Just yesterday (13 April), Nikkei Asia published an article about Finance Minister Lawrence Wong and Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. The two ministers had suddenly become active on TikTok, and the article wonders if that would help in paving the way for them to be the next Prime Minister. After all, they, together with Education Minister Chan Chun Sing, were the frontrunners to take on the hot seat.
Well, were. Because this evening (14 April), a breaking news emerged: our next Prime Minister would most probably be Lawrence Wong.
Here’s a summary of what happened that sent everyone wondering if we could potentially see Mr Wong addressing the nation on the next National Day Rally.
How a Prime Minister is Selected
First thing first, here’s some context for people who wonder why Lawrence Wong is selected even when there’s no new General Election or…Prime Minister Election.
If you’ve time, you can watch this to the end instead:
If not, here’s a brief idea: in our government system, we vote for the party that will govern the country, and the party head will be the Prime Minister. Currently, PM Lee Hsien Loong is the party head of PAP, so he’s the Prime Minister.
But who chooses the party head, you ask.
The party members, of course.
For example, Pritam Singh, who’s the head of WP, is chosen by an internal party election. Same goes for PAP lah; previously, DPM Heng Swee Keat was selected to be the deputy head, so he was earmarked to be the next Prime Minister…until he realised he didn’t have enough runway, of course.
And so, the selection for the next leader after PM Lee steps down then began, and…
People Expected The News to Come Later This Year Instead
If you understand the structure, you’d know that it doesn’t matter when the next PM is selected; as long as PAP is in power, they can choose any member of parliament without approval from the voters.
However, the optics won’t be goody: no one knows who’s going to lead the country next, and as you probably know by now, our government likes to plan far ahead.
About two months ago, the issue was raised up in parliament by PAP member Christopher de Souza as well.
By right, people believed that the announcement might be made later this year during the next PAP CEC election—the internal party election that takes place annually.
But…
PM Lee Announced Lawrence Wong as the Next Leader
In a move no one would’ve expected, PM Lee suddenly issued a statement today:
He said that former Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan “facilitated a consultation process that found overwhelming support among the ministers for Lawrence.”
According to PM Lee, “Mr Khaw briefed the ministers this afternoon, and they affirmed this as their collective decision. The choice was then presented to and endorsed by Government MPs at a party caucus.”
Yup, so it wasn’t from an official PAP CEC election, but a not-so-formal confirmation that Mr Wong has the support of the party members.
And so…
Cabinet Will be Reshuffled
With Lawrence Wong being earmarked to be the next Prime Minister, he would most probably become the Deputy Prime Minister first before taking on the hot seat.
In PM Lee’s statement, he said that he will “make adjustments to Cabinet appointments” and that will be announced in due course.
Lest you’ve forgotten, Heng Swee Keat was both the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister when he was then earmarked to be the next Prime Minister, so there’s still a possibility that Mr Wong would remain as our Finance Minister.
Lawrence Wong’s Response
Of course, every response is timed perfectly because it’d be weird for Mr Wong to thank others for the opportunity when no one knows what the heck has happened.
About 30 minutes after PM Lee’s statement, Mr Wong responded on social media, saying that he’s “humbled and grateful for the trust and confidence of my colleagues, who have chosen me to lead them.”
He didn’t say anything about being the next Prime Minister lah, but provided the usual PR response that any new winner in Star Awards would say.
Lawrence Wong’s Political Journey
You might remember him as the face of the fight against COVID-19, but surprise surprise: He’s actually a high-flying politician as well.
Wow, right?
He got into politics in 2011 when he contested as part of a five-member PAP team in West Coast GRC. He then went to Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC in 2015 and has since been an MP there.
The 50-year-old started his political career as the Minister of State (junior minister) for Defence and Education. He was promoted to a full minister in 2014, and has been a Minister for Culture, Community & Youth, Minister for National Development, Minister for Education and of course, Ministry for Finance.
Before that, he was a senior civil servant, and was the Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong from 2005 to 2008.
What Heng Swee Keat Said
Well, in yet another well-timed response, DPM Heng also responded at the same time, saying that Mr Wong has his “whole-hearted support and confidence, as well as the support of his peers”, and added that he “has the runway to eventually succeed PM.”
Well, at least he said a word that no one dared to say: PM.
What Other Frontrunners Said
The other two frontrunners, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and Education Minister Chan Chun Sing, also responded like they’ve scheduled their social media posts.
And as usual, they sang praises for Mr Wong and, erm, didn’t say anything about Mr Wong being the next PM lah.
Well, at least we’d now have something to talk about during the long weekend.
Or maybe that was the whole idea altogether.
Featured Image: YouTube (CNA)