Foreign affairs minister Vivian Balakrishnan has made a statement on the 4G leadership succession that has been the subject of discussion since the recently concluded election.

"We are in absolute unity under his leadership"

Speaking at a July 26 doorstop on the two schemes to facilitate cross-border travel for essential business and official purposes between Singapore and Malaysia, Vivian spoke on behalf of the 4G leaders.

He said that they were all in "complete unity" behind Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Heng Swee Keat's leadership.

Here's a transcript of Vivian's full remarks:

"There's one further point which I would make on behalf of the 4G (leaders), and that is we are — all of us — in complete unity behind the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, so there's no need for any discussions or questions on that. I mean, we are in absolute unity under his leadership."

DPM Heng still in line to be next PM

Due to Covid-19, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has decided to slow down the pace of leadership succession.

Singapore's new Cabinet, which was announced on Saturday (July 25), saw six out of the 15 ministries getting a new minister.

DPM Heng continues to be the most senior 4G leader in the new Cabinet line-up, and has recently been appointed the additional role of Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies.

After the 2020 General Election (GE), there have been discussions on whether the leadership succession should be re-examined.

The People’s Action Party (PAP) team led by Heng won East Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC) with 53.41 per cent of votes, down from 60.73 per cent in GE2015.

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Top images by Abriel Tay & via MCI.