathered to vote.
Lee, who is incumbent secretary-general, said the new CEC will meet and elect its new office holders in less than two weeks. Following this, he will reshuffle the Cabinet.
The five who retired from the party’s central executive committee (CEC) are its first and second assistant secretary-generals, Deputy Prime Ministers Teo Chee Hean, 63, and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 61; party chairman Khaw Boon Wan, 65, who is Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister; party vice-chairman Yaacob Ibrahim, 63, and treasurer Lim Swee Say, 64.
The party’s assistant secretary-general positions are usually filled by the Deputy Prime Ministers.
Other new CEC members
Other than Lee, the others who were elected to the CEC on Sunday were incumbent assistant treasurer K. Shanmugam, 59; organising secretaries Gan Kim Yong, 59, Chan Chun Sing, 49, and Ong Ye Kung, 48; and CEC members Grace Fu, 54, Heng Swee Keat, 57, Tan Chuan-Jin, 49, Vivian Balakrishnan, 57, and Masagos Zulkifli, 55.
Newly elected to the CEC were Indranee Rajah, 55, and Ng Chee Meng, 50. Coopted into the CEC with the 13th and 14th highest votes were Ng Eng Hen, 59, and Josephine Teo, 50.
“My election into the CEC is made possible because my senior colleagues, namely DPM Teo Chee Hean, DPM Tharman, Minister Khaw Boon Wan, Mr Yaacob Ibrahim and Mr Lim Swee Say, graciously stepped down from the CEC to give the younger ones the opportunity to take on greater responsibilities,” said Ong, who is Minister for Education, in a Facebook post following the conference.
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