Unless there is something else that we do not know, by the next General Elections, Singapore’s next Prime Minister will be Lawrence Wong or Ong Ye Kung. The “we do not know” part may be one of the following: (a) PM Lee Hsien Loong decides, for any kind of reason, to continue (b) Chan Chun Sing unexpectedly does something spectacular which makes him a folk hero (c) the People’s Action Party realises after all these years that a non-Chinese could be PM and chooses Tharman Shanmugaratnam (d) none of the above, anything else unforeseen but not impossible, like the PAP losing GE 2024/5.
Indeed, one of the things that many Singaporeans have been doing is watching the performances of Wong and Ong at the Multi-Ministry Task Force press conferences on Covid-19. Besides getting updates, they are also quietly taking a close look at and assessing both ministers: everything they say, whether they know their jobs, the way they handle questions from the press, every twitch and every eyebrow raise, how articulate they are, their character, leadership qualities, empathy for less well-to-do Singaporeans affected by the pandemic and so on.
Goh Chok Tong and his 2G cohort never really had this level of exposure during their time. Of course, they had to deal with financial crises but even at the height of these, they did not have to shut down a country for lengthy periods, to hold their breath at times when there had been no vaccines available. Although Goh and company were practically forced by Lee Kuan Yew to go through a series of Sunday walkabouts in the constituencies to connect better with the ground, they did not have to face the nation on such a regular basis – and in the midst of a crisis – like the MTF.
So, I am a little surprised that the just released In This Together (a Straits Times book on Singapore’s Covid-19 struggle) did not spend more time reporting on what members of the public thought of Lawrence Wong and Ong Ye Kung. The two ministers were being explicitly, not implicitly or indirectly, tested in the pandemic fight. Maybe The Straits Times is planning another book, I don’t know.
According to the daily, “speaking at separate interviews for the book, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong both used the same word – enjoyable – to describe what it was like to work together.
“But political watchers sat up and took notice after a Cabinet reshuffle in May last year sent a third co-chair to the task force – Mr Ong (Ye Kung), who had taken over the health portfolio from Mr Gan.
“With Mr Ong and Mr Wong being bandied about in discussions about PM Lee’s successor, would any rivalry extend to the handling of the pandemic?
“Mr Wong dismissed any notion of competition: ‘Ye Kung has been on my speed dial even before I joined politics. I have known him for years,’ he said, noting that he had taken over the role of principal private secretary to PM Lee from Mr Ong. ‘We know each other very well. There is no issue working together at all.’
“ ‘The goal of the task force is ultimately to land on ‘some sensible consensus’ over any disagreements and differing points of view,’ said Mr Ong. ‘It doesn’t need to be acrimonious,’ he added. ‘You don’t have to strangle each other.’
“He and other ministers say in the book that any arguments were based on science, evidence, facts and data, rather than emotions, ideologies or political considerations. In any case, the Prime Minister had the final say.”
That was it.
As PM Lee decides on who his successor will be, here are my five cents worth of observations:
- Ong Ye Kung is sharp and has an engaging public personality, added by his role as a de fault minister for “Chinese soundbites”
- But he seems prepared to defer to Lawrence Wong even as he appears not reluctant to carry the PAP hard-line torch if necessary, judging by his IPS Singapore Perspectives speech on why there is no need for a two-party system
- Gan Kim Yong is an honest broker in the MTF but he also seems to lean to Wong at the MTF press conferences
- Wong is Finance Minister, a heavyweight Cabinet appointment, he has done nothing wrong so far
With this, I wish all TISG readers Gong Xi Fa Cai and may the Tiger Year bring you roaring good health.
There will be no Sense column on Feb 6. See you on Feb 13.
Tan Bah Bah, consulting editor of TheIndependent.Sg, is a former senior leader with The Straits Times. He was also managing editor of a local magazine publishing company.