PM Lee Hsien Loong’s remarks at the Press Conference on the Cabinet Reshuffle (Mar 2009)

PM Lee Hsien Loong: I asked for some questions from the journalists to follow up on the reshuffle which we did last week and I got a long list of questions. I thought I will give you a summary of the main points which you have raised and then afterwards we can have an exchange.

This reshuffle is another step forward in the long process of self-renewal. It's a continuing exercise. Each step is careful, measured but cumulatively and progressively over the years the effect is of a substantial decisive change. I came in in 2004, it's almost five years since then. Since I came in we've had several ministers retire: Dr Tony Tan, Mr Yeo Cheow Tong and now Dr Lee Boon Yang and we have promoted several full and now acting ministers: Raymond Lim, Shanmugam, Gan Kim Yong and now...Gan Kim Yong, Lim Hwee Hua and Lui Tuck Yew who's Acting Minister. It's a good mix of people from the public sector and also a significant number who have had private sector or business experience like Gan Kim Yong, who was in NatSteel, and before that was Hwee Hua who was an admin officer and spent time in the private sector.

So, you have to see this in the context of this continuing inexorable process. If you look at the individual persons who have moved this time; Teo Chee Hean, made him Deputy Prime Minister, first of all he deserves promotion and I believe he can make a contribution beyond what he has been doing in his portfolio in Defence and also PSD. And especially during this economic crisis when we need good policies, good implementation and also good political work on the ground and I think Chee Hean can make a contribution in all three areas. I also announced that he is going to be Acting PM in my absence and I think there are two reasons for this. One is to show that there is depth in our leadership team, it's not just one person running everything but there are others who are making significant contributions and more than pulling their own weight and it's also secondly a signal that a younger team is in charge, and we are looking ahead and moving forward.

[section section_speaker_id="1" section_short_name="0"] I think that I'm reluctant to say it's more difficult because we've been able to get good people to come in. But I would say that the last time there were a few people whom we asked to come in, who were not ready to come in yet, and eventually we didn't field them. It doesn't mean we've given up trying. We will continue trying but I think that with many more opportunities in the private sector now, the talent will be much more scattered and it will be harder for us to gather them in order to try and start persuading them. As I explained to you, they are in more different places. So if you become a brilliant scientist or a researcher and I decide that I need a minister, I've to try and extrapolate, will he fit - from test-tubes and laboratories to kissing babies and running ministries? It's a huge jump and it's risky. So if I ask him to come in because I want him to take the risk, he will ask, will I succeed? If I come in, if I don't do well, can I come back and be a scientist again? It's a risky business, so that makes it harder. I think it's harder for people to decide to say yes.

Q: The Malay community understands that promotions are based on merit. But looking at the current promotion, they are more worried about the Malay leadership renewal process. What's your thought?

Q: You talked about leadership transition and all that, so is the next PM already in the Cabinet right now?

PM Lee: I cannot say. Maybe, maybe not. But it depends on how they develop and how the dynamics work out amongst themselves for them.  It is for them to decide who will be the leader and whom they will support as their leader. It's not for me to decide because I'm not going to be the one having to work under them, under the new leader, but it's the group themselves who've to decide. And there has to be group dynamics. Whom do you acknowledge as your leader? And it takes a while working together getting to know one another. And then after some years you say yes, ok, we're prepared to go with this person, he leads, we will follow his judgment and we will support him and help him. It has to work like that. There is no way you can say one person is the best or the brightest or the most eloquent, and therefore he would be the leader. It has to emerge from the group process, which was the way SM was chosen as the leader from his generation and my generation. And I became PM because my peers in Cabinet supported me.

Q: Looking at the last two elections, I think the 2001 elections sort of raised public expectations in terms of a bumper crop, in terms of the number of ministers. Would you say that considering the number of MPs that came in in the 2006 elections, how satisfied are you in the pace of renewal? Are they matching up?

PM Lee: (laughs) We are trying to develop maximum sustainable yield. There is a talent. Every year there's fresh talent. And every four to five years we make a harvest. So in 2001 we had, as you said, a bumper crop and I made a tally of the ministers in Cabinet, I think I have five or six of them who were from that year now: Tharman, Khaw Boon Wan, Gan Kim Yong, Ng Eng Hen, Vivian. Quite a number of them. Whether I can do that every term, I don't know. I doubt it. I mean if you look back at the last five to six elections, some elections we've had many; some elections we've had few. In my year there was me, Wong Kan Seng, Lee Boon Yang, Yeo Cheow Tong. Mah Bow Tan in fact was my year too but he lost but he came in again. He was elected 1988 together with George Yeo. Then we had Lim Hng Kiang in 1991. Then Teo Chee Hean came in in a by-election. Then 1997, I had Lim Swee Say and Yaacob. 2001 I had five. And 2006 I've so far had one.

So if I can get a steady stream of three to four per election I am doing ok, but I am looking for a core team of leadership, not just ministers but the core team from whom you will have the key ministers and a Prime Minister. And that is what we're aiming for, which is aiming very high.

Q: PM, if you don't mind me being blunt, the 2006 crop we had one and now the situation looks a little bit dire going ahead which is why perhaps we are also curious as to how the progress has been in your search now for the next generation of leaders.

PM Lee: Well, I can't tell you who they are but I can tell you we've been working hard at it and we have a list. Doesn't mean that everybody will make it through to be fielded but we have a list of potential people whom we're thinking about. I fully understand your anxiety. It is a serious issue and whether you ask me or not, people are asking themselves this.

Q: Why is it that for this time you've only brought in one new face and that’s Sam Tan. Why not get in more new faces?

PM Lee: Well, there are one or two other backbenchers who can be brought in but I think they may benefit from one or two more years on the backbenches or in some cases we can't spare them from where they are. So it's a balance and we've just held the position for now.

Q: You mentioned that Mr Gan Kim Yong requested for Mr Lee Yi Shyan to be appointed as MOS (MOM). Were there other requests made by other ministers or ministries that you agreed to or disagreed to, and why?

PM Lee: There were discussions with several of the ministers in working out this reshuffle list. And not just the ministers which are directly involved but those who might have a view and who can give me advice. I think Sam Tan's going to Mica as well as MTI was by request because MTI needs somebody to do more work on their China account. So we have many informal contacts and discussions in working out who goes where. This is not an output which emerges overnight, you sit down and you draft the press statement. You take a month or two, mull it over, consider, discuss, reconsider, sound out and finally you decide the list.

Q: You mentioned that this Cabinet reshuffle is for long-term progress or process of leadership renewal. But for some Singaporeans they're more concerned about short-term survival. How does this renewal help them in specific ways?

PM Lee: How does the reshuffle help us in a downturn? I've explained to you first of all on the key ministries which are important in a downturn. We reinforce them. MTI, Sam Tan; MOM, I've promoted the minister, I've added Lee Yi Shyan in and also Sam Tan. And Teo Chee Hean as DPM helping me not just in defence and PSD but also in broader policy matters. What we need to convey in this reshuffle is that we've reinforced the team and renewed the team and we're moving ahead. And I think we've done that.

I had another visitor recently and he came in and he sat down on Friday morning. He said, you've just had a reshuffle. He read the newspapers. And some of the neighbouring countries are also having a leadership change, tell me about it, by which he didn't mean tell me about my reshuffle. He was not interested in theSingapore one because he knew that was in hand. He wanted to know about leadership changes in the region and what it implied. So I think that that means we have conveyed a certain solidity and reliability and they are not worried about Singapore. But if they look at it for the long term, they will say yes, this is a step forward. I'm moving from an older team to a younger one, from the generation who came in in the 1980s to those who came in in the 1990s and looking for people who're coming in in the 2000s. And when I say Chee Hean is DPM and he's acting when I'm absent, that is the significance.

Q: Does it mean that we're going to have reshuffles like every year and there are going to be incremental and small instead of big ones?

PM Lee: I can't promise every year or promise that it will be small. Some will be bigger than others. But I think that every year we'll look at the Cabinet and if need be we will make adjustments. If we don't do it, it will not be because we didn't think of it. I think since I've come in, every year I've made some adjustment.

[section section_speaker_id="2" section_short_name="0"] What succession time-frame do you have in mind for Singapore to completely rest on the 3rd generation, or rather how long will the 1st and 2nd generation remain in government?

PM Lee: It depends on the person. I think what you're asking is why Professor Jayakumar remains in Cabinet. I think the answer is because I asked him to, as he has specific responsibilities and he is continuing to make a significant contribution. It doesn't mean that every DPM becomes a Senior Minister. It doesn't mean that every Senior Minister continues. There has been precedent I think. You may have forgotten about Mr Rajaratnam who was Senior Minister after being DPM. But Dr Tony Tan was not. He retired as DPM and he went back into the private sector. So it depends on the situation. And as long as they are able to make a contribution to the team and to Singapore, I think it is valuable to keep them.

Q: Looking at the new team of Singapore's Cabinet vis-a-vis a changing Cabinet in Malaysia and also one coming up in Indonesia, how do you see Singapore’s relations with the two countries looking at the new dynamics?

PM Lee: Well, we will have to see who the new team is in Malaysia. We know Datuk Seri Najib and I'm sure we'll be able to work with him. I've no doubt. I've known him for quite some time. In fact the 1st time I met him was 1985. So it's 24 years ago. In Indonesia, I've worked well with President Yudhoyono and he is leading in the elections. And I expect to continue to work well with him or with whoever becomes the leader. Our responsibility in Singapore is to be able to get along with our neighbours while advancing our mutual interests and protecting Singapore’s vital interests. But it means getting to know people, working with them, getting to socialise to and fro, so that you're comfortable with one another. And that I think we can do.

Q: You said that promotion is based on merit, but can we expect more female ministers and also there has been talk that Grace Fu was supposed to move up. What is your comment on that?

PM Lee: Well, I hope we will have more female ministers. It you look at Parliament, we've had more female MPs. And I hope that amongst them there will be more potential office holders and in due course more ministers. But apart from a very small number of countries, in most countries there is an imbalance between the genders amongst the cabinets for one reason or another. It's just the natural way things turn out, including in countries where nobody can say that there's a glass ceiling for women. So it's just the way things turn out particularly in politics there are more men than women.

Q: Turning the spotlight on to Mica, we'll be having an acting minister and a newcomer in the form of Sam Tan. The new media is sort of uncharted territory at least politically speaking. Do you think there was a need for some old hands in the Ministry?

PM Lee: Well, Tuck Yew has been there for a year, understudying Dr Lee Boon Yang. I think he would be able to handle it. I think that new media is an issue which many of the ministers are following. So I'm sure that he will be discussing with us and we will have suggestions to give him but he will have to decide how to handle it. I think it's good to have a young person in charge of the new media. You have to be of that generation in order to appreciate how it works and the psychology of it. For me, I'm not quite a digital native. I mean you understand it, you've learnt it, you know what it is about, but you didn't grow up with it, with Facebook, Twitter and whatever else now. There was one Chinese version I saw on CNA this morning, kuai le wang or something. And constantly new things are coming up and you have to understand how it happens and what it means and where we go with the flow and where we have to hold back.

Q: Can you tell us more about Lim Hwee Hua's portfolio in PMO?

PM Lee: Hwee Hua's responsibilities are in MOF and MOT, just like Lim Swee Say's responsibilities are in NTUC. But we put her as Minister (PMO) as a technicality because she's a full minister.

Q: Who's taking over Dr Lee's role in tea sessions?

PM Lee: Right now after Dr Lee it was Teo Chee Hean. Right now, Dr Ng Eng Hen is coordinating.

Q: There's been some talk about your health because some people say that you've lost weight. Any updates?

PM Lee: My health is ok. I've lost weight because my doctor ordered me to lose weight. And I read yesterday, Khaw Boon Wan saying it's better to be trimmer, so I will have more pressure now. But I'm in good health. I've a medical check-up every year. Doctors scrutinise me, pursue all possible avenues what may be wrong. So far I'm ok. But life is unpredictable. So, you just have to take good care and take it as it comes. But at the same time make sure that there's depth in the team so that the whole team doesn't just depend on one person.

Q: With the appointment of Mr Teo, are we expecting other changes at the DPM level?

PM Lee: I've just made one major reshuffle. I think we take it one step at a time. It depends when the next GE will be.

Q: DPM Teo came in during a by-election. Are you planning any by-elections to bring in more fresh faces?

PM Lee: We never say never.