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The choice of the Deputy Prime Minister will be made by Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at a press conference on Apr. 16.

Regarding the exercise that saw Wong "overwhelmingly" voted as the leader of the 4G team of ministers, PM Lee said:

"In this case, the exercise was to choose the leader of the 4G team. It was not to choose his (the 4G leader's) deputy, it was not to choose a 5G leader.

Therefore there was no decision made on the deputy and in due course, Lawrence will decide who will be his deputy and who will be in his core team."

The 4G minister must work with and support one another

PM Lee also voiced his hope for Wong to "induct more promising leaders into the team" so as to build up the 5G team of ministers for the country.

PM Lee defined the criteria for selecting leaders as such:

"In choosing a leader, we are always looking for somebody who can bring the team together, to get the best out of each team member. And especially this time I advise the ministers that this should be a major consideration in choosing the next leader.

The world is getting more complicated. Our challenges are getting greater and more multifarious. Our internal politics is also evolving, and you must maximise the abilities and the experiences and the instincts of people from a wide range of backgrounds, and get them to work together so that you have an outstanding result which no single person can deliver."

How previous PMs did it

PM Lee further highlighted how the late Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong and himself, had all benefitted from having a team of people from a wide range of backgrounds to work together and deliver results that no one single person can.

"To be effective as a PM, he must be able to trust and rely on his ministers, and his ministers must also be team players supporting their PM, and supporting the team. And they all have to help the team score goals collectively for Singapore," he said.

Noting that this is how the Cabinet in Singapore is able to deliver results, PM Lee also cited the cabinets of other unspecified countries as a warning, with news of their rivalries and internal politics "even" making its way into Singapore's media.

"These destructive dynamics, all these years we have avoided them and that's been a very important factor in the PAP's success and in Singapore's success. And for Singapore's sake, we must ensure that the PAP government always continues to work like this."

Lawrence Wong: Leadership is "fundamentally" about the team

PM Lee's stance on the importance of teamwork was echoed by Wong, who said that leadership is "fundamentally" about the team.

"Everyone in the team brings with them their unique capabilities and strengths," he said.

With regard to the 4G team, Wong said:

"So for example, some of us in the team come from the public sector, and we have more exposure with regard to policy work. Others come from the private sector and they contribute different perspectives and ideas. I value this diversity in our team greatly."

Such diversity is also reflected in the elected MPs who have their own constituencies but also champion a range of important causes and issues, he added.

Wong said that while they had been working together more closely for the past two years, many of them have also been working together for more than a decade in politics.

They have therefore come to know one another's strengths better, as well grow their confidence and trust in each other, he said.

Wong said: "As leader of the team, I will do my best to ensure that the contributions from the entire team will be greater than the sum of the individual parts."

His team will also strive to learn and improve on areas where they fall short, he added.

"So this is what Singaporeans can expect from me and my team. Collectively, we will always do our best for our people and our nation," he said.

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Top image by Fyrol, MCI via PM Lee's Facebook page.

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