Everything About the 4 Frontrunners Who Could Be S’pore’s Next PM After DPM Heng Stepped Down

If you took the day off yesterday to run some errands and visit your family but ended up napping for 24 hours, you may not have heard Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Heng Swee Keat’s shocking announcement.

For those who don’t know, DPM Heng is the leader of the fourth-generation PAP and was supposed to become Prime Minister once PM Lee retired and disposed of his 1,000 pink shirts.

But yesterday (8 Apr), DPM Heng stunned Singaporeans by announcing that he’s stepping down as 4G leader.

This means that the party has to choose someone else to lead, someone who will eventually become our next Prime Minister.

As you can imagine, this is no easy task, given that a plan for DPM Heng to take over PM Lee’s post had been set in motion years ago.

So, who are the candidates most likely to become Singapore’s next Prime Minister?

Four Members of PAP’s Central Executive Committee

According to political analysts, there are four likely candidates to replace DPM Heng as the team’s leader, namely:

1. Mr Chan Chun Sing (aka Kee Chiu)
2. Mr Ong Ye Kung (aka Daniel Dae Kim)
3. Mr Lawrence Wong (aka COVID-19)
4. Mr Desmond Lee (who?)

All four are members of PAP’s central executive committee, and attended DPM Heng’s press conference yesterday.

Here are their credentials:

Chan Chun Sing, 51

Mr Chan may not always know where cotton comes from, but the 51-year-old is certain adept in the field of politics.

From 1987 to 2011, Mr Chan served in the Singapore Army, where he eventually became chief of army.

He then entered politics in 2011 by contesting in Tanjong Pagar GRC as a PAP candidate. His team won in a walkover and he was elected to office as a Member of Parliament (MP).

During the election campaign, Mr Chan used the Hokkien phrase “kee chiu” (meaning “hands up”) at a rally to engage the crowd, which later became a nickname for him in Singapore.

After the election, Mr Chan was appointed Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports; and Minister of State for Information, Communications, and the Arts.

At 42, he was one of the youngest ministers to be appointed to the Singapore Cabinet.

He was promoted to full minister two years later and helmed the Ministry of Social and Family Development .

He now serves as Minister for Trade and Industry, and is second assistant secretary-general of the PAP.

Ong Ye Kung, 51

Some of you might be wondering why Daniel Dae Kim is in the running to be Prime Minister. Well, he’s not. The man above is actually Mr Ong Ye Kung, our Transport Minister.

We can see why you mixed up the two, though.

Before entering politics, Mr Ong worked in the Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Trade and Industry, and was also appointed Assistant Secretary-General of NTUC.

In 2011, Mr Ong joined a PAP team led by then-Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo to fight for parliamentary seats in Aljunied GRC. They ended up losing to the Worker’s Party, but Mr Ong didn’t give up.

He ran once again in 2015 in Sembawang GRC and won this time.

He was immediately appointed Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) and was promoted to full minister the next year, leading the education ministry.

Mr Ong is currently serving as Transport Minister, and is concurrently a board member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Interestingly, he was principal private secretary to PM Lee from 2003 to 2005, and his press secretary before that.

Lawrence Wong, 48

Now, here’s a man who needs no introduction.

Many Singaporeans know Mr Wong because he’s the face of the fight against COVID-19 in Singapore.

Just like Mr Ong, Mr Wong served as the Principal Private Secretary to PM Lee for three years. He also worked in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Health before becoming a politician.

Mr Wong was elected to Parliament at the 2011 general election representing West Coast GRC.

He was made a full minister just three years later and has held positions in several ministries.

More notably, Mr Wong is the country’s co-chair of the multi-ministry taskforce on COVID-19, which is why residents are familiar with him.

Many Singaporeans now have a favourable view of Mr Wong thanks to his role in the government’s response to the pandemic.

Mr Wong is currently serving as Minister for Education, and also chairs the PAP Community Foundation and Singapore Labour Foundation.

Desmond Lee, 44

The youngest politician on this list is Mr Desmond Lee, who serves as Minister for National Development and Minister-in-Charge of Social Services Integration.

Mr Lee entered politics in 2011 with a win in Jurong GRC, and was appointed Minister for Social and Family Development in 2017.

He was also appointed as Second Minister for National Development that year.

Mr Lee successfully moved to West Coast GRC for the 2020 general election, and now co-chairs the Singapore Together movement, which encourages cooperation between residents and the government.

Before becoming a politician, Mr Lee served as a deputy public prosecutor and state counsel in the criminal justice division of the Attorney General’s Chambers.

He also headed the Ministry of Health’s legal department and was Temasek’s in-house lawyer.

Announcement to Be Made in Due Course

As for who will replace Mr Heng as team leader, the 4G team said during the press conference yesterday that they’d make the announcement in due course.

In the meantime, all we can do is speculate.

So, who would you like to see replace PM Lee when he steps down as Prime Minister?

Featured Image: PAP