SINGAPORE – The recent spate of incidents involving political figures here has not delayed the timetable for leadership renewal, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said.
With Covid-19 in the back view, he assured the public at the National Day Rally that his succession plans are back on track.
On Sunday, he recounted how his original plan was to hand over and step down as prime minister by 2022, before his 70th birthday, but this was disrupted by the pandemic.
PM Lee had said at his Fullerton rally during the 2020 General Election that he would work with his older colleagues – such as Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and then Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam – as well as the 4G ministers to deal with Covid-19, before handing over to the next team.
“Now Covid-19 is behind us and my succession plans are back on track,” he said.
He acknowledged that there have been several controversies that have drawn Singaporeans’ attention recently.
In July, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau opened a formal investigation into Transport Minister S. Iswaran, while Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and Tampines GRC MP Cheng Li Hui resigned over their affair.
PM Lee noted that he had spoken about them in Parliament, and also in his National Day message.
“We dealt with each of them thoroughly and transparently,” he said.
“Let me assure you: These incidents will not delay my timetable for renewal, we are on track.”
He added that more and more, his task is to support the 4G team and their agenda to get them off to the best possible start.
He noted that the 4G ministers are increasingly setting the pace for the Government, and that the themes in this year’s National Day Rally “are all Forward SG themes” such as housing affordability, retirement adequacy and support for vulnerable workers.
A nationwide engagement helmed by the 4G ministers, the Forward SG exercise is expected to conclude in the second half of 2023 with a Forward Singapore report.
While the exercise will wrap up soon, the 4G leaders’ journey with Singaporeans is just beginning, said PM Lee.
“Our nation’s future depends on them, working as one with you to take Singapore forward,” he added.
At the 2022 National Day Rally, PM Lee had said he was very happy that the younger leaders had chosen Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to be their leader, and that his succession plans were moving forward again.
In April, he noted in Parliament that the 4G team had played a key role in Singapore’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, and that they were increasingly responsible for the safety and well-being of the Republic.
PM Lee echoed this on Sunday, and said he has every confidence in DPM Wong and his team.
“We share the same core convictions – that we are stewards of Singapore entrusted with the immense responsibility to lead and care for this nation,” he said.
“That our time as stewards is transient, but we are building a Singapore for the ages, and that our best service to this nation is to hand over a better, stronger Singapore to those who follow us.”
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Watch PM Lee’s National Day Rally speech here:
