Singapore – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the new slate of cabinet ministers for the upcoming term in a press conference on Saturday (July 25).
Ong Ye Kung will be appointed as the Minister for Transport in the new term, relinquishing his appointment as Minister for Education after serving a five-year term since 2015. He will be taking over the role of Khaw Boon Wan who announced his retirement on June 26, 2020. Mr Khaw served as Transport Minister since 2015, taking over Lui Tuck Yew who also retired from politics. Mr Khaw served the public for 42 years with 19 years in Parliament.
Upon hearing the news, members of the public expressed their support for Mr Ong as he takes on the new role. “I believe he will do every task well being given to him,” commented Facebook user Sylvia Tan while Facebook user Mohamed Nasri expressed why Mr Ong had done a great job as Minister of Education. “I hope the work he has done doesn’t go to waste.” Many were excited to see such improvements and innovations be implemented in the transport sector.
Meanwhile, a few questioned the need to rotate a minister’s portfolio every few years. “If the minister is doing well in his current role, why change in the name of giving more exposure? This is not good for the ministry as everyone has to adjust to a new minister,” said Facebook user Ho Yew Chin.
On top of expressing their support for Mr Ong, a frequent remark among the comments was of concern for Mr Ong’s role as Transport Minister. Facebook user Peter Lin noted that this was the only ministry that has seen this much leadership change, wherein a new minister would step in and the predecessor would leave Parliament or the Cabinet. “All who goes to Transport are on the way out,” said another netizen.
Facebook user Noel Lee Sun Yen took a more positive route and mentioned: “This was how the system works, so that all ministries may benefit from good performers who also share their administrative skills with others.” He added that by changing roles, all ministries might prosper.
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