When Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced his new Cabinet line-up soon after last September’s general election, he made it clear that planning for leadership succession was a key priority.
Younger ministers and new office-holders were given a range of responsibilities to expose them to new areas of work.
The key assignments given to Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat – such as chairing the Committee on the Future Economy – led some observers to conclude he was the clear frontrunner among the fourth-generation leadership.
So when Mr Heng suffered a stroke during a Cabinet meeting in May, undergoing emergency surgery the same day, many were worried that Singapore’s leadership succession plans might be disrupted.
Then, two Sundays ago, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong caused hearts to pound when three hours into his televised National Day Rally speech – moments before he was to announce a recovered Mr Heng’s return to Cabinet – he faltered on stage and had to take a break.
PM Lee rested for about an hour before returning to complete his address.
Announcing Mr Heng’s return, and talking about leadership succession, he quipped: “After what happened, I think it’s even more important that we talk about it now.”
These episodes are reminders of the urgency of succession planning in Singapore.
Singapore is famous for its political model of identifying potential prime ministerial material far in advance. But even the best of plans can go awry, says law don and former Nominated MP Eugene Tan.
For this reason, Singaporeans should realise how important it is to have “sufficient breadth and depth in the Cabinet”.
It was something PM Lee himself addressed after returning to the podium to complete his speech on the night of Aug 21. “We’ve now got the core team for the next generation in Cabinet. But ministers or not, all of us are mortal.
“Nothing that has happened has changed my timetable, or my resolve to press on with succession,” he said, citing Chinese proverb sui yue bu liu ren, which means “time waits for no man”.
With succession now more urgent than ever, Insight looks at the issues and options.
This article was first published on September 04, 2016.
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