The central skyline of the Marina Bay Sands business district in Singapore on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.
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SINGAPORE – The Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore announced on Thursday that he will take a step aside so that a “younger leader who will have a longer track can take over”.
Heng Swee Keat, who was expected to take over from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, is also finance minister and coordinating economic policy minister.
Heng will resign as finance minister in the next reshuffle of the Cabinet, but will remain in his other roles.
Lee previously said he would remain prime minister until the end of the Covid-19 crisis. Heng was expected to take over, but will now move away as the leader of the so-called “4G team” – or the fourth generation in Singapore.
We need a leader who will not only rebuild Singapore after COVID-19, but also lead the next phase of our nation-building efforts.
Heng Swee Keat
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
In a letter to the prime minister, Heng said he was 60 years old this year.
“When I take into account the ages at which our first three ministers were hired, I would have too short a track if I became the next prime minister then,” he said. “We need a leader who will not only rebuild Singapore after COVID-19, but also lead the next phase of our nation-building efforts.”
“After careful deliberation and discussions with my family, I decided to step aside as the leader of the 4G team (fourth generation) so that a younger leader who will have a longer track can take over,” he said in letter. “It will be the 4G team that chooses this person and I am ready to support the next leader.”
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat beckons during a campaign ahead of the July 8, 2020 general election in Singapore.
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Lee, 69, said he understood and respected Heng’s decision, calling it “altruistic.” He added that Heng will help him guide younger ministers as they choose another leader to ensure a “smooth and timely leadership transition”.
Singapore’s “4G leaders” said in a statement that they were glad that Heng would remain a member of their team as he continued in his other portfolios.
“We appreciate what a difficult decision it must have been,” they said. “We know he made the decision, given Singapore’s long-term interests.”
However, they acknowledged that the “unexpected turn of events is an obstacle” to planning their succession and said they were grateful that the prime minister had agreed to stay until a new successor was ready to take over.