SINGAPORE, April 16 — A total of 15 out of 19 individuals canvassed, including a number of fourth generation (4G) leaders, chose Finance Minister Lawrence Wong to head their team, said former minister Khaw Boon Wan today.
The group, which excluded Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Senior Ministers Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Teo Chee Hean, was made up of 4G leaders, Cabinet ministers, Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and labour chief Ng Chee Meng.
Khaw, who was tasked to facilitate the process of choosing the next 4G leader, added that none of the other names put forward for the role had garnered more than two votes. He declined to reveal the other names, saying that he stakeholders were “very candid” and in turn assured them of “full confidentiality”.
The former transport, health and national development minister from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) also described the outcome as “way above” the traditional supermajority benchmark of two-thirds.
These were among some of the details revealed during a press conference on Saturday where PM Lee, Wong and Khaw answered questions from senior editors from the media.
Wanted a process that “fosters consensus and trust”, says PM Lee
Asked why the process this time round was different and not based on the views of a small group of key ministers as was done previously, Lee explained that he had wanted the 4G team to reach a choice of a new leader “in a way which fosters consensus and trust”.
A discussion among some ministers was done to find a way which encouraged “candour and introspection and objectivity” without impairing mutual relations and trust amongst the team, he said.
Stakeholders needed to be able to honestly express their views on the strengths and weaknesses of the different potential candidates “without it being a personalised, ‘I like you, I don’t like you’, matter,” said Lee.
“And we felt that a more systematic way of doing this, rather than all sit down and then we nod our heads politely, is to have a process,” he added.
Asked by the media on why Khaw was chosen to lead this process, Lee, speaking in Mandarin, said he was the best person for the task as he was a former PAP chairman and knew all the Cabinet ministers and also had everyone’s trust.
In March after the Budget debate, Khaw individually approached all Cabinet ministers, except Lee and the two Senior Ministers, to seek their views.
He also approached Mr Ng and Mr Tan, owing to their important posts and also because they were involved in the previous decision-making process where Heng Swee Keat was chosen as the 4G leader.
Explaining the process in detail, Khaw said: “I interviewed the stakeholders individually for their views on their preferred choice other than themselves, and asked them to rank the potential candidates in order of their preference.”
The interviews, which were carried out over three weeks, took up to an hour, said Khaw.
In all, Lee said that he was satisfied with the process and its outcome.
Lee on Saturday also touched on how the process this time round differed from previous ones when Goh Chok Tong and himself were respectively chosen to take on the premiership.
“With Goh Chok Tong, a small group of us met after the 1984 (General) Elections — about four or five or five, maybe five or six ministers at most — very informally and made the decision.
“In the case of myself, Wong Kan Seng chaired the group of ministers, hosted lunch and we settled it over lunch. I was very moved that everybody felt it was a straightforward matter and we came to a conclusion very quickly,” he said.
“So I think it’s a variation in process but the essential thing is the Prime Minister and his Cabinet ministers must have absolute trust and confidence in one another and must support one another,” he said.
As for Heng Swee Keat, in November 2018, he was announced as PAP’s first assistant secretary-general, earmarking him then as Lee’s successor.
Lee said back then that the younger ministers and political office holders had met to discuss who should lead them and had reached a consensus with Heng.
Heng however announced about a year ago that he had taken himself out of the running to be the next Prime Minister, citing the short runway he had if he were to take up the role.
Lawrence Wong will pick deputy in due course, build up 5G team
On the question of picking a deputy leader for the 4G team, PM Lee said that it will be done in due time, and that this process, too, had been done in different ways.
“In the case of Goh Chok Tong — with the 2G — Goh Chok Tong had one DPM clearly identified as the successor and at the same time supported by Mr Ong Teng Cheong who was (the) second DPM.”
“In the case of Heng Swee Keat and Mr Chan Chun Sing on that occasion, the ministers who were involved thought that they wanted to have a pairing and that would be the best choice.”
When Heng was unveiled as the first assistant secretary-general of PAP in November 2018, Mr Chan was simultaneously unveiled as the party’s second assistant secretary-general.
In the case of Wong, PM Lee said that the exercise was not to choose his deputy nor a 5G leader.
“Therefore, there was no decision made on the deputy and in due course Lawrence (Wong) will decide who will be his deputy and who will be in his core team,” he said.
“And I hope he and his colleagues will work hard to identify and induct more promising leaders into the team to build up the 5G team for Singapore.” — TODAY
