Fourth generation leadership needs to be strengthened: PM Lee
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks at the third introduction of PAP's candidates for the next General Election. Photo: Wee Teck Hian
SINGAPORE – Giving little away as to when he would call for polls, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong nevertheless stressed yesterday (Aug 15) the need to strengthen the fourth generation leadership to take the country forward.
“I have a good nucleus but I need to reinforce that team and that’s one of the important issues in this election,” he said at a press conference held at the People's Action Party's (PAP) Punggol South Branch to introduce the party's candidates for Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC), and the Hougang and Sengkang West Single-Member Constituencies.
The impending departure of Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew - whose decision not to contest in the coming General Election (GE) was announced on Tuesday - is a "significant loss" to his team, said Mr Lee, who had said that he reluctantly accepted Mr Lui's wish to leave politics after failing to persuade him to change his mind. “I have to reinforce the team anyway, but this is one extra space to fill,” said Mr Lee.
On Mr Lui, Mr Lee said: "People have to understand that Mr Lui has done a good job. There's still work to be done and transport is not by any means complete but we have been making good progress over the last four years. I do not think that his going in anyway reflects upon his record. I'm satisfied with his record and the public, when they look objectively on what he’s done, will also know that he’s done a lot and I'm grateful to him."
Stressing the importance of leadership renewal, Mr Lee said the responsibility of the current national leadership is not only to run the country. “(It is) also to make sure there is depth on the bench and succession prepared so that in good time, a new team is able to take over and take Singapore further forward,” he said.
Mr Lee reiterated that the coming GE is about the country's future. "All constituencies look set to be contested and I think quite a number are going to be contested fiercely. You're voting to choose the next Government, you’re voting to choose the party and the team whom you can trust to safeguard your future, and you’re also choosing the team of MPs (Members of Parliament) in the constituency to take care of the town council and look after the town. In Parliament, your vote will decide the MPs and the ministers who will look after Singapore and take it forward," he said.
He added: "We are taking this very seriously. We are not taking any chances. And I ask voters, please vote for the PAP team. Vote for me and my team so that you and your children can have a brighter future." In the previous GE in 2011, the PAP brought in Mr Heng Swee Keat, Mr Chan Chun Sing, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin and Mr Lawrence Wong - all four are now Cabinet Ministers - to form the core of the fourth generation leadership.
On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean also spoke on the need for leadership renewal in the Cabinet. Mr Teo, who was speaking in a media interview, pointed out that several Cabinet members are already in their early 60s. Mr Lee, 63, who had a brush with prostate cancer earlier this year but has since been given the all-clear, said that new blood will be brought in at the coming polls to complement the 2011 GE batch. Leadership renewal is work in progress and never complete, he said.
PM LEE TIGHT-LIPPED ON GE DATE
Mr Lee, who is also the PAP's secretary-general, was tight-lipped on when the GE would be called. He pointed out that he has “not said that elections are about to come”, when he was asked why he was not waiting until the present government's five-year term to be up before calling for polls, and whether the PAP was capitalising on the Golden Jubilee celebrations and the death of Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, which triggered a massive outpouring of grief. “We are introducing candidates, when election comes it will come,” he said. Noting that it has been more than four years since the last GE, he added: “If you say early, it’s not early. If you say late, it’s not late. So I have to make a judgment on when it’s a good time to call elections and when I do so, I’ll explain why I’m doing that.”
Mr Lee, who is anchoring Ang Mo Kio GRC, introduced the other candidates in his team – incumbent Members of Parliament (MPs) Mr Gan Thiam Poh, Mr Ang Hin Kee and Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar, as well as new face Darryl David and Dr Koh Poh Koon, who has been redeployed after his defeat at the Punggol East by-election in 2013. Long serving MPs Mr Inderjit Singh and Mr Seng Han Thong are stepping down.
The PAP will be sending a new face, senior IT manager Lee Hong Chuang, into battle at the Workers' Party (WP) stronghold of Hougang, while Sengkang West MP Lam Pin Min will defend his single-seat ward.
Apart from Dr Koh, another defeated PAP candidate has been redeployed. Mr Ong Ye Kung, who was part of the PAP team that lost Aljunied GRC in the 2011 GE, was announced on Friday as part of the PAP team contesting Sembawang GRC. Mr Desmond Choo, who failed in two attempts - the 2011 GE and the 2012 Hougang by-election - to wrest Hougang back from the WP, is also expected to stand in another constituency.
Mr Lee said: "They don't decide where they go, the party decides where they go... the party decides where we can deploy our people to best take advantage of their contributions. I think what we have done... will make use of their contributions and will be able to serve voters a bit better."
Mr Lee noted that since the 2011 GE, more time has been spent focusing on political issues given how a Presidential Election and two by-elections - in Hougang and Punggol East - have been held in that span of time. "It’s caused people to think about Singapore politics which is a plus because it’s a serious matter and you have to decide which side you’re on," he said. But there is a downside as well - being so focused on domestic politics would mean that Singaporeans are “not paying quite as much attention to what’s happening in the world around us”, he said. "Close by to us, (things are) happening to partners which are very closely intertwined with us and if things go well in their country, it's good for us. If things go wrong in their country, we have no joy... We're always a little red dot and the world around us always has a very big impact on Singapore and many things are happening in the world around us.”
