You guys continue to amaze me. People mention demotion, being kicked, set aside etc.
Here is the low down.
1) Wong Kan Seng is married to Ruth who is old man's niece and therefore cousin-in-law of the PM. Ruth and Lee Hsien Loong are 1st cousins. He is the least educated member of the cabinet. A former school teacher who went on to become Personnel Manager was pulled in by the old man.
2) Ministry of Home Affairs has been in the hands of the family from the day one as soon as PAP got into power except for 6 years when Jayakumar ran it. Chua Sian Chin is related to the family by marriage. Chua is best remembered as the silent minister in Parliament and the man who kept the Cold Store Gang under Cold Store.
3) When 9/11 occurred and it became evident that FBI was not talking to CIA, and CIA was not talking to god knows who. Countries around the world decided to have central coordinating agency for Intelligence and Singapore did likewise. What was deemed practical then has resulted in all Intelligence Assets of state coming under one umbrella. Who heads this is King. Jayakumar's political acumen is as big as a biscuit but everyone else knows the value. Home Affairs is now less powerful as the reporting lines no longer stop with the Minister.
4) A number of other things began to take shape in PMO in recent years. The Horizan scanning under the head of civil service is now in PMO. The Population secretariat under a former director of ISD was created in PMO and now the talent arm.
In terms of political capital and in priority, here is the list
1) National Security Coordination Secretariat - PMO
includes ISD, MSD, SID and all other minor intelligence support functions
2) National Population Secretariat - PMO
3) People Association
4) PAP
5) Singapore Press Holdings
Get the picture! Welcome to the real world of politics.
Here is the low down.
1) Wong Kan Seng is married to Ruth who is old man's niece and therefore cousin-in-law of the PM. Ruth and Lee Hsien Loong are 1st cousins. He is the least educated member of the cabinet. A former school teacher who went on to become Personnel Manager was pulled in by the old man.
2) Ministry of Home Affairs has been in the hands of the family from the day one as soon as PAP got into power except for 6 years when Jayakumar ran it. Chua Sian Chin is related to the family by marriage. Chua is best remembered as the silent minister in Parliament and the man who kept the Cold Store Gang under Cold Store.
3) When 9/11 occurred and it became evident that FBI was not talking to CIA, and CIA was not talking to god knows who. Countries around the world decided to have central coordinating agency for Intelligence and Singapore did likewise. What was deemed practical then has resulted in all Intelligence Assets of state coming under one umbrella. Who heads this is King. Jayakumar's political acumen is as big as a biscuit but everyone else knows the value. Home Affairs is now less powerful as the reporting lines no longer stop with the Minister.
4) A number of other things began to take shape in PMO in recent years. The Horizan scanning under the head of civil service is now in PMO. The Population secretariat under a former director of ISD was created in PMO and now the talent arm.
In terms of political capital and in priority, here is the list
1) National Security Coordination Secretariat - PMO
includes ISD, MSD, SID and all other minor intelligence support functions
2) National Population Secretariat - PMO
3) People Association
4) PAP
5) Singapore Press Holdings
Get the picture! Welcome to the real world of politics.
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