Singapore reshuffles Cabinet

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will make several changes to the Cabinet and other appointments, effective from Wednesday, August 1.

Further changes will be made effective from November 1 when the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) are restructured to form three new ministries.

They are the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), and the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI).

From August 1, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam will relinquish his appointment as Minister for Manpower. He will remain as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Mr Lui Tuck Yew will relinquish his appointment as Second Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Mr S Iswaran will remain in his current appointments. As the Second Minister for Trade and Industry (MTI), he will have specific responsibility for industry—related research and development, energy and tourism, while continuing to assist Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang in other areas of MTI’s work.

Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien will be promoted to full minister. She will become Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs. Ms Fu will also assist DPM Teo Chee Hean on population matters.

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim will become the Minister for Communications and Information on November 1, 2012 when the new ministry is established. He will continue to be the Minister—in—charge of Muslim Affairs.

Mr Chan Chun Sing, Mr Tan Chuan—Jin, Mr Lawrence Wong, Mr Lee Yi Shyan and Mr Masagos Zulkifli will be promoted to Senior Ministers of State (SMS).

Mr Chan Chun Sing will relinquish his appointment as the Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts, and be appointed as Senior Minister of State for Defence.

He will remain as Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports. Mr Chan will become the Acting Minister for Social and Family Development when the Ministry of Social and Family Development is established on November 1, 2012.

Mr Tan Chuan—Jin will become the Acting Minister for Manpower and Senior Minister of State for National Development.

Mr Lawrence Wong will relinquish his appointment as Minister of State for Defence and be appointed Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts.

He will continue as Senior Minister of State for Education until November 1, 2012, when he becomes the Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information.

Mr Lee Yi Shyan and Mr Masagos Zulkifli will remain in their respective ministries.

Ms Indranee Rajah will be appointed Senior Minister of State for Law and Education from November 1, 2012. This is a new appointment.

Dr Amy Khor will be appointed the Minister of State for Manpower, concurrent with her present appointment as Minister of State for Health. She will also remain as the Mayor of South West CDC.

Mdm Halimah Yacob will be appointed the Minister of State for Social and Family Development from November 1, 2012.

Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong will be posted to the new Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth as Senior Parliamentary Secretary on 1 Nov 2012. He will concurrently be the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Mayor of Central CDC.

Ms Sim Ann will relinquish her appointment as Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law and be appointed Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Information on November 1, 2012.

She will continue as the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education.

Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal bin Ibrahim will be appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Transport.

The Cabinet changes came just 14 months after a new team was formed in May last year after the General Election.

The 2011 revamp saw the retirement of two former prime ministers and three ministers.

Prime Minister Lee had described the revamp then as radical, with a team that will look to the future on a clean slate.

— CNA/wm/ir