PM Wong wants more private-sector leaders like Tan See Leng in Cabinet amid succession challenge
Dr Tan was group CEO and managing director of IHH Healthcare, and also founded Healthway Medical Group
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[SINGAPORE] The Republic needs more people with substantial private-sector experience in Cabinet, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said, pointing to Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Tan See Leng as an example of the different perspectives such leaders can contribute.
Dr Tan entered politics in 2020 after a long career in the private sector, said PM Wong in a ministerial statement on Tuesday (Sep 8) on the government’s response to a review of political salaries.
Before entering politics when he was 55, Dr Tan was group CEO and managing director of IHH Healthcare, where he led the group as its revenue doubled from RM6 billion to RM12 billion (US$1.5 billion to US$3 billion).
Earlier in his career, he founded Healthway Medical Group and served as its CEO from 1993 to 2002.
Referencing a motion by the opposition Workers’ Party in August on the future of Singapore’s economy, PM Wong said Dr Tan’s private-sector experience allowed him to speak with authority about the challenges entrepreneurs face, and what more can be done to support them.
PM Wong said Dr Tan drew on years of experience running businesses and dealing with its challenges first-hand, which gave his speech “a conviction that would have been difficult for others in the team to replicate”.
“So he brings a different perspective and has made a real contribution to the team,” said PM Wong. “I would like to bring in more people like him.”
Ideally, he said they should come while they are in their 40s, so they have the runway to learn, grow and take on larger responsibilities over time.
Citing examples of potential candidates, PM Wong pointed to CEOs of major listed Singapore companies in sectors such as banking, telecommunications, aviation and engineering, as well as people on track for such leadership roles.
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“At those levels, remuneration can run into several million dollars a year – well above even the revised MR4 benchmark,” he said, referring to the salary grade for entry-level ministers.
“We are not trying to match what they earn. We never will. But when we approach people of that calibre, we cannot pretend that the opportunity cost does not exist,” he added.
PM Wong said he had approached several CEOs and senior business leaders before last year’s General Election who he thought could make a real contribution.
Though none of them told the prime minister directly that remuneration was the reason they would not join, he noted that they were “earning several times a minister’s salary”.
PM Wong added that while he would not want someone whose decision “turned mainly on money”, he said it does not mean remuneration is irrelevant.
Looking at it from their perspective, he said such private-sector leaders would have spent years building successful careers.
Entering politics would mean walking away from that, taking a substantial reduction in income and contesting an election “with no certainty of success”, before starting again in a completely different environment.
“In the end, none of those I approached was prepared to make the move. But I have not given up. I am still looking and I hope to persuade a few to join us the next election,” PM Wong said.
Succession challenge
Aside from the need for more private-sector leaders, PM Wong also spoke about the challenges of recruiting from the public sector.
The prime minister recounted how he had approached several senior permanent secretaries whom he thought had the temperament and potential for political leadership.
“With their experience, they could potentially take on major portfolios more quickly,” he said. “In the end, none was prepared to make the move.”
PM Wong said many senior civil servants have meaningful careers, substantial responsibilities and competitive remuneration.
Political service, he said, would mean giving up that career path, and taking on electoral and public scrutiny.
“If the gap between public service and political salaries continues to widen, that hurdle will become higher,” he said.
PM Wong was eventually able to bring on board younger civil servants with strong potential and a longer runway ahead of them – such as Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo and Acting Manpower Minister Jasmin Lau.
Nevertheless, PM Wong stressed there is “still much more to do”.
Aside from Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, PM Wong noted that the three most senior members of his team are Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.
PM Wong said they helm key ministries and will all be above 70 years of age by the next term of government.
“We should not plan on the basis that they will continue helming these ministries then,” he said. “For the good of the team, and for the strength of our institutions, we need the next generation to take over.”
PM Wong said all three ministers understood this, and have been “pressing” him to put succession plans in place.
However, they are not easy to replace, said PM Wong, adding that he was facing similar issues finding someone to take on his finance portfolio.
Gan, who is also deputy prime minister, brings experience across both the private and public sectors and “commands the confidence of investors and international partners”.
On Senior Minister Shanmugam, PM Wong highlighted his decades of experience in law and government, as well as his ability to get to the heart of complex issues, weigh competing considerations and frame the choices clearly.
Few ministers have the same combination of judgement and experience at that level, he added.
As for Balakrishnan, PM Wong said he has been foreign minister for more than a decade and has built up deep knowledge of the issues and an extensive network of relationships.
“That experience matters greatly, especially as the external environment becomes more complicated,” he said.
PM Wong said the “succession challenge is real” as it is very hard to find complete ready-made replacements for ministers at this level.
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