Singapore’s ruling party yesterday set in motion a carefully orchestrated political succession that would see the powerful founding family hand over the prime ministership, a key moment in the city-state’s short history.
Singaporean Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat (王瑞傑) was unveiled as the second in command of the People’s Action Party, which has ruled Singapore since it gained self-rule from Britain in 1959, putting him on course to become prime minister.
The 57-year-old is expected to take over in the coming years from Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍), the son of former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀), who oversaw the country’s rapid economic development during three decades of sometimes authoritarian rule.
The power transfer, which begins as Singapore gears up for elections that could come as soon as next year, is in line with 66-year-old Lee Hsien Loong’s plan to hand power to a broadly younger generation of leaders.
Heng would be the country’s fourth prime minister and the second from outside the Lee family.
It will be a sensitive moment for the financial hub of 5.6 million people, with the country’s transformation into one of the world’s wealthiest and most stable societies inextricably linked in many people’s minds to the rule of the Lee family.
The party said in a statement that Heng had been appointed first assistant secretary-general, putting him in pole position to take over as prime minister.
The man seen as his closest rival for the top job — 49-year-old Singaporean Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing (陳振聲) — was named second assistant secretary-general, the party said.
During an unprecedented family feud last year that captivated the country, Lee Hsien Loong rejected allegations that he harbored political ambitions for his son — meaning the looming change of leadership could spell the end of the Lees holding the country’s top job.
However, eyebrows were raised in some quarters at the choice of the finance minister as the successor to the prime ministership.
Chan was previously regarded as the front-runner, while there have been concerns about Heng’s health after he had a stroke in 2016.
“Heng was the weakest candidate... He’s had a stroke already and he’s had a very narrow portfolio background,” said Michael Barr, a Singapore expert at Flinders University in Australia.
Heng entered politics in 2011 and served as education minister before becoming finance minister. Prior to that, he was head of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
However, Singapore Management University political analyst Eugene Tan (陳慶文) described Heng as a “tried and tested” official, particularly due to his track record in financial matters.
“I think Mr Heng would provide that rock-solid assurance that economic policies will continue to be business-friendly,” Tan told reporters.
Elections must be held by 2021, but Lee Hsien Loong has indicated they could be sooner.
The government is not expected to face any serious challenge to its rule — it tightly controls institutions and has firm control over the domestic media, while the opposition is weak and divided.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS