Singapore leaders striving for smooth transition: PM Lee
PM Lee says culture of leadership self-renewal and cohesive teamwork needs to be entrenched in Singapore's political norms
Singapore's leaders are doing their best to ensure the ongoing leadership transition will be as smooth and sure-footed as previous changes of the guard, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
This culture of leadership self-renewal and cohesive teamwork needs to be entrenched in the Republic's political norms, he added.
"It is not just about finding the right successor: We need to assemble the right team to lead Singapore," he said yesterday.
Mr Lee was speaking at the launch of Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong's authorised biography, which details, among other things, the transfer of power from Singapore's first generation of leaders to its second, as founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew handed over the reins to Mr Goh in 1990.
The book Tall Order: The Goh Chok Tong Story, by former Straits Times news editor Peh Shing Huei, is particularly timely as a major theme in it is leadership renewal, Mr Lee said.
Its launch comes three days before the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) holds its biennial party conference, where cadre members will elect the next central executive committee, the party's decision-making body, and a clearer picture of the core team that will take Singapore forward is expected to emerge.
Mr Lee noted that it was not easy for the 2G leaders to fill the shoes of Singapore's founding fathers, "who loomed larger than life in the hearts and minds of Singaporeans".
But Mr Goh, now 77, wisely resolved to be himself, said Mr Lee, and did not try to be a copy of Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
"Quietly but confidently, he established his own leadership style, one that resonated with a new generation of Singaporeans," Mr Lee said.
"Over time, Chok Tong showed that he had the ability and political gumption to make difficult decisions and carry the ground.
"The early doubts faded away, and Singapore carried on steadily in a new era."
Singapore made a similarly uneventful transition when Mr Goh decided to retire as prime minister in 2004, Mr Lee said.
"This is something that rarely happens elsewhere, and we should not believe that it will always happen in Singapore," he added.
"The next team is shaping up," Mr Lee said.
"They are taking charge of sensitive issues and tough conversations with Singaporeans, making themselves and their convictions known to the people, developing rapport with voters and winning their confidence."
Speaking before Mr Lee, Mr Goh said the intricacies of political succession are "underappreciated and underestimated".
"The mentors are often more exasperated than they let on publicly. And the understudies are like swans - calm on the surface but peddling furiously below."
The book launch at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy was attended by more than 100 people, including current and former Cabinet ministers such as Old Guard leader Ong Pang Boon and former president Tony Tan.
Former presidential candidate and former PAP MP Tan Cheng Bock - Mr Goh's close friend - also attended the event.
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