Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat suffered from a stroke during a Cabinet meeting on May 12 and is now in a stable condition after a successful surgery.

Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam pointed out Heng's heavy workload, highlighting that Heng was "handling the Finance Ministry, various important projects, including SG50, and the Committee for Future Economy (CFE)".

So how is the government coping with the absence of Minister Heng in the meantime?

1. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam took over Minister Heng as the covering Finance Minister on May 12.

This is Minister Heng Swee Keat's most prominent role, especially when he just delivered his maiden Budget statement in March.

DPM Tharman was appointed a mere few hours after Minister Heng's stroke on a Thursday evening. DPM Tharman was no stranger to the finance portfolio as he was Singapore's Finance Minister from 2007 to 2015.

This news also captured the attention of the international media, with Bloomberg highlighting that Singapore has turned to ex-finance Minister Tharman after Heng's stroke.

2. Appointment of Minister S Iswaran as the Co-Chairman of the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) on May 16. 

The Prime Minister's Office announced yesterday (May 16) that Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran will be appointed as Co-Chairman of the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) with immediate effect.

It was a straightforward choice as Minister Iswaran was CFE's Deputy Chairman.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing will be appointed as the Deputy Chairman in place of Iswaran.

3. Tampines GRC MPs covering Minister Heng as Tampines Central MP, with former Tampines Central MP Sim Boon Ann appointed as the 2nd Adviser to the Grassroots organisations

This was announced by Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli at a grassroots event on Saturday (May 14).

Masagos told the media that all four other MPs for Tampines will step up to take care of Minister Heng's constituency.

Masagos also appointed former Tampines GRC MP Sin Boon Ann as the second adviser to Tampines Central grassroots organisations.

Sin will be a steady pair of hands as he was a former MP from 1997 to 2011 and his old constituency was Tampines Central.

However, this swift appointment proved somewhat controversial online as it highlighted the symbiotic relationship the ruling party has with the People's Association.

Top photo from IPS

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