During his speech at a press conference on May 13, 2024, incoming Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced changes to the Cabinet, which will come into effect on May 15.
He noted that in assembling the new cabinet line-up, he'd sought to "balance the need for continuity and renewal", adding that continuity and stability are "key considerations", especially as we are approaching the end of this term of government.
"A strong team"
"On the whole, we have a strong team with a good mix of both experienced ministers and younger office holders," Wong stated.
"I will be working and interacting with all of them."
Among the 4G ministers, some have been in office for several terms, while a number entered politics at around the same time as Wong, and others are still relatively new in their roles.
Need for fresh blood
Should his government be re-elected beyond this term, Wong plans to rotate the 4G ministers to different portfolios and give them "wider exposure and experience".
"Amongst them, I'm sure some will be able to step up and take over from their senior colleagues in due course," he shared.
Likewise, some junior office holders will be able to step up and shoulder larger responsibilities.
"But we will still need more fresh blood," Wong said.
He explained that some of the older ministers are likely to retire either at the end of this term or shortly after.
Wong is thus "actively looking" for new candidates with the potential to be office holders and aims to "further renew and strengthen the team" with new members — "especially men and women in their 30s and 40s".
What about promoting current SMSes?
While Wong's line-up includes nine Senior Ministers of State (SMS), he has not yet had the chance to "interact with them in a capacity as Prime Minister" and "assess their full range of work".
Rather than "rushing" to appoint them to a higher office position now, he said it would be more prudent for him to interact "more fully" with the junior office holders over a period so that he can better assess "who can contribute at a larger level."
"I do think as of now that there will be a few who can take on larger responsibilities," Wong disclosed.
He clarified that there will be promotions at multiple levels — not just at the ministerial level.
Eventually, when an SMS is deemed capable of running the ministry by themself, then they might be considered for a promotion to a full minister.
Full agenda ahead
"There is no higher priority for me, and that is to form the best possible team to serve Singapore and Singaporeans," Wong stated.
He said that his team's "full agenda" is to keep Singapore safe and secure, tackle the immediate concerns of Singaporeans around the cost of living and jobs, and translate Forward SG aspirations into concrete programmes that benefit all Singaporeans.
"More and more, many of the issues we deal with will involve close linkages between the economy and the society. And so I'll be working closely with both deputy prime ministers and the ministers to review and coordinate our policies across multiple fronts."
Wong's team will also be working with other partners such as the Labour Movement and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).
Aside from these, Wong added that he will be having two-way engagements with Singaporeans to garner feedback on policies and programmes.
"I look forward to involving all Singaporeans so that we can take Singapore forward together."
Top images via Lawrence Wong's Facebook