SINGAPORE – One of the contenders to be Singapore’s next leader on Monday said he had an obligation to be ready to take on the job.

In rare comments about succession by a public official, cabinet member Chan Chun Sing said whoever took over was unlikely to drastically change the government’s policy direction.

“All of us have to be prepared to do the job when called upon,” Chan, a former army chief, told journalists at a Foreign Correspondents Association of Singapore briefing, when asked if he would like the job of prime minister.

“In Singapore, leadership is a responsibility to be borne, not a position to be sought.”

Chan, 47, who holds the title of minister in the prime minister’s office, is one of a handful of men mentioned as potential successors to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who has said he is ready to step down in a couple of years.

Singapore news media have cited Chan as one of a number of contenders to succeed Lee.

Lee, who is the eldest son of Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, has said the new leader is probably already in the cabinet, but a clear choice has yet to emerge.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, also mentioned as a potential successor, has repeatedly said he does not want the job. The Singapore media and political analysts say Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat and Education Minister Ong Ye Kung are also in contention.

Questions about succession in the wealthy Southeast Asian city state – which has been governed by the People’s Action Party since independence in 1965 – came into focus when Lee, who has twice survived cancer, took ill during a televised speech last year and stumbled at a podium.

Doctors subsequently said there were no serious concerns.

Lee Kuan Yew’s successor, Goh Chok Tong, was identified at least five years in advance while the current leader, who first entered politics in 1984, was also groomed for the position long before he took office in 2004.

Chan entered politics in 2011 after serving more than two decades in the Singapore Army, retiring as a major-general.

Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla arrived in Singapore Monday to kick off an Asian tour aimed at cementing relations ahead of a meeting of Commonwealth states next year.

The heir to the British throne and Camilla are undertaking an 11-day trip that will also include stops in Malaysia and India.

British media had said the Foreign Office was originally considering including Myanmar on the tour, despite a military crackdown against the Muslim Rohingya minority, but in the end it was omitted from the couple’s itinerary.

After arriving, Charles, wearing a suit in the tropical heat, and Camilla met Singapore athletes who were taking part in the Queen’s Baton Relay, which travels around the world ahead of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

On Tuesday Charles and Camilla will receive a ceremonial welcome at the presidential palace, and meet President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

They will lay a wreath at the city’s Cenotaph, which honours soldiers who died during World War I and II, and will have an orchid named after them – an honour typically bestowed on dignitaries visiting the city-state.

In the evening the couple will be honoured with a state banquet.

Singapore’s foreign ministry said the visit “reaffirms the historic and long-standing relationship between Singapore and the United Kingdom” – the city-state was a British colonial trading post for over a century and formed part of the Straits Settlements with Malacca and Penang.

It won full independence in 1965.

After ending their trip to Singapore on Thursday, the couple will kick off a week-long trip to Malaysia. They will visit Kuala Lumpur, meet with tribespeople on Borneo island before heading to historic George Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Charles and Camilla will end their tour with a visit to India, where they will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Commonwealth Summit will take place in Britain in April, with leaders from more than 50 countries expected to attend.