ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – Singapore Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong is ready to hand over leadership to his deputy, Lawrence Wong after serving for two decades.
Lee revealed that his leadership succession would coincide with the polls scheduled for 2025 and be under the control of the New Prime Minister.
“I ask all Singaporeans to give full support to Lawrence and his team, and work with them to create a brighter future for Singapore,” explained Lee in his written statement, on Monday, April 15 2024.
Lawrence Wong is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Singapore. He is also Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Chairman of the International Advisory Council of the Singapore Economic Development Council and others.
As for his education, he attended Tanjong Katong Secondary School and Victoria Junior College. Wong earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. He also earned a master’s degree at Harvard Kennedy School in Public Administration.
Before he entered the world of politics, he was a civil servant. Previously he served as Chief Executive of the Energy Market Authority and Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Later, Wong was also reported to have contributed to the labor movement as an advisor to the Electric and Gas Workers’ Union, as well as the Building Construction and Wood Industry Workers’ Union.
He himself is the Member of Parliament for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC. He was first elected as a Member of Parliament in May 2011. In his career, Wong has held various positions in the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Communication and Information, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Ministry of National Development, and Ministry of Education.
Wong also led the Multi-Ministerial Task Force for Covid-19 in 2020-2023, which then became the spotlight in the country.
Regarding the transfer of leadership before the general election, observers consider this a bold step. But most expect it will have no impact on political stability.
“The safer thing for the party to do would be for Lee to hand over his post after the general election and give Wong time to build relationships with voters,” explained Nanyang Technological University political expert Walid Jumblatt Abdullah.
However, he also argued that an early handover would not affect stability as Lee might still be involved in the cabinet in some capacity.
The deputy head of the political science department at the National University of Singapore, Bilveer Singh, said that because Lee was expected to continue to be involved in government, the earlier the handover was made the better it would be. (ATN)
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