NOVEMBER 25 — THE usually opaque crystal ball that predicts Singapore’s future cleared up for a moment last week and gave us (for an instant) a fairly clear picture of the future.
It turns out that the future is Heng (which is Hokkien and general Singlish for lucky/fortunate) but in this case it’s Heng Swee Keat (HSK) our bespectacled finance minister who is in luck.
He appears to have become the clear front runner for the position of prime minister when the incumbent Lee Hsien Loong vacates the office.
HSK was appointed first assistant secretary-general to the ruling party’s Central Executive Committee last Friday.
Former prime minister Goh Chok Tong and the incumbent PM Lee served in the same capacity before they took up the top job.
One can’t say it’s a surprise result. HSK has always been a front runner for leadership even though many thought the younger Chan Chun Sing as the favourite.
However, in the end, the party appears to have gone with HSK’s experience over Chan’s fresh face.
HSK’s strong academic qualifications (he’s a graduate of Cambridge and Harvard), and long career in public service certainly helped. As would the fact that he was extremely close to (founding prime minister) Lee Kuan Yew.
Working as Lee Senior’s private secretary in the 90s, HSK earned rare praise from the then Minister Mentor: “the best private secretary I ever had.”
Entering parliament as an MP for the Tampines GRC only in 2011, his political rise has been swift. HSK was made a Cabinet minister; during his first stint in Parliament he served as education minister from 2011 to 2015. In 2015 he became finance
minister, an extremely influential position (which he continues to hold).
His rise was interrupted by a stroke which saw him collapse at a Cabinet meeting in 2016 and many thought the incident might have put an end to his chances of emerging as leader.
But his recovery was swift and full enough to earn the confidence of the party and it seems almost certain that HSK will take charge of the nation within three years.
PM Lee has said he will step down before he turns 70 (in 2022) and with general elections scheduled around 2021 it seems likely the handover will happen near that time.
Which means HSK has only a few years to prepare for the top job. While of course it must feel good to stand on top of the political pile, we must also remember that the pressure is going to be intense.
He will be only the second PM from outside the Lee family following in the footsteps of the formidable Goh Chok Tong.
HSK will also preside over a very different Singapore to his predecessors. He will face rising geo-political tensions and a world now increasingly hostile to free trade — Singapore’s life blood.
Economic growth rates can’t possibly be what they were a decade ago and crucially the country, already prosperous, no longer has the focus it did when we transitioned from Third World to First.
The next prime minister will have to deal with all this, everything from geo-politics to anti-immigrant sentiment, while scrutinised by a now all-seeing, all judging social media landscape driven by a jaded populace.
It’s going to be a tough job and you wonder if HSK doesn’t feel a little envy for Chan Chun Sing, Ong Ye Kung and the other 4th generation leaders who will share in the power but not face the same pressure.
If the crystal ball is right and he is the next PM, I wish him well; his future is now inextricably linked with ours.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
