Arguably the biggest news from incoming prime minister Lawrence Wong's cabinet reshuffle on May 13, 2024 was Gan Kim Yong's promotion to Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), with Heng Swee Keat remaining as the other DPM.

But another important post didn't grab the headlines: Teo Chee Hean as Coordinating Minister for National Security.

We know about the roles of the Home Affairs and Defence ministers in safeguarding Singapore, but the coordinating minister role is just as important.

And while there was no change on May 13, as like the other cabinet positions, the security portfolios will be the areas that Wong has to look into in the short to medium term.

Coordinating minister

Wong's cabinet has some slight similarities to Lee Hsien Loong's after the 2011 election, with regards to the top leadership.

At the time, Tharman Shanmugaratnam was appointed DPM and also Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, much like Gan will be.

PM Lee therefore also had two DPMs, Tharman and Teo Chee Hean, supporting him as prime minister.

The difference is back then, Teo was Home Affairs Minister and also appointed Coordinating Minister for National Security.

Or if you like, our security czar, after the U.S. government term for an official tasked with overseeing a specific area of policy.

So there was one DPM handling economic matters, and another handling security affairs.

Three previous coordinating ministers for national security — Tony Tan, S Jayakumar, and Wong Kan Seng had held the role for a total of eight years.

And Teo has been the longest serving coordinating minister, having taken on this role 12 years ago.

These are big shoes to fill for any of Wong's future teammates.

Security background

Currently, neither of Wong's DPMs have helmed either the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) or the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in their careers, although Heng did reach the rank of Assistant Commissioner in the police force before joining the civil service.

Wong himself has not helmed MINDEF nor MHA, though he was a Minister of State in MINDEF.

As for his predecessors, founding PM Lee Kuan Yew served as Second Minister for Defence, while Goh Chok Tong was a Defence Minister before he took the PM role.

But that is not to say Wong's first cabinet lacks experience in security affairs. After all, Teo remains in his post.

The current Defence Minister, Ng Eng Hen, was also not moved, nor was Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.

However, they are getting on in years. In December this year, Teo will reach 70 and Ng will reach 66, with Shanmugam having celebrated his 65th birthday in March.

Successors

But who will fill their shoes if our security ministers decide to step down one day?

A reasonable starting point would be ministers with backgrounds in either the armed forces or the security services.

However, the cabinet has seen the loss of two such contenders, under different circumstances.

Ng Chee Meng, Chief of Defence Force, and a former Lieutenant-General in the Republic of Singapore Air Force lost his parliamentary seat in Sengkang GRC in the 2020 general election.

Tan Chuan-Jin was a former Brigadier-General in the Singapore Army before joining politics. However, he stepped down from his government and political roles after news emerged of his affair with a fellow Member of Parliament, Cheng Li Hui.

Under Singapore law, cabinet ministers must be selected from the pool of elected Members of Parliament, so neither Ng nor Tan were available to serve in Wong's first cabinet.

Background not the only criteria

Wong may have taken steps to address this by promoting Desmond Tan to Senior Minister of State, and appointing Shawn Huang to his first political office-holder roles as Senior Parliamentary Secretary in Education and Finance.

Tan is a former Singapore Army Brigadier-General, while Huang was a former fighter pilot in the RSAF.

Sounds familiar.

But let's not get too hung up over the career backgrounds of our ministers before they joined politics.

Let's not forget that Ng, our long-serving defence minister, worked as a surgical oncologist before becoming an MP. And Shanmugam was a lawyer before entering politics and selected to oversee home affairs.

So a Prime Minister Wong could theoretically appoint any capable MP as his next security czar, regardless of their background.

Runway

So when exactly might Wong rearrange his security team? Perhaps history has some hints for us.

When PM Lee took the top job in 2004, Tony Tan (our former president) was serving as DPM and Coordinating Minister for Security and Defence.

Prior to this appointment, Tan served eight years as Defence Minister.

Tan remained in the post for a year before being replaced by S Jayakumar (another DPM) as Coordinating Minister.

At the time, Jayakumar was serving as Law Minister and previously helmed Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs.

Jayakumar held this post for five years before relinquishing it to Wong Kan Seng in 2010.

Wong also helmed Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs.

Wong in turned was succeeded by Teo less than a year later in 2011.

At the time, Teo had served six years as Education Minister and eight as Defence Minister.

Similar figures

Are there similar figures in the cabinet today? One might say so.

Like Jayakumar, Shanmugam is a long-serving Law Minister with extensive experience in handling home affairs.

Jayakumar became coordinating minister in 2005 at the age of 66.

If history repeats, Shanmugam, with his experience in home affairs and foreign affairs, would be the same age if Teo decides to step down next year.

Such a potential appointment will take into account the considerations for continuity and stability in Wong's government.

And if Ng decides to give up the defence portfolio, like Teo, another Education Minister could be tapped to head the Ministry of Defence.

Education Minister Chan Chun Sing also has military experience, having been a Major General in the Singapore Army and serving as Chief of Army.

So if and when Teo decides to step down, even if it's just a year later like Tony Tan and Wong Kan Seng, his two eventual successors may already be sitting in cabinet.

Top image via Teo Chee Hean, K Shanmugam, Ng Eng Hen and Mindef Facebook pages.