Finance Minister and Tampines GRC MP Heng Swee Keat has responded well to “very complicated” surgery, and has recovered well so far, said fellow Tampines GRC MP Masagos Zulkifli yesterday.
He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the Ramadan bazaar on the open field outside Tampines MRT station, accompanied by other MPs for Tampines.
“We are optimistic, although cautiously, that he will recover well. We are giving space and privacy to him and his family, so he can recover as fast and as well as possible,” said Mr Masagos, who is also Minister for the Environment and Water Resources.
Mr Heng had suffered a stroke last month during a Cabinet meeting and was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday that Mr Heng is recovering well, after visiting him in the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.
Yesterday, Mr Masagos said the Tampines GRC MPs are relieved that Mr Heng is progressing well.
He added that grassroots leaders and advisers have been stepping up support for Mr Heng’s constituency so that although he is missing from action, residents “will not feel that they are missing the services that are due to them”. He said that while the Tampines GRC MPs have not visited Mr Heng, they have been getting information from PM Lee and senior Cabinet members.
He also thanked former Tampines GRC MP Sin Boon Ann, who has stepped up to take over some of Mr Heng’s duties.
“Because all of us carry the burden together, it has been made light for all of us,” he said.
On the bazaar this year, the fourth so far, he said the Agency of Integrated Care, which deals with long-term care for the elderly, has set up a booth for the first time.
A spokesman for the event said that beyond giving out brochures, volunteers will take down the details of visitors to the booth and follow up. About 40,000 visitors are expected to visit the bazaar, which features about 100 lifestyle and food booths, she added.
This article was first published on June 4, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
