Following the Party Conference on 11 November, the new Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Party held our first meeting today and elected a new slate of office holders. Comrade Gan Kim Yong is the new Chairman, and Comrade Masagos Zulkifli the Vice Chairman. I remain Secretary General. Comrade Heng Swee Keat will be 1st Assistant Secretary General, and Comrade Chan Chun Sing 2nd Assistant Secretary General. The full CEC list is here (http://bit.ly/35thCECPAP). This new CEC will lead the party into the next General Election, which must be held at the latest by April 2021.
The election of the new CEC is a major step forward in our political renewal. The younger ministers and political office holders have been meeting in recent months to discuss who should lead them. They have reached a consensus that Heng Swee Keat will be their leader. In turn, Heng Swee Keat has asked Chan Chun Sing to be his number two. Chun Sing has agreed, and the younger team has endorsed Swee Keat’s decision. It was therefore natural for the CEC to elect the two of them as 1st and 2nd Assistant Secretaries General.
After the CEC meeting, I held a Party Caucus to brief our MPs on the new line-up of CEC appointments, and on the consensus that the younger office holders had reached on who is to lead them. The MPs endorsed the choice of Heng Swee Keat as their next leader, and Chan Chun Sing as his deputy.
Leadership transition is always a complex and delicate matter. The younger ministers themselves must decide who is to lead them, as they have done in this process. This way, they will give their full support to the leader whom they themselves have chosen.
I support the decision of the younger team, and am happy with this outcome. I have known and worked with Swee Keat and Chun Sing for some years now, and watched them grow in their different responsibilities. They have complementary strengths, and make a strong pairing. They and the other younger office holders have gradually come together, to work as a team and make the most of the strengths of each team member. I am confident that they will continue to grow in experience and touch, and steadily win the confidence and trust of Singaporeans.
A smooth transition to the new team to lead us beyond the next elections is important not only for the PAP, but also for Singapore’s future. The older Ministers and I will do our best to help the new team succeed. As I told the Party conference, I will announce Cabinet changes in due course.
All of us in the new CEC, older or younger, will work together to build a strong and united party, that will continue to serve the people and lead Singapore forward. I ask you to give us your whole-hearted support. – LHL
