MM, SM may still be approached for advice: MPs
by Neo Chai Chin and Esther Ng 04:47 AM May 16, 2011
SINGAPORE – Even if Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong leave Cabinet, there is nothing to stop the younger generation of leaders from approaching them for advice, political watchers and two potential fourth-generation leaders said yesterday.
And it seems the sentiment is that any loss of MM Lee’s and Mr Goh’s institutional knowledge, should Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong accept their decision, will be limited by the continued presence of multi-term ministers and PM Lee himself.
Brigadier-General (NS) Tan Chuan-Jin, newly elected in Marine Parade, envisages both MM Lee and Mr Goh – who have nearly 90 years of political experience between them – also contacting Members of Parliament to consult on an informal basis.
While the departure of the two elder statesmen would give PM Lee and his younger team “room to break from the past”, in MM Lee’s own words, this situation “doesn’t mean that SM and MM will cease to be valuable”, said BG (NS) Tan, who has emerged as a voice for change within the People’s Action Party.
Fellow MP Heng Swee Keat (Tampines GRC) felt it would have been ideal for there to have been a period of overlap with the new Cabinet. “Nevertheless, PM and many of his Cabinet colleagues have been in the Cabinet for several terms. They’ve benefited from the institutional memory and wisdom of SM and MM,” he said in an email reply to MediaCorp.
The point was echoed by political risk consultant Azhar Ghani, who noted that PM Lee also possessed institutional knowledge, having served as long-time deputy to Mr Goh when the latter was Prime Minister. “And because of his proximity to MM, he would have discussed politics with him,” said Mr Azhar. MM Lee and Mr Goh were also elected in December to the PAP’s Central Executive Committee, the party’s highest decision making body.
Still, in their joint statement announcing their retirement from Cabinet on Saturday, both leaders were clear on the point that they felt the PM and his completely younger team of ministers “should have a fresh clean slate” in order to “connect to and engage” with the young generation. “It cannot be government as usual,” MM Lee had also said.
PM Lee also said on Saturday that the decision by the elder statesmen was a “major event” for Singapore.
He outlined that his “basic consideration” on his Cabinet line-up is to form a team “which would be most effective in solving problems and establishing rapport and trust with the people going forward for the next five years”.
BG (NS) Tan expects a “leaner Cabinet”, as do some political watchers – it currently comprises 21 members
Mr PN Balji, director of the Asia Journalism Fellowship at Nanyang Technological University, believes that some of the older current ministers will not feature when PM Lee announces the new Cabinet. He also expects the disappearance of ministers without portfolios, if a trimmer team is in place.
Several MPs were in a pensive mood yesterday, as they expressed sadness at Mr Lee’s and Mr Goh’s decision. Outgoing Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, for instance, posted on his Facebook page: “Received news of SM Goh and MM Lee stepping down with a heavy heart and a sense of passage to a new era.”
Even as this development gives PM Lee the opportunity to put his mark on Singapore’s political scene in the next five years – in Mr Balji’s words – Mr Azhar noted that the concept of generational leadership seemed unique to Singapore.
“Elsewhere in the world, you can be 50, 60 years old, and no one would say you’re over the hill. But you have George Yeo saying he would be too old to contest in the next General Election. We could see more Ministers stepping down before the next elections, just like how Yeo Cheow Tong and Lee Boon Yang have done,” he said.
But “given the current political landscape”, Mr Heng, 49, said he understood Mr Lee’s and Mr Goh’s desire to provide “a clear signal that PM and his team will be fully in charge and will have to work hard to forge a deeper bond with fellow Singaporeans”.
Source : TODAYonline – MediaCorp Press Ltd’s copyright
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