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PM Lee unveils new Cabinet line-up

More than two weeks after a landslide victory at the polls, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday unveiled his new Cabinet, naming two new elected Members of Parliament to ministerial posts.

In a press briefing Monday afternoon, Lee said, “I have given heavy responsibilities to the next generation of leaders. They will be stretched and tested, and must gel together as a team. By the end of this term, we must have a new team ready to take over from me."

The 63-year-old Lee made good on his intent to put younger members of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) into positions of greater responsibility.

New faces given Education portfolio

He split the education portfolio into two, appointing new Ong Ye Kung, once his principal private secretary, as Acting Minister for Education [Higher Education and Skills] and Ng Chee Meng, former Chief of Defence Force, as Acting Minister for Education [Schools].

Prior to his appointment, Ong, 45, was director of group strategy for local conglomerate Keppel Corporation and deputy secretary-general of National Trades Union Congress before that. But he has also spent many years as a civil servant.

Ng, 47, a fighter pilot by vocation, has held various command and staff appointments over his 29 years of service in the military. He headed the National Day Celebrations Committee (NDCC) for Singapore’s Jubilee.

The two new PAP MPs are effectively taking over from Heng Swee Keat, who was named Finance Minister.

Heng in turn succeeds Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was re-appointed Deputy Prime Minister and named Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, a new post.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan was appointed Transport Minister and assigned the newly-created post of Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure.

Overcrowding in public transport and MRT breakdowns have been a bugbear among the general public in recent years, and many citizens have blamed the Transport Minister for the woes.

The post is widely seen as a difficult one, as the two previous transport chiefs – Lui Tuck Yew and Raymond Lim – retired from politics instead of standing in the 2015 and 2011 general elections, respectively.

Lawrence Wong takes over from Khaw as Minister for National Development.

Grace Fu appointed full minister

Meanwhile, the woman with the highest position in the new Cabinet is Grace Fu, who was appointed Culture, Community and Youth Minister, taking the reins from Wong.

The appointment comes amid calls for more women ministers. In an open letter last week, Corinna Lim, executive director of women’s rights group AWARE, urged the prime minister to take gender equality into account when he forms his Cabinet.

“With an electoral slate that was 22 per cent women – all of whom won – you have numerous competent female candidates for leadership roles,” she pointed out, adding that she hoped 22 per cent of the full ministers would be women.

There have only been two females appointed as full ministers before. The first was Lim Hwee Hua, who was Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office from 2004 to 2011, and the second was Fu, who was appointed to the same post in 2012.

In the new Cabinet, Tan continues as Minister for Social and Family Development.

Meanwhile, K Shanmugam was appointed Home Affairs Minister and re-appointed as Law Minister.

Vivian Balakrishnan takes over Shanmugam as Foreign Affairs Minister, while, in turn, Masagos Zulkifli succeeds Balakrishnan as Environment and Water Minister.

Two ministers for Trade and Industry

The Trade and Industry portfolio was also split into two. Incumbent Lim Hng Kiang was named Minister for Trade and Industry [Trade], while S Iswaran was named Minister for Trade and Industry [Industry].

Teo Chee Hean was re-appointed DPM and Coordinating Minister for National Security.

The new Cabinet line-up is similar to previous ones wherein the new ministers are largely drawn from the military and civil service ranks.

Heng was a new PAP MP when he was made Education Minister in 2011. He was managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore before then, and between 1997 and 2000, was principal private secretary to then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who died earlier this year.

Two other new PAP MPs from the 2011 general election that were later appointed to full ministerial positions, Chan Chun Sing and Tan Chuan-Jin, had careers in the military before they entered politics.