PM Lee: 4G leaders “ready to take over”

Speaking to media members on Saturday, December 1, in Buenos Aires where he was attending the G20 Leaders’ Summit, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that People’s Action Party’s 4G leaders will very much take a leading role in the next General Elections, which could be held as early as the last part of 2019.

He said that the 4G leaders would be “taking the lead in the sense of setting the agenda, working out the policies, preparing the manifesto, making the pitch to the public, and actively campaigning during the election and organising the election.”

PM Lee also told reporters that PAP is approaching GE with a team with “depth.”

“It’s not just the present leaders, who are in their late 50s, early 60s — but also the next generation of leaders, 40s, 50s, ready to take over. I think that’s a very strong message, which goes beyond any specific policies and manifesto items or promises, but the commitment is we are here to serve and not just for now, but to serve into the future and you can rely on us.”

The Prime Minister also hinted that the next round of changes in the Cabinet could possibly be announced in April of 2019. This is believed to be the last reshuffling until the next General Election is called. Important changes in the leadership of Foreign Affairs, Education and Defense are expected to occur, with 4G leaders speculated to step into these roles. Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat and Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing, who were recently appointed as PAP’s first and second secretaries-general respectively, are expected to be appointed as deputy prime ministers in the cabinet reshuffle.

The most recent changes in the Cabinet occurred in April of this year.

Concerning Heng’s appointment as first secretary-general and most likely, successor to the Prime Minister, PM Lee said, “The 4G ministers have decided that Swee Keat will be their leader… and the MPs have endorsed this conclusion. So the party’s position is clear… first we have to fight an election, we have to win the election and after that, if all goes according to plan, well, the succession happens within the PAP, there are no surprises.”

Read related: Ong Ye Kung says ‘underexposed’ 4G leaders will visit all constituencies in next 1 1/2 years