When someone gets a big "promotion", their friends and colleagues may congratulate them.

So, when Heng Swee Keat was announced as the new 1st Assistant Secretary-General of the PAP on Nov. 23, many people posted their public congratulations, such as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong:

But there may be others who are not so happy with such a development.

Here's what various opposition politicians and activists thought of Heng's new role.

Lim Tean

First up we have Lim Tean, the leader of the newly-minted People's Voice Party.

The former Secretary-General of the National Solidarity Party opined in a Facebook post that:

• It's too soon to say that Heng will be the next Prime Minister, as there's a chance that the PAP might lose the next general election.
• It doesn't matter who becomes Prime Minister anyway, whether it's Heng or Chan Chun Sing, as both men belong to the "same failed cohort" in the government.
• Singaporeans are saying the party is over, with Lim making a pun on the "celebrations" over the PAP's announcement and the PAP as a political party.

You can see it below:

Kenneth Jeyaretnam

Next there's a tweet from Kenneth Jeyaretnam, the Secretary-General of the Reform Party.

On Nov. 22, Jeyaretnam chose to address Heng's educational background.

According to the PMO's website, Heng has an MA in Economics from Cambridge University, and also holds a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

However, Jeyaretnam called those educational qualifications "mediocre".

He also took the opportunity to take a swipe at PM Lee, saying that his Top First (in Mathematics from Cambridge) was achieved in a "very narrow field".

In Jeyaretnam's opinion, his own son did better than both Heng and PM Lee, having achieved a Top First in Physics from Cambridge.

You can see it below:

But Heng Swee Keat's educational qualifications are mediocre while LHL's top First was achieved in a very narrow field compared to my son's top First in Physics from Cambridge. And yet all we hear is bs about meritocracy. https://t.co/V4kALi8C5R

— Kenneth Jeyaretnam (@KenJeyaretnam) November 22, 2018

Chee Soon Juan

On Nov. 26, the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) also weighed in.

Chee Soon Juan said in a Facebook post that Heng does not provide "bold, visionary leadership."

Chee said:

"Mr Heng has not articulated a plan that would take this country to a brighter future.

Instead, he has been on auto-pilot mode cruising along with his fellow ministers, bankrupt of ideas but continuing to collect the astronomical salaries that they all feel entitled to."

The SDP also addressed what Today highlighted as one of Heng's most significant achievements, steering Singapore through the global financial crisis of 2007 and 2008.

SDP was quoted as saying in their article:

"Also, the idea that Mr Heng helped Singapore's economy "come through safely" from disaster during the 2008 financial (crisis) is but a fairy-tale. The GIC and Temasek Holdings were on the brink of losing hundreds of billions of dollars invested in Western banks.

If the US government had not pumped in enormous amounts of funds through its Troubled Assets Relief Program to bail out the banks, Singapore would have been in a deep crisis of our own."

You can see it below:

Goh Meng Seng

The opposition political leaders mentioned so far have not referred to Heng's health, specifically the stroke he suffered in 2016.

Enter Goh Meng Seng.

The Secretary-General of the People's Power Party appeared to take umbrage at a comment made by Heng in reference to his recovery from the stroke.

Goh said in a Facebook post on Nov. 25:

"Thought of the Day - Heng Swee Kiat, are you a God?! "

"I am not God! " This is the most common phrase I heard from doctors.

No doctor in this world can guarantee 100% risk free full cure for any illness.

As far as I know, no doctor in this world can guarantee any stroke patient that they will Never have a recurrent second stroke...

So I was pretty shock when I read HSK said that he is pretty sure that he will not have another stroke again! Is he or his doctor a God or what?"

Goh appeared to be referring to comments made by Heng during the Friday press conference in relation to his health.

Heng said, in response to queries from reporters:

"I would not have taken up this appointment if I did not have the confidence that my health allowed me to do it. I consulted my doctors, looked at the medical reports as well as (knew) my own energy level."

However, he didn't claim to be God, as suggested by Goh.

You can see the post below:

Tan Kin Lian

And what of one-time Presidential candidate and lapsed PAP member Tan Kin Lian?

Tan is not quite an opposition figure, as he wasn't involved in opposition polities. Tan was a PAP member for decades but left in 2008.

In a contrast to the others, Tan had a simple and rather sweet message for Heng:

"All the best to Heng Swee Keat. Be MAD, make a difference."

Not bad.

Top image adapted from Lim Tean, Kenneth Jeyaretnam and Chee Soon Juan's Facebook pages

 

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