SINGAPORE – The carefully planned leadership succession in Singapore has been confused.
Political observers say it is now unclear who would become the next prime minister of the Asian financial center.
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat shocked the nation late Thursday when he announced his resignation as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s designated successor.
He said he will be turning 60 this year and called his age an obstacle in steering the country into a post-pandemic world.
Heng will relinquish his role as finance minister at the next cabinet reshuffle, expected in two weeks, according to local media. Nevertheless, he remains deputy prime minister and coordinating minister for economic policy.
It throws a spanner in the works in terms of Singapore’s very carefully crafted succession plans, but I don’t see that as a hard blow to Singapore’s political renewal.
Eugene Tan
Singapore Management University
“It throws a spanner in the works in terms of Singapore’s very carefully crafted succession plans, but I don’t see that as a blow to Singapore’s political renewal,” said Eugene Tan, a law professor at Singapore Management University and a political observer, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Friday.
Financial markets were stable on Friday after Heng’s announcement, with the benchmark Straits Times Index down 0.1% and the Singapore dollar flat against the US dollar.
Who could become the next Prime Minister of Singapore?
Analysts have identified four potential candidates who could be elected by the leadership to become the next Prime Minister of Singapore:
- Chan Chun Sing, 51, who is the Minister of Trade and Industry;
- Ong Ye Kung, 51, who is the Transport Minister;
- Lawrence Wong, 48, who is Secretary of Education and Co-Chair of the National Task Force for Covid-19;
- Desmond Lee, 44, Secretary of National Development.
Gillian Koh, assistant director of research at the Institute of Policy Studies at the National University of Singapore, said the men have had some fame on the international stage. That could get them to the top job, she said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”
However, she pointed out that Wong and Lee, who are both in their 40s, would have “a much longer runway,” even if it would take them five years.
The ruling People’s Action Party has governed Singapore since the country’s independence in 1965. Leadership Transition – Singapore has only had two so far – is usually a boring affair, with identified a successor many years before the incumbent prime minister resigns.
But even before Heng decided to step aside, the country’s leadership succession plan was turned upside down by the Covid-19 pandemic, said Tan, the law professor.
Lee, the current prime minister, had previously said he was ready to retire by the time he turns 70, but later indicated that he would delay his transfer to get Singapore through the Covid-19 crisis.
Lee is 69 this year and said on Thursday he would remain prime minister until a new successor arrives and is ready to take over.
“The pandemic has really turned leadership plans upside down, and so … I see DPM (Deputy Prime Minister) Heng as an unfortunate victim,” said Tan, adding that Heng was “very peaceful. looked forward to his decision to step aside.