Hahaha. Dunno what to say.
One of her most hilarious and ridiculous articles.
She will write anything to whitewash, justify and defend the internal politics and infighting within the PAP.
Liddat, anything also can lor.
She probably got a bukakke from the four contenders for writing this piece.
This is a shoo-in for SPH's "Ownself Praise Ownself" Story of The Year award.
S'poreans should get used to not knowing who the next PM will be, and it shouldn’t matter
Rather than hark back to a mythical period of certainty, Singaporeans can learn to become used to ambiguity. It’s fine not to know who the next PM will be.
Chua Mui Hoong
Associate Editor
DPM Heng Swee Keat (left) speaking at a press conference with PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on April 8, 2021.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Apr 16, 2021
Depending on who you talk to, the news about Mr Heng Swee Keat stepping aside as future leader of Singapore was either to be expected, or so shocking as to be seismic.
Various media outlets reported it differently. Bloomberg said Mr Heng's decision meant the People's Action Party (PAP) faced a "suddenly unpredictable scenario" and called it "a seismic shake-up for the party."
The Economist Espresso morning briefing note described it in less dramatic terms as a "jolt" in Singapore politics.
Mr Heng had been chosen as the leader by the so-called 4G or fourth generation of PAP leaders. He was made first assistant secretary-general in November 2018 and became Deputy Prime Minister in April 2019.
On April 8 this year, he announced he would step aside so that a "younger leader who will have a longer runway can take over".
This threw open the question of who would take over when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong steps down.
One week on, many Singaporeans are settling down into business-as-usual mode. Initial excitement over the news is fading.
For, apart from the suddenness of the announcement - why now, rather than time it when a Cabinet reshuffle is expected - not much has really changed.
Singaporeans have known since the July 2020 election that PM Lee intends to stay on till Covid-19 is brought under control. This is likely to be beyond his 70th birthday which is in February next year, which he had earlier indicated he would like to retire by.
If PM Lee stepped down in, say, 2023, Mr Heng as heir apparent was then expected to take over. But from 2021 to 2023 is two years, and two years are a very long time in politics.
Many observers would have found news of Mr Heng stepping aside surprising but not shocking. Indeed, my colleague Han Fook Kwang had written a day after the election, suggesting that the issue of leadership succession be reviewed, given how much the world has changed with Covid-19 and the (relatively) poor election result. And with PM Lee hinting he might delay the handover, Mr Han asked: "If the timing of the handover changes, should there also be a change of leader?"
Others said the news of Mr Heng stepping aside was not too surprising, given his medical history. He suffered a stroke in 2016.
While he made a full recovery from the stroke, a few incidents where he stumbled verbally in public have been remarked upon.
In his letter to PM Lee explaining his decision, Mr Heng said he was in good health today but also acknowledged the demands of leadership: "Having worked with you, ESM (Emeritus Senior Minister) Goh Chok Tong and MM (Minister Mentor) Lee Kuan Yew, I know that the top job imposes exceptional demands on the office-holder. In a very different post-Covid-19 world, the demands will be even more exacting. While I am in good health today, it is in the best interests of the nation for someone who is younger to tackle the huge challenges ahead."
ILLUSTRATION: MIEL
I've met Mr Heng on the job quite a few times, heard him at forums, and had a one-on-one interview with him before he entered politics. He comes across as equable and likeable. He exudes competence, and I recall his interview as one laden with solid insights, not hyperbole.
My own reaction to the news was one of relief, for his sake, and for his family. Singapore can have another PM. Mr Heng is irreplaceable to his family.
He is slated to remain as Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies but will give up the finance portfolio in the coming Cabinet reshuffle.
The myth of a highly controlled succession
A long view of political succession in Singapore helps put current events into perspective.
The PAP's successful political transitions from Mr Lee Kuan Yew, to Mr Goh, to PM Lee Hsien Loong, have been described as smooth, predictable, meticulously planned, and controlled.
While true in broad strokes, that version ignores the friction that is inherent in all succession planning, corporate or political.
That version suffers from bias of victors' history. It prioritises the narrative of those who succeeded, and ignores the alternate versions, the teams and individuals who were tried, tested and sifted out.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew himself became PM in 1959 only after a split vote within the PAP was broken by party chairman Toh Chin Chye who cast his deciding vote in Mr Lee's favour.
The transition from 1G to 2G was long and chequered, with some false starts. The older generation will remember the experiment in the 1970s, when Mr Lee brought in a group of highly qualified people with doctorates, who were supposed to form the core of future leaders. Dr Tan Eng Liang and Dr Ong Leong Boon were among those inducted into politics. Much was expected. Dr Tan became senior minister of state for national development and then finance from 1975 to 1979. But for various reasons, the individuals did not take to politics. Dr Tan went on to make significant contributions in the sporting community; Dr Ong, who was MP for Kim Seng from 1972 to 1980, continued with his active orthopaedic surgeon practice.
Then there was Mr Lim Chee Onn, who was described as of prime ministerial calibre by Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and tipped the man likely to lead the 2G team. He was made National Trades Union Congress secretary-general in 1979, but left after some problems with unions in 1983, effectively scuppering leadership plans.
He stayed on as a PAP MP till 1992; I remember because I was at Changi Airport to ambush him to confirm his departure - a move that paved the way for a by-election in Marine Parade GRC, Mr Goh's own constituency, on Dec 19, 1992.
In the end, it was not one of the PhD holders, or Mr Lim, or Mr Lee's other preferred choices, who became his successor. It was Mr Goh, who was selected by his peers.
It is true that after being named the successor in December 1984, Mr Goh went on to assume the post years later, in November 1990. Even then, the handover, meant for 1988, was delayed by two years as Mr Lee felt Mr Goh was not yet ready.
So the whole process, from 1G to 2G, was quite protracted, littered with the (political) corpses of quite a few men.
The transition from 2G to 3G was smoother, as Mr Lee Hsien Loong emerged as a front runner early on, and there appears to have been no strong competitor. He was made deputy PM in 1990.
And then came the health scare. In November 1992, the Government announced on the same day that both Deputy PMs Lee Hsien Loong and Ong Teng Cheong had lymphoma. Then Prime Minister Goh had to persuade former ministers S. Dhanabalan and Tony Tan to return to the Cabinet.
Luckily both DPMs recovered. Mr Lee went on to become PM in 2004. (Mr Ong later became president.)
What the above events show is that political succession is inherently uncertain and full of drama. While PAP leaders may propose; the people - and the gods - can dispose.
Leaders anointed by the party leadership may not gel with their own team; or may fail to win over party cadres; or can't build rapport with voters. Or they may suffer ill health or other personal crises.
Hence it is not accurate to keep harping on past successions as being predictable and tightly controlled. Doing so creates unrealistic expectations for Singaporeans.
As the protracted transition to 4G already indicates, succession will become more challenging.
First, party consensus is fraying, even at the top. This is why the group of 30 or so 4G leaders still can't decide definitively who among them should lead.
Mr Heng, who turns 60 this year, is more 3.5G than 4G and was widely viewed as a holding PM-designate till a clear 4G leader emerges. He picked Mr Chan Chun Sing, 51, to be his deputy, which the rest must have agreed to. Other contenders are Mr Ong Ye Kung, 51; Mr Lawrence Wong, 48; and Mr Desmond Lee, 44.
4G ministers (clockwise from top left) Chan Chun Sing, Ong Ye Kung, Lawrence Wong and Desmond Lee.
PHOTOS: ST FILE
And yet, when Mr Heng stepped aside, it was not Mr Chan who is named the next in line. Mr Chan himself said, during the April 8 press conference, that the 4G must relook the question of succession "holistically". Mr Ong asked for time for the team to "regroup".
Both men emphasised that the issue was not choosing one leader, but building the best possible team. Mr Ong put it thus: "When it is a race, you only have one winner at the end." But when leadership is viewed as a team, "we fight heart and soul on the field, and if we win, we have a trophy for the nation. And in that winning team, you will have a captain that can bring out the best of everybody".
The question of who will become PM is less important than whether the rest of the team support their leader.
In other countries, unpredictable political succession can mean citizens don't know which party will be in power, if different political coalitions are formed. Here, the only unknown is which one among a group of highly capable, already tested men, takes over.
As I wrote in a 2018 commentary, the period before the transition to a 4G PM is one of bounded uncertainty: "That uncertainty is a controlled one, bounded by some certainty. The likely successors are known, and capable. The PAP remains a dominant party with a good team at its helm. The fundamentals of Singapore remain strong: We are a successful, prosperous state with a cohesive, intelligent citizenry."
Living with ambiguity
Still, some Singaporeans are uncomfortable with ambiguity and would like to see a leader emerge quickly.
But politics is entering a different phase now, when we must all learn to live with uncertainty and build the processes to manage ambiguity better.
Future transitions - including the current one from 3G to 4G - will be defined by greater uncertainty.
The profiles of future contenders are likely to be more varied than those of the 4G, judging from the profiles of those who are MPs today.
As millennials step up, with their high level of social consciousness, we can expect more contenders for power to emerge.
Those contending have to work well not just within the party, but must also have the charisma to build up a public profile. Electability is a key trait for any future PM, even though citizens have no direct say over who becomes PM in a parliamentary system where the party in power chooses its leaders.
The above factors mean more jostling for intra-party leadership can be expected.
Inter-party electoral politics is also getting more contested, so a future PM can be from any party that wins enough seats in Parliament to take power. While so much angst is being felt over the 4G succession today, who is to say the 5G leader won't be from a different party?
Singaporeans should get used to not knowing who the next PM is going to be. This is likely to be the new normal.
Living with ambiguity and remaining open to whoever emerges as future PM means making sure our institutions and decision-making processes in government and organs of state remain robust to transitions and change.
I also believe that having a long-term PM who stays on for decades is a bad idea. Mr Lee Kuan Yew was PM for 31 years, Mr Goh for 14, and Mr Lee Hsien Loong has been PM for 17.
Listed company boards now have a nine-year limit for independent directors, after which they are subject to a two-tier vote by all shareholders excluding directors, CEO and associates. Some rules on term limits can be considered for the Cabinet, including the top job. Some churn keeps a leadership team on its toes and prevents stagnation.
While Singaporeans are used to leadership teams coalescing around one strong individual, a more complex, uncertain world requires a more networked, collaborative style of leadership that develops leaders across different sectors.
Mr Heng's leadership style - his penchant for holding conversations and building alliances or partnerships - is actually well-suited to this and his successor would do well to learn from it.
The truth is that Singapore can do well, regardless of whether PM Chan, PM Lee, PM Ong or PM Wong (listed in strict alphabetical order) takes over.
This is provided the leader is gracious and the others have the personal discipline and moral fibre and most of all, enough love for Singapore, to set aside disappointment and swallow their pride, and stay united to pull together.
One of her most hilarious and ridiculous articles.
She will write anything to whitewash, justify and defend the internal politics and infighting within the PAP.
Liddat, anything also can lor.
She probably got a bukakke from the four contenders for writing this piece.
This is a shoo-in for SPH's "Ownself Praise Ownself" Story of The Year award.
S'poreans should get used to not knowing who the next PM will be, and it shouldn’t matter
Rather than hark back to a mythical period of certainty, Singaporeans can learn to become used to ambiguity. It’s fine not to know who the next PM will be.
Chua Mui Hoong
Associate Editor
DPM Heng Swee Keat (left) speaking at a press conference with PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on April 8, 2021.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Apr 16, 2021
Depending on who you talk to, the news about Mr Heng Swee Keat stepping aside as future leader of Singapore was either to be expected, or so shocking as to be seismic.
Various media outlets reported it differently. Bloomberg said Mr Heng's decision meant the People's Action Party (PAP) faced a "suddenly unpredictable scenario" and called it "a seismic shake-up for the party."
The Economist Espresso morning briefing note described it in less dramatic terms as a "jolt" in Singapore politics.
Mr Heng had been chosen as the leader by the so-called 4G or fourth generation of PAP leaders. He was made first assistant secretary-general in November 2018 and became Deputy Prime Minister in April 2019.
On April 8 this year, he announced he would step aside so that a "younger leader who will have a longer runway can take over".
This threw open the question of who would take over when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong steps down.
One week on, many Singaporeans are settling down into business-as-usual mode. Initial excitement over the news is fading.
For, apart from the suddenness of the announcement - why now, rather than time it when a Cabinet reshuffle is expected - not much has really changed.
Singaporeans have known since the July 2020 election that PM Lee intends to stay on till Covid-19 is brought under control. This is likely to be beyond his 70th birthday which is in February next year, which he had earlier indicated he would like to retire by.
If PM Lee stepped down in, say, 2023, Mr Heng as heir apparent was then expected to take over. But from 2021 to 2023 is two years, and two years are a very long time in politics.
Many observers would have found news of Mr Heng stepping aside surprising but not shocking. Indeed, my colleague Han Fook Kwang had written a day after the election, suggesting that the issue of leadership succession be reviewed, given how much the world has changed with Covid-19 and the (relatively) poor election result. And with PM Lee hinting he might delay the handover, Mr Han asked: "If the timing of the handover changes, should there also be a change of leader?"
Others said the news of Mr Heng stepping aside was not too surprising, given his medical history. He suffered a stroke in 2016.
While he made a full recovery from the stroke, a few incidents where he stumbled verbally in public have been remarked upon.
In his letter to PM Lee explaining his decision, Mr Heng said he was in good health today but also acknowledged the demands of leadership: "Having worked with you, ESM (Emeritus Senior Minister) Goh Chok Tong and MM (Minister Mentor) Lee Kuan Yew, I know that the top job imposes exceptional demands on the office-holder. In a very different post-Covid-19 world, the demands will be even more exacting. While I am in good health today, it is in the best interests of the nation for someone who is younger to tackle the huge challenges ahead."
ILLUSTRATION: MIEL
I've met Mr Heng on the job quite a few times, heard him at forums, and had a one-on-one interview with him before he entered politics. He comes across as equable and likeable. He exudes competence, and I recall his interview as one laden with solid insights, not hyperbole.
My own reaction to the news was one of relief, for his sake, and for his family. Singapore can have another PM. Mr Heng is irreplaceable to his family.
He is slated to remain as Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies but will give up the finance portfolio in the coming Cabinet reshuffle.
The myth of a highly controlled succession
A long view of political succession in Singapore helps put current events into perspective.
The PAP's successful political transitions from Mr Lee Kuan Yew, to Mr Goh, to PM Lee Hsien Loong, have been described as smooth, predictable, meticulously planned, and controlled.
While true in broad strokes, that version ignores the friction that is inherent in all succession planning, corporate or political.
That version suffers from bias of victors' history. It prioritises the narrative of those who succeeded, and ignores the alternate versions, the teams and individuals who were tried, tested and sifted out.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew himself became PM in 1959 only after a split vote within the PAP was broken by party chairman Toh Chin Chye who cast his deciding vote in Mr Lee's favour.
The transition from 1G to 2G was long and chequered, with some false starts. The older generation will remember the experiment in the 1970s, when Mr Lee brought in a group of highly qualified people with doctorates, who were supposed to form the core of future leaders. Dr Tan Eng Liang and Dr Ong Leong Boon were among those inducted into politics. Much was expected. Dr Tan became senior minister of state for national development and then finance from 1975 to 1979. But for various reasons, the individuals did not take to politics. Dr Tan went on to make significant contributions in the sporting community; Dr Ong, who was MP for Kim Seng from 1972 to 1980, continued with his active orthopaedic surgeon practice.
Then there was Mr Lim Chee Onn, who was described as of prime ministerial calibre by Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and tipped the man likely to lead the 2G team. He was made National Trades Union Congress secretary-general in 1979, but left after some problems with unions in 1983, effectively scuppering leadership plans.
He stayed on as a PAP MP till 1992; I remember because I was at Changi Airport to ambush him to confirm his departure - a move that paved the way for a by-election in Marine Parade GRC, Mr Goh's own constituency, on Dec 19, 1992.
In the end, it was not one of the PhD holders, or Mr Lim, or Mr Lee's other preferred choices, who became his successor. It was Mr Goh, who was selected by his peers.
It is true that after being named the successor in December 1984, Mr Goh went on to assume the post years later, in November 1990. Even then, the handover, meant for 1988, was delayed by two years as Mr Lee felt Mr Goh was not yet ready.
So the whole process, from 1G to 2G, was quite protracted, littered with the (political) corpses of quite a few men.
The transition from 2G to 3G was smoother, as Mr Lee Hsien Loong emerged as a front runner early on, and there appears to have been no strong competitor. He was made deputy PM in 1990.
And then came the health scare. In November 1992, the Government announced on the same day that both Deputy PMs Lee Hsien Loong and Ong Teng Cheong had lymphoma. Then Prime Minister Goh had to persuade former ministers S. Dhanabalan and Tony Tan to return to the Cabinet.
Luckily both DPMs recovered. Mr Lee went on to become PM in 2004. (Mr Ong later became president.)
What the above events show is that political succession is inherently uncertain and full of drama. While PAP leaders may propose; the people - and the gods - can dispose.
Leaders anointed by the party leadership may not gel with their own team; or may fail to win over party cadres; or can't build rapport with voters. Or they may suffer ill health or other personal crises.
Hence it is not accurate to keep harping on past successions as being predictable and tightly controlled. Doing so creates unrealistic expectations for Singaporeans.
As the protracted transition to 4G already indicates, succession will become more challenging.
First, party consensus is fraying, even at the top. This is why the group of 30 or so 4G leaders still can't decide definitively who among them should lead.
Mr Heng, who turns 60 this year, is more 3.5G than 4G and was widely viewed as a holding PM-designate till a clear 4G leader emerges. He picked Mr Chan Chun Sing, 51, to be his deputy, which the rest must have agreed to. Other contenders are Mr Ong Ye Kung, 51; Mr Lawrence Wong, 48; and Mr Desmond Lee, 44.
PHOTOS: ST FILE
And yet, when Mr Heng stepped aside, it was not Mr Chan who is named the next in line. Mr Chan himself said, during the April 8 press conference, that the 4G must relook the question of succession "holistically". Mr Ong asked for time for the team to "regroup".
Both men emphasised that the issue was not choosing one leader, but building the best possible team. Mr Ong put it thus: "When it is a race, you only have one winner at the end." But when leadership is viewed as a team, "we fight heart and soul on the field, and if we win, we have a trophy for the nation. And in that winning team, you will have a captain that can bring out the best of everybody".
The question of who will become PM is less important than whether the rest of the team support their leader.
In other countries, unpredictable political succession can mean citizens don't know which party will be in power, if different political coalitions are formed. Here, the only unknown is which one among a group of highly capable, already tested men, takes over.
As I wrote in a 2018 commentary, the period before the transition to a 4G PM is one of bounded uncertainty: "That uncertainty is a controlled one, bounded by some certainty. The likely successors are known, and capable. The PAP remains a dominant party with a good team at its helm. The fundamentals of Singapore remain strong: We are a successful, prosperous state with a cohesive, intelligent citizenry."
Living with ambiguity
Still, some Singaporeans are uncomfortable with ambiguity and would like to see a leader emerge quickly.
But politics is entering a different phase now, when we must all learn to live with uncertainty and build the processes to manage ambiguity better.
Future transitions - including the current one from 3G to 4G - will be defined by greater uncertainty.
The profiles of future contenders are likely to be more varied than those of the 4G, judging from the profiles of those who are MPs today.
As millennials step up, with their high level of social consciousness, we can expect more contenders for power to emerge.
Those contending have to work well not just within the party, but must also have the charisma to build up a public profile. Electability is a key trait for any future PM, even though citizens have no direct say over who becomes PM in a parliamentary system where the party in power chooses its leaders.
The above factors mean more jostling for intra-party leadership can be expected.
Inter-party electoral politics is also getting more contested, so a future PM can be from any party that wins enough seats in Parliament to take power. While so much angst is being felt over the 4G succession today, who is to say the 5G leader won't be from a different party?
Singaporeans should get used to not knowing who the next PM is going to be. This is likely to be the new normal.
Living with ambiguity and remaining open to whoever emerges as future PM means making sure our institutions and decision-making processes in government and organs of state remain robust to transitions and change.
I also believe that having a long-term PM who stays on for decades is a bad idea. Mr Lee Kuan Yew was PM for 31 years, Mr Goh for 14, and Mr Lee Hsien Loong has been PM for 17.
Listed company boards now have a nine-year limit for independent directors, after which they are subject to a two-tier vote by all shareholders excluding directors, CEO and associates. Some rules on term limits can be considered for the Cabinet, including the top job. Some churn keeps a leadership team on its toes and prevents stagnation.
While Singaporeans are used to leadership teams coalescing around one strong individual, a more complex, uncertain world requires a more networked, collaborative style of leadership that develops leaders across different sectors.
Mr Heng's leadership style - his penchant for holding conversations and building alliances or partnerships - is actually well-suited to this and his successor would do well to learn from it.
The truth is that Singapore can do well, regardless of whether PM Chan, PM Lee, PM Ong or PM Wong (listed in strict alphabetical order) takes over.
This is provided the leader is gracious and the others have the personal discipline and moral fibre and most of all, enough love for Singapore, to set aside disappointment and swallow their pride, and stay united to pull together.
Last edited:
