Cabinet reshuffle after Parliament prorogues to give younger members more exposure and responsibility: PM Lee

[SINGAPORE ] Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday (Feb 27) that he will reshuffle the Cabinet after Parliament prorogues to give the younger members more exposure and responsibility.

This will ensure that his successor will be supported by a stronger and more experienced team that is committed to lead Singapore in the future, Mr Lee said in a Facebook post.

Sharing a brief timeline of when the Cabinet reshuffle will take place, he said that the Budget debate will begin on Tuesday, after which Parliament will sit as Committee of Supply to debate each ministry's expenditure plans.

Parliament will then prorogue for a mid-term break, before re-opening in May, he noted.

President Halimah Yacob is due to give her inaugural address laying out the Government's agenda for the remaining term at the opening of a new parliamentary session in May.

Mr Lee said that he is is asking the fourth-generation ministers to draft the Government's agenda for the President's address. "It will give Singaporeans a better sense of them and their thoughts," he said.

Mr Lee had previously said that no new deputy prime ministers will be appointed at the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle, which suggests no clear front runners will be made known to the public even after the reshuffle.

The issue of leadership succession came to the fore when Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said last December (2017) that he hoped the younger ministers will choose their leader in the first six to nine months of this year, and that this person can be made PM-designate within 2018.

To this, Mr Lee said last month: "My assessment is, it probably will take a little bit longer.

In his Facebook post on Tuesday, Mr Lee also shared a photo from an early Chap Goh Mei dinner at the Istana last Friday with Members of Parliament, community leaders, and guests.

Chap Goh Mei marks the 15th and last day of the Chinese New Year, and is popularly known as the Chinese Valentine's Day.

THE STRAITS TIMES