The following is the press release from the Prime Minister’s Office on the changes to the Cabinet.
The Prime Minister will make several changes to his Cabinet and other appointments. These changes are part of continuing leadership renewal and testing out of younger office holders for broader responsibilities.
The changes will take effect from 1 April 2009, except where indicated otherwise. A tabulation of Cabinet members and other office holders and their portfolios is at Annex A.
CHANGES IN MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENTS
Mr Teo Chee Hean will be appointed as Deputy Prime Minister. He will be the Acting Prime Minister in the absence of the Prime Minister. He will continue as Minister for Defence.
Professor S Jayakumar will relinquish his appointment as Deputy Prime Minister. He will be appointed as Senior Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and will continue as Co-ordinating Minister for National Security. He will also continue to oversee foreign policy matters which cut across different ministries and take charge of foreign policy issues which involve legal negotiation or international adjudication. He continues to chair the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change.
Mr Gan Kim Yong will be appointed as Minister for Manpower.
Mrs Lim Hwee Hua will be appointed as a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office. She will be concurrently appointed as Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Transport.
APPOINTMENT AS ACTING MINISTER
Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Senior Minister of State, will relinquish his appointment in Education and will be appointed as Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts.
RETIREMENT OF MINISTER
Dr Lee Boon Yang will relinquish his appointment as Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts and retire from the Government. Since being appointed a Parliamentary Secretary in 1985, Dr Lee has served in many portfolios including Environment, Trade and Industry, Finance, Home Affairs, National Development, Defence, and Manpower, before becoming Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts in 2003. The Prime Minister thanks Dr Lee for his many years of service and contributions to the Government and the nation.
CHANGES IN APPOINTMENT OF MINISTERS OF STATE
Mr S Iswaran will be appointed as Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, concurrent with his present appointment of Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Mr Lee Yi Shyan will be appointed as Minister of State in the Ministry of Manpower, concurrent with his present appointment of Minister of State in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
NEW APPOINTMENT OF PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY
Mr Sam Tan will be appointed as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry and concurrently in the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. His appointment takes effect on 1 July 2009.
OTHER APPOINTMENTS
Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed will relinquish his appointment of Mayor, North East Community Development Council when his current 3-year term ends on 30 May 2009. He will continue as Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr Teo Ser Luck will be appointed as Mayor, North East Community Development Council with effect from 31 May 2009. This will be concurrent with his appointment as Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and in the Ministry of Transport.
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Why can’t we have a leaner and lighter Cabinet? Last time we don’t have so many Senior Ministers and our country progresses as well.
What is the whole point when you have the older Ministers to give way to younger Ministers but they are still around. They should just let go and retire.
Many goverments including Japan at times like this are cutting down
on government expenditure which is the right thing to do.
Why PM Lee need so many Senior Ministers by his side to rule this
small country? He has taken over for quite some time, so by now he should be capable enough to do so without the need to engage so many Senior Ministers.
We don’t need a woman Minister for the sake of having one.
Does the newly appointed woman Minister speak up for the people or for
the government? We shall see. Man or woman MP or Minister does not matter to me, as long as he/she can truly speak up for the people!
So many highly paid and qualified Ministers to hold the hand of the highest paid leader in the WORLD. Either our PM is very sickly or needs all these people to help him do his job. The world leaders of continents must be super overworked as they don’t have SO many people to hold their hands. We have a system of governing that is either the best or the most expensive or the most inefficient.. Well done Singapore! Another world’s first for you.
Why do we need so many MM, 2 SM, 2 DPM to assist our only one PM to do all his job, so PM can do less is it? And will new SM increase increase in salary while poor Singaporean suffer without job, low salary to help their companies to pull thru this bad time?
In the first place why do we need so many so call top minister to assist our capable PM? Will this changes help Singapore to recover the losses Temasek and GIC created? Why Singaporean don’t have the right to vote for this changes?
Employers including the govt have always preached that any pay package is pegged to the job specs and responsibility or not not just seniority. It has now become habitual that when a senior minister relinquishes his job and takes on lesser responsibilities, like LKY &GCT when they stepped down as PMs, and now Jayakumar, they go into the PM’s office. It is business-as-usual for them to continue to pick up their previous salaries, and even increased ones, although their new jobs are much less than their previous business-as-usual in scale and scope.
This is unfair to taxpayers to pay such high salaries to these ageing politicians who are in semi-retirement. Mind you, we lesser mortals are asked to accept lower salaries when we reach our 60′s. But clearly not the immortals. In contrast, retired US presidents and senior officials for example continue to contribute free national services to the nation and they earn their keeps on a private basis. Here the PM’s office is turning out to be a retirement home for increasing nos. of ministers with no portfolio, working at half pace of what they used to do but on full pay.
What has LHW done to get the promotion ? She’s basically the loudspeaker for Tharman during the TH/GIC debacle !
55) Indignified,
“Here the PM’s office is turning out to be a retirement home for increasing nos. of ministers with no portfolio, working at half pace of what they used to do but on full pay.”
What to do ? We continue to vote for them out of no choice (walkovers), pay them exorbitant salaries despite downturn & they continue to suck us dry thru self promotion and continue to enjoy superscale perks at our misery.
May I ask how different are we from north korea ?
1) Why PM Lee change of cabinet so fast in April compare to giving out GST rebate or his wife still in Temasek Holdings?
The GE is coming soon & the preparation of days ahead when old man is not around.
2) Why Professor S Jayakumar bcame Senior Minister?
With Jayakumar becoming a SM, he will NO longer has the opportunity to become a PM. In other words, the next PM will be a Chinese. Jayakumar will join the rank of S.R. Nathan who holds high position but No power or authority. In short, a puppet. Goh Chok Tong will be redundant then and “retire from politics” when old man is not around.
PM Lee does not share the same ideas as SM Goh.
3) Why Teo Chee Hean became DPM instead of George Yeo even though George is more senior?
An American article (then PM was Goh C.T.) once published that George is suitable to be a PM. George is more respectable. Teo was from navy as PM Lee from army….Yes man, type.
PM Lee will spare no affect to gather his gang around who support his Dynasty, to make changes if necessary. As for SM Goh’s gang, they have to retire.
For the rest of the ministers, they have to ponder which leader they prefer.
In time to come, the PM office become overcrowded with SM, future SMs and MMs shall be posted to the various ministries to assist the young inexperienced ministers with portfolio. We shall never get out of the shadows of the past, Singapore future remains dim with old ideas.
in malaysia, the pm’s succession is written in the name RAHMAN…..
in singapore it’s in the phrase : YOU GO LONG WAY!
care to guess who’s the next pm?
The first thought that came to my mind when I read the reshuffle was “not another SM”. I don’t understand the rationale of having some many retirees actively involved in the government.
‘Renewal’ should be ‘old makes way for the new’ but this does not seem to be happening. Basically the cabinet seems to be ballooning instead. As a taxpayer, I find that too much money is being spent on glorified ‘ancestor positions’ such as MM and SM. A better approach would be to retain such ‘elders’ on a volunteer basis rather as paid employees. I believe that all ministers get a (substantial) pension after retirement so this would not be a revolutionary suggestion anyway.
After having earned well and retired, the older generation can be welcomed to be part of the governmental climate if they so wish to continue on a wholly-voluntary basis. Then, it would be a win-win situation in terms of cost (for the taxpayers) and the claim of the government that we need such elders to contribute.
What an interesting timing to a cabinet change and what an immediate butterfly effect reaction.
It is a hard world out there.
As the team begins to take off again, it must shed off the extra baggages for the GE fight……….
Two tigers on a hill……….
One or two sick or weak cubs….
Others – aging or stressed out or in panic..
It looks like it is the survival of an undocumented species.
National Geograhic or Discovery Channel may be interested to follow up.
Indignified,
you mention free and voluntary service and contribution to the country.
This is practical Singapore you know, everything is about money and money is the roots of all evil. If there is really so-called patriotism, then the leaders won’t be demanding to be paid top private sector CEOs’ pay in the first place.
They call the shots, they can do what they want, we the citizens can’t
protest against rising cost of living, GRCs, ministers’ pay, etc.
Practically, there is nothing much we can do, except at the ballot box.
“Here the PM’s office is turning out to be a retirement home for increasing nos. of ministers with no portfolio, working at half pace of what they used to do but on full pay.”
and one (got portfolio one) of them got the cheek to “suggest” JB as an ‘option’ for the rest of lesser mortals.
Can I say now Goh is not the only SM that there are 2 ?
That is good. At least when i goes overseas, we can say there is another SM in the country.
just kidding.
#42 kingrant & #45 SZ
People like me are not people like you!
I don’t vote an opposition for the sake of voting one, as it is a serious matter concerning the future of Singapore. If the opposition does demonstrate good manifesto in what they want to do to build on what we already have, and are addressing the critical issues affecting our future, I will wholeheartedly support them. BUT they have not thus far, except only picking on what PAP is doing wrong (in their perspective) and opposing without solid alternative views that we can consider.
You might want to give your vote to opposition just to spike PAP, I don’t. The opposition has to “earn” it and provide a sound alternative for voters to consider them as a credible alternative for the future of Singapore.
I sincerely hope we will have such opposition in the next election that we can cast our serious vote!
Singapore is where I want to continue to belong to, whether or not it is govern by PAP!
66) Singaporean on March 27th, 2009 5.52 pm
“I don’t vote an opposition for the sake of voting one, as it is a serious matter concerning the future of Singapore.”
can you predict the future with or without the opposition. To put it in another way, can you predict the future with or without the existing party. I don’t but it is always wise to put your eggs in different baskets.
“demonstrate good manifesto”
Any phd quality can write one for you.
“BUT they have not thus far, except only picking on what PAP is doing wrong (in their perspective) and opposing without solid alternative views that we can consider.”
Well, your P friends are doing the same by inventing rules and more rules to deter the O side. who has a better edge. you need to take a rest. next.
#66, The winning political party gets to set policies based on their manifestos and acts like Chmn of Boards. The civil service is really the apolitical machinery doing the entire thing. Nowadays, the civil service is already quite polished and well-tuned so much so that the ruling Party is mostly on auto-pilot! If the civil service slackens, like the Mas Selamat escape case, even the Minister can’t do a thing! So do you think we had capable leadership there? Do you think we have capable leaders in charge of your tanked investments in GIC? Do you think we have good Union leaders fighting for your rice bowls when there is a Minister on top to put down any rebellion from the Unions front? Do you still trust your democratic system in the hands of people who make a mockery of it? Is a vote every 5 years enough for you when in between you are supposed to shut up, bear it, and suffer in silence? Do you know what is democracy, basic freedoms, civil society all about, or is your brand of democracy merely about bread & butter issues, HDB upgrading and the 5 Cs and hunkering down with yr nose to yr grinding wheel while the PAP govt tightens its screws on you every year? Go live in a western country where an elected rep works for you and not lords over you!
Looks like #39 Singaporean was right about the postings and responses here, it is either you are with the people here to “hate” PAP, or you are poppers who are here to sing praise of PAP, even though Singapore was just expressing the hope of having more credible alternatives.
“Singaporean” voiced his perspectives, and just because his does not conform with the mainstream views and opinions here, he has to endured self-righteous opinions from others TELLING HIM WHAT TO DO (aren’t these posters just doing likewise what the Papies are doing)…indeed, he was right is saying (but allow me to add words in brackets to make it even more reflective):
“People who exalt freedom of expression (and democracy) in everything they say are in fact the very people that will whack and put you down at all cost if you do (dare to) disagree with their views and then claimed it as their rights and freedom to do so (but never bother to respect others’ freedom of expressions). They are in fact much more dictatorial than many of the “authoritarians” they like to attack.”
#66,,
i was once think just like you….now…i realised and learn what is political is all about. to do the job correct and right in the first place, anyone include you can do it. but the way the system and culture go among ‘themsevles’ is something i have been pounding all this while. are they ‘right’ to carry on same self-made constitution before accountability and transparency….the answer is BIG NO!!!
i am NOW craving for a CHANGE FOR SURE!!!!
69) Alternatives on March 28th, 2009 8.41 am
“People who exalt freedom of expression (and democracy) in everything they say are in fact the very people that will whack and put you down at all cost if you do (dare to) disagree with their views and then claimed it as their rights and freedom to do so (but never bother to respect others’ freedom of expressions). They are in fact much more dictatorial than many of the “authoritarians” they like to attack.”
Would you prefer an environment where iron-knuckle treatment as a disagreeable response is usually practised by dictatorial ‘authoritarians’ where force, however veiled, is the only modus operandi that they know best or one where non-use-of-force peaceful demostrations or postures, however robust or aggresive, as practised by those clamouring for freedom of expression.
Anyone who is discerning enough could easily spot the flaw of your logics and that of post no. #39 which you have so happily subscribed to. And the reason why human rights and freedom of expression is more genuinely practised by real first world countries than some pseudo ones who merely pay lip service to it more selectively just to join the club.
“Singaporean” voiced his perspectives, and just because his does not conform with the mainstream views and opinions here, he has to endured self-righteous opinions from others TELLING HIM WHAT TO DO (aren’t these posters just doing likewise what the Papies are doing)…indeed, he was right is saying (but allow me to add words in brackets to make it even more reflective):”
We have been reflective for almost 50 to 60 years – especially for those who are as aged as me.
Your friend does not need to pay a price of being sued and get arrested for his virtual suffering endurance. He just needs to sit back and enjoy his arguments being cut down to pieces, just like yours, by those who have probably crystallised their reflective moments after all these years to pen down their differing views.
If you have better stand, please pen it down and let us also endure some opinion of yours.
lol like whatever u guys say matter. WAKE UP FELLOW SINGAPOSHEEPS YOU HAVE NO SAY DON’T U GET IT?
39) Singaporean on March 27th, 2009 4.28 am
Are you able to have a view on TC investment thingie?
Are you able to have a view on MSK?
Are you able to have a view on G and T invtmts?
Are you able to have a view on press’s international ranking?
Are you able to have a view on IBA reports?
Are you able to have a view on who knows the details about the reserves?
Are you able to have a view on GRCs and Walkovers?
Anyway, it is a fact that there’s no democracy in Singapore, but equally, there’s no democracy here (in TOC) as well…looking at the way how posters who have different views, and think they can exercise their freedom of expression here are being bashed and bullied by the mainstream and die-hard anti-PAP posters here!
From the response of different posters here, it’s not hard to sense that some who professed freedom of speech and democracy here are equally guilty of being dictatorial in their perspective and opinions, BUT had conveniently hide behind their usual self-righteous claims of freedom of speech and expression, and use it as their best excuses and justifications of their equally strong personal sense of dictatorship.
For those who are not anti-PAP, there’s no point for you to express your views here…you are not appreciated and not welcome here!
You can only talk democracy here if you are anti-PAP, otherwise, shooo….
Letting off steam is great for the weekends ! As read, PMO – post ministers office, retirement office, etc , Singaporeans can be quite creative many like mr brown.
Cannot be too serious guys, the dice is already loaded- relax and listen to Leonard Cohen, “Everybody Knows” to get an insight.
The PAP will still be around for the next 20 years, and my guess – they will sweep all in the coming GE whatever is expressed.
# 66) Singaporean
The opposition has to “earn” it and provide a sound alternative for voters to consider them as a credible alternative for the future of Singapore.
I sincerely hope we will have such opposition in the next election that we can cast our serious vote!
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You should read up the history of S’pore.
In fact, MM Lee should NOT even be the first PM of S’pore. His dirty tricks of using ISA against Late Mr Lim Chin Siong and his groups claiming they were communist and put them away. Late Mr Lim Chin Siong was a former PAP member. How many Singaporean remember him?
Anybody who do not share the same ideas as MM Lee, will be gone sooner or later. Why Late Mr. Ong Teng Cheong was not given a state funeral whereas Late Mr. Devan Nair was given one?
Hotel Properties Limited had given a discount to Lee Kuan Yew and his son Lee Hsien Loong to buy condominium units (Scotts 28 & Nassim Jade).
Temasek Holdings, Town Council, GIC LOST millions of dollars. CPF cannot be taken out. Inflation is higher & higher.
Who should “earn” the vote?
Who should be a credible alternative for the future of Singapore?
it takes many painful years to bring Singapore to what it is today…like it or not, at least, we have safety, security and standard of living that many would like.
BUT it would only takes days to totally screwed up all those achievements, if we are not careful and not discerning in who we pick as the next government! It’s the truth, and no one can deny this fact! The choice is ours therefore, and let’s not be blind by our own emotions! It time to think with our head as well!
jerry, you are highly speculative, and those issues that you had addressed, we know it all and to a great extend, there was already disclosure made (at least, you know about the Hotel Properties incident through the MSM, right? And by the way, it is a standard practice almost globally for developers to invite preferred buyers, investors, associates and friends to pick on choice units with discounts before any public launch).
Losing billions, tell me which government did not lose billions and trillions in this economic crisis huh? It just evidently point to people like you who are only extremely good and sensitive at picking on negative things but failed or conveniently ignore the positive things!.
And all the above preceived PAP failures do not automatically make the opposition a credible alternative (and certainly not Chee Soon Juan with his big mouth that talks without thinking and accusing others without evidence). In fact, maybe the mistakes would even be greater or more disastrous if it was the opposition who were at it!
#77) jerry
‘Why Late Mr. Ong Teng Cheong was not given a state funeral whereas Late Mr. Devan Nair was given one?
Hotel Properties Limited had given a discount to Lee Kuan Yew and his son Lee Hsien Loong to buy condominium units (Scotts 28 & Nassim Jade). ‘
…………………………………………………….
Permit to clarify some of your points here. I believe the late Mr Devan Nair was not given a state funeral. It was the former President, the late Dr Wee Kim Wee who was given a state funeral. To LKY & the PAP, Mr Ong T C & Mr D Nair fall into the same category of ‘disobedient’ presidents.
It was reported in the press that LKY & son donated the discounted amount to charity a few months after this affair. LKY was adamant that he had done nothing wrong by accepting the discount when he was interviewed over this incident. He even maintained that by buying these apartments he was enhancing the value of the properties.
I hope #66 Singaporean, #69) Alternatives, #75) Where’s Democracy? & the like will continue to read and post their comments in TOC notwithstanding many here disagree with their opinions. I believe in democracy here in TOC whether you are anti-PAP or pro-PAP or just pro-Opposition. Hopefully, pro-PAP readers and voters can persuade the PAP government to practise more democracy in Singapore politics.
For me, I am not anti-PAP but pro-Opposition.
As Singaporean wrote, ‘Singapore is where I want to continue to belong to, whether or not it is govern by PAP!’ it is good if he were to ponder over the future survival of Singapore without the PAP. If and when the PAP leaders become corrupt and our financial reserves depleted by them in future, can the opposition parties take over a bankrupt Singapore and rebuild the economy with just two experienced opposition MPs and another 41 first-time MPs against 41 PAP MPs?
Vote Opposition to insure Singapore’s Survival!