Beyond the headlines, news reports and commentaries, the picture that emerges of Singapore’s newest Cabinet shows a 4G leadership with a few rough edges yet to be straightened. PM Lawrence Wong seems to be a man in a hurry to shore up his power base with the appointment of those who passed the electoral test.
There are 15 full ministers, two acting ministers and
22 ministers of state and political secretaries with the PM saying that the appointments, including nine new office holders from the backbench as well as from the new group of MPs “is one of the highest in recent history.
Statistics are one thing. More important is what the changes mean to some individuals. Both Ong Ye Kung and Chan Chun Sing, both 4G ministers who came into politics with much promise, have not been made DPMs with Gan Kim Yong retaining his No 2 post. Of course, the two have been made co-ordinating ministers as a way to satisfy their ambitions. Gan is thus a compromise candidate.
Then comes Masagos Zulkifli, who had to give up his second job as Minister in Charge of Muslim Affairs to Fishal Ibrahim (in an Acting capacity). Masagos was under attack in his Tampines GRC headed by Workers Party veteran Faisal Manap in a constituency with the highest margin (30 per cent) of Malay/Muslim voters. His team nearly lost (52 per cent) because Masagos was seen as a lame duck in fighting for the Malay cause. Israel’s atrocity against Hamas in Gaza and his lackluster response angered not only many Muslims but also some other Singaporeans.
Then there is Janil Puthucheary, a rising political star. His rise has been halted because he was not prompt in tackling the complaints of residents of Northshore in his Punggol ward. Gan had to step in to mollify them with assurances that their unhappiness will be looked into. Puthucheary remains Senior Minister of State.
A notable Cabinet absentee is Ng Chee Meng, who scraped through with just below 52 per cent of the votes against a WP newbie in the single seat of Jalan Kayu. Ng came onto the campaign trail with a dark cloud hanging over his head; many had felt that he, as head of NTUC, was not against the sale of a 51 per cent stake in one co-operative, Income, to a German company. After his election victory, he made an unusual public announcement: That he doesn’t want a Cabinet post.
That must have put the PM in a spot. In announcing his new Cabinet, Wong was non-committal about whether Ng would get a place in the next reshuffle.
What many did not pay attention to was the dark horse in the Cabinet. Desmond Lee is now the Education Minister and could go on to bigger things. Wong said: “He brings a quiet but effective style of leadership. He listens actively and persistently and engages widely with stakeholders and takes decisive actions when needed.”
That is high praise indeed for a man who was moved to West Coast GRC from Jurong GRC to do battle with Tan Cheng Bock and team in 2020.
The top leadership in the Cabinet is still in transition and a mid-term reshuffle will make things clearer who is likely to be the next DPM.