Ong Ye Kung – the only PM frontrunner who publicly thanked party members and senior politicians after being elected to PAP CEC

Although all three frontrunners tipped to succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong were elected into the People’s Action Party (PAP) Central Executive Committee (CEC) yesterday, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung is the only one among the hyped trio who publicly thanked his peers and the senior politicians who retired from the CEC, on Facebook after the election.

Thanking his party members for their support and issuing a shout-out to his branch activists, Ong made special mention of the five CEC members who stepped down to make room for the younger lot.

The Sembawang GRC parliamentarian wrote that he is “deeply grateful” to these senior politicians and that he looks forward to their continued “guidance and mentorship”:

“I thank Party members for your support in my election to the CEC. Special thanks go to my branch activists, who volunteered their time and energy to serve residents, week in week out. We are a newly created division, I know it has not been easy, but we will continue to do our best for residents, together.

“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. I am deeply grateful to them. We will work as a united team, and continue to count on your guidance and mentorship.”

Neither Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing nor Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat – the other two ministers tipped to become Singapore’s fourth head of Government – thanked their peers on Facebook.

Besides PM Lee, Chan Chun Sing, Ong Ye Kung and Heng Swee Keat, the remaining 8 members elected into the CEC are:

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam; Health Minister Gan Kim Yong; Culture, Community and Youth Minister Grace Fu; Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli; Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan; Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Ng Chee Meng; Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah; and Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Manpower Minister Josephine Teo were co-opted into the CEC and became the CEC’s 13th and 14th members.