PM Lee says changes are to build a strong ‘A’ team for Singapore
PM Lee
PM Lee announced new Cabinet changes for the 5th time yesterday (8 Apr), since the 2011 general election where the governing PAP performed relatively poorly.
The previous changes occurred on:
1 August 2012
1 November 2012
1 September 2013
1 May 2014
In a statement yesterday, PM Lee said, “These changes*are part of continuing leadership renewal.”
The changes this time are:
Mr Masagos Zulkifli will be promoted to full Minister with effect today (9 Apr). He will be appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and will continue in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Second Minister in both ministries.
Mr Chan Chun Sing will be appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s*Office. He will relinquish his appointments as Minister for Social and Family*Development and Second Minister for Defence with effect today.
Mr Lim Swee Say will be appointed Minister for Manpower and will*relinquish his appointment as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office on 4 May 2015.
Mr Tan Chuan‐Jin, currently Minister for Manpower, will be appointed*Minister for Social and Family Development on Thursday. He will hold both*portfolios until he relinquishes his appointment as Minister for Manpower on 4 May 2015.
Mr Lui Tuck Yew will be appointed Second Minister for Defence with effect today. He will continue as Minister for Transport.
Chan Chun Sing takes over from Lim Swee Say at NTUC
The Cabinet changes take place just as Mr Lim Swee Say resigned his Secretary-General post at NTUC. The NTUC Central Committee have unanimously elected Deputy Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing to take over from Mr Lim as Secretary-General.
On 30 Mar 2015, Mr Lim tendered his resignation from the NTUC Central Committee with effect from 4 May 2015.
Mr Chan – who joined NTUC on 23 January 2015 on a part-time basis, and who has been serving the labour movement on a full-time basis from 1 April 2015 – was co-opted into the NTUC Central Committee and appointed Deputy Secretary-General on 27 January 2015.
“The NTUC Central Committee, union leaders and staff of the labour movement thank Secretary-General Lim for his selfless leadership and friendship and for making the labour movement stronger and more resilient to serve our workers even better,” NTUC President Diana Chia said in a media statement.
Mr Lim said, “I am thankful for the privilege of serving workers, members and unions alongside the 6,000 union leaders and activists. The journey towards better jobs, better careers and better lives for all workers is a journey with no end.”
“I am flowing on but never flowing out. I will always support the cause of the labour movement and the tripartite partners, knowing that to be pro-worker is to be pro-business, and to be be pro-business is to be pro-worker. We are in this together.”
In a separate letter to Mr Lim, Ms Chia said: “As a union leader, you walked the ground and listened to workers’ concerns. You stood shoulder to shoulder with our union leaders and treated them with utmost respect.
“You made the labour movement stronger and more resilient to serve our workers even better. We are very heartened that you will always support the labour movement’s cause. We wish you well in your future appointments.”
PM Lee also said, “Swee Say has done a lot in NTUC: Helping workers to upgrade themselves, finding them new jobs when they are retrenched, assuring them that they do not face globalisation and international competition alone.”
“Chun Sing will have much work to do building on what Swee Say has done, but I am confident that he is up to the task,” said PM Lee.
He added, “These changes are part of continuing leadership renewal, to build a strong ‘A’ team for Singapore.”