- Joined
- Apr 9, 2009
- Messages
- 3,070
- Points
- 0
SINGAPORE'S outgoing Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, has said that he will not accept the position of Speaker of Parliament, even if Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong offers him the position.
In a press conference held this afternoon at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Zainul said this was due to him being voted out at the recent General Election.
He also said that it is unlikely that he will stand in the next election, but he remains dedicated to serving Singapore and its people.
Future plans
When asked about his plans for the future, Mr Zainul said this was a good opportunity for him to spend time with his family.
"Before I went into politics, I spent over 20 years in the media and in Malay Muslim community organisations, so I have not spent as much time with my loved ones as I would have wanted," he said.
The Senior Minister of State also gave a few hints about what lay ahead.
"PM has made an offer for me to do something. It is still early for me to say, but there are things I have been thinking about.
"I've always been interested in the Middle East, so if there is an option for me to be involved in the Middle East, I would certainly like to take advantage of that. It could be either in the private sector or in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he said.
Mr Zainual also said he hoped to play an active role in nurturing and developing young people who have come forward in politics so that it would help in the re-generation process.
Here are some live excerpts from the press conference that ended at 4pm:
