Lee Can't Fade Away In Scandal-Plagued Singapore


(MENAFN- Asia Times) Succession is a delicate and potentially violent topic for leaders. In Singapore, succession planning is quite the opposite: It showcases the stability and predictability of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP).

Yet it appears to be an unusually difficult challenge for current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. After 31 years in power, Singapore's first prime minister and national founder Lee Kuan Yew announced that the second generation of PAP cableaders
unanimously chose his deputy
Goh Chok Tong as his successor.

This was despite Lee making it clear that among his three deputies, he preferred Tony Tan over Goh and Ong Teng Cheong. Tan and Ong both later served as president.

The decision over Goh's successor was even more uneventful. The PAP's third-generation leaders decided that Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Kuan Yew's son, would be the new princeling-in-waiting
over a working lunch
in 2004.

Having been prime minister for almost two decades, Lee has openly discussed his retirement, announcing Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat was chosen by the fourth generation of PAP cabministers as his deputy in 2019. But succession was paused when Lee cited the need for stability and
delayed stepping down
during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Within the year, a
stunningly weak electoral win
in Heng's constituency and an opposition Workers' Party gain in a strategic Group Representation Constituency in the 2020 general election dealt a major blow to Lee's succession plans.

Heng withdrew himself from the successor nomination, citing health concerns. The uneventful orchestration that defined Singapore's previtransitions was in doubt. In late 2022, the PAP's fourth-generation leaders named Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong as Lee's second successor.

MENAFN08092023000159011032ID1107032954


Asia Times

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.