In the latest Cabinet reshuffle in Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Ong Ye Kung will relinquish his appointment as Minister for Transport after only nine months in the ministry.
Come May 15, 2021, Ong will be moved to helm the Ministry of Health.
Did not expect to be moved to another ministry
In a 30-minute radio interview with ONE FM 91.3 on Wednesday (Apr. 28), Ong said that he did not expect to be moved to another ministry yet.
In fact, he was ready to stay in the transport ministry for five years.
When asked what his reaction was when PM Lee broke the news to him, Ong said, as reported by The Straits Times: "I was wordless."
He then explained that PM Lee had called the individual ministers separately to inform them of their new posting.
According to Ong, he had spent 45 minutes chatting with PM Lee.
His time as transport minister so far
During the radio interview, Ong talked about his experience in the transport ministry.
He explained, as reported by ST, that the decision to close the North East MRT Line early on Friday and Saturday nights was important to speed up replacement works of insulators along the line.
Although he noted that some commuters were upset with his decision, Ong stressed that it was imperative for the maintenance staff to have more time do their work and help improve efficiency.
His time as education minister
Ong also spoke about his time at the education ministry, prior to his appointment as the Minister for Transport.
Ong, who was the education minister when the Covid-19 pandemic first struck Singapore in 2020, said that keeping schools open during that period was "one of the toughest decisions" in his life.
In most countries, their education ministers decided to shut the schools down in fear of an outbreak within schools, reported ST.
However, Ong explained that he did not want a whole generation of kids "missing out" and he wanted to keep schools open to give them an environment to learn.
Related stories
Top images from Ong Ye Kung/FB & MOH website.