PM Wong set to unveil major Cabinet changes as 4G team, new faces step up

New Paper

20-05-2025

Fourth-generation (4G) ministers are expected to take over hefty portfolios held by the 3G in the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle, which is also set to bring new blood into the ranks of government.
Several key leaders announced their retirement from politics at the recent general election, including Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and two 3G stalwarts - Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen.
Meanwhile, new faces earmarked for government include a number of former top civil servants who were elected into the 15th term of Parliament and are likely to take up more junior roles.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is expected to announce a Cabinet reshuffle soon, based on precedent. His predecessors had typically done so about two to three weeks after an election.
In 2020, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced his new Cabinet on July 25, about two weeks after Polling Day on July 10. Office-holders were sworn in on July 27 that year.
After Polling Day on Sept 11 in 2015, he announced his Cabinet on Sept 28, and the swearing-in ceremony was on Oct 1 that year.
At past reshuffles, prime ministers have announced promotions, rotations and retirements among full ministers as well as ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries.
Many had expected a significant reshuffle in 2024 when PM Wong took over as head of government, similar to his predecessors.
But this did not happen, with few changes made then. This could have been due to the extremely busy parliamentary term for the Government, which resulted in the broader succession plan being postponed, said the Institute of Policy Studies' senior research fellow Gillian Koh.
Political observers said PM Wong now has the leeway to make more changes, after receiving a strong mandate from Singaporeans at the general election with the PAP winning 65.57 per cent of the popular vote.
A major renewal
At his first Cabinet reshuffle in 2024, PM Wong said he planned to rotate the 4G ministers and "give them wider exposure and experience" if his Government was re-elected.
Some would be able to step up and take over from senior colleagues in due course, while some of the junior office-holders could also take on more responsibilities, he said then.
With the number of ministers likely to be about the same - 19 currently - as well as 37 office-holders overall, there are several gaps left by retiring senior figures that will have to be filled.
The Defence Ministry will need new office-holders, given the retirement of Dr Ng and Mr Heng Chee How, who was senior minister of state.
There will likely also be a replacement for DPM Heng, who held the role of coordinating minister for economic policies as well until last May.
Singapore has traditionally had two deputy prime ministers after a new prime minister's first general election. In 1991, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong had now SM Lee and Mr Ong Teng Cheong at his side, while in 2006 SM Lee had Mr Wong Kan Seng and Mr S. Jayakumar.
The retirement of Dr Maliki Osman, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Education, will also leave a gap.
The Cabinet has had two Malay/Muslim full ministers since 2015, and at least five Malay/Muslim political office-holders since 1997.
Independent political observer Felix Tan said the roles of deputy prime minister and defence minister are important positions that would require experienced hands to helm.
There is a high likelihood that some of the current ministers will be shifted to these portfolios, allowing newer and younger MPs to take over their original roles, he added.
As filling these spots will result in a chain of changes, more portfolio swops are on the cards.
Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong hinted at these at a press conference on May 16, where he said adjustments may be made to the composition of the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce - which he chairs - when the new Cabinet line-up is announced.
The current members of the task force include Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, who is also Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration; Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs; Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng, who is also Second Minister for Trade and Industry; and Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance Chee Hong Tat.
PM Wong's predecessors took different approaches to reorganising their teams following their first election as PM.
SM Lee made 25 changes - meaning promotions or rotations among political office-holders - when he took over as PM, and another 14 after his first election.
ESM Goh, in contrast, made 10 changes when he took office and nine after his first election.
Dr Felix Tan noted that ESM Goh's tenure came after founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's, so there was "no need for a complete overhaul".
In contrast, SM Lee had more leeway to make changes as many members of his team had already served under two prime ministers.
At PM Wong's first reshuffle, there was similarly no need for an overhaul of the current Cabinet, he said.
Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan said the minor reshuffle by PM Wong in 2024, and the fact that some ministers have been in their posts since 2020, sets the Cabinet up for a "reset and rejuvenation".
"We can expect the PM to use the resounding GE performance to make major changes to his Cabinet," Associate Professor Tan added.
Vote shares at the election may also factor into PM Wong's choices, said Dr Koh.
She said: "Electoral support would provide one factor, albeit not the only one, to consider who to elevate, who to place in which ministry.
"We could say that this strengthens the element of meritocracy - taking into account experience, performance in the roles someone has had as political office-holder, and election process and results to reflect how the ground takes to a person."
A younger Cabinet, more women in political office
Several new faces were earmarked for political office by PM Wong and other senior PAP leaders over the course of the election.
These include public-sector leaders who had resigned in the run-up to the polls, such as permanent secretary Jeffrey Siow, army chief David Neo, ministry deputy secretary Jasmin Lau, Agency for Integrated Care chief Dinesh Vasu Dash, armed forces chief of staff - joint staff Goh Pei Ming and ministry director Goh Hanyan.
From the private sector, orthopaedic surgeon Hamid Razak and former Nominated MP Syed Harun Alhabsyi were also tipped for office.
(Clockwise from top left) Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Jeffrey Siow, Tampines GRC MP David Neo, East Coast GRC MP Dinesh Vasu Dash, Nee Soon GRC MP Syed Harun Alhabsyi, West Coast-Jurong West GRC MP Hamid Razak and Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC Goh Pei Ming. PHOTOS: PAP
Prof Tan said it is a "natural development" that the average age of political office-holders will dip at this reshuffle. He pointed to the new crop of PAP MPs having an average age of about 40, and the retirement of senior leaders such as SM Teo and Dr Ng.
In the past, the average age of all political office-holders fell after each new prime minister's first election.
In 1991 - ESM Goh's first election as prime minister - this went from 48.8 to 47.6. After SM Lee's first election in 2006, it decreased from 52.2 to 51.2. PM Wong's current crop has an average age of 54.9.
Historical data also shows that the newcomers to government are typically almost 10 years younger on average than the group as a whole.
In 1991, the average age of newcomers was 38, while in 2006 it was 43.
The proportion of men in Cabinet and government has decreased over the years, though slowly.
About 25 per cent of office-holders now are women, with three female ministers who are aged between 56 and 62 - Mrs Teo, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah.
Political observers said there may not be new female ministers this time round, but they expect more female junior office-holders to be appointed.
"There is the need to ensure a reliable pipeline of women ministers to renew the current ranks and to have continuity," said Prof Tan, adding that the growing role of women in politics is a given today.
PM Wong had emphasised the need to bring in more women MPs ahead of the general election.
Dr Tan said: "One can safely say that he has kept to the promise that he would also field more women candidates. Hence, we can be certain that there will be more women in higher positions."
Ms Lau and Ms Goh are among the new female MPs tipped for office.
Ms Jasmin Lau (left) and Ms Goh Hanyan are among the new female MPs tipped for office. ST PHOTOS: MARK CHEONG, LIM YAOHUI
Retooling for the future
PM Wong's reshuffle is also meant to prepare the Government to tackle an increasingly challenging environment, observers said.
SMU's Prof Tan said that as the pace and demands on political office-holders increase, the "lifespan" of a ministerial appointment will likely not be as long as in the 1980s and 1990s.
Regular refreshing can strengthen the Cabinet as part of the perpetual cycle of leadership development, renewal and succession, he added.
For the new office-holders, the focus will be on broad exposure and to learn about the whole-of-government approach in policymaking, he said.
The new government will have to deal with external risks like the global trade war, while also pushing ahead with the Forward Singapore agenda that will reshape Singaporeans' way of life across sectors such as education, healthcare and jobs.
Dr Koh said there could be a few more tweaks to the team in about a year to fine-tune the line-up.
PM Wong's government has to tread the line between dependability and agility, she added.
She said: "There has to be things we can depend on, and yet, things we know can be switched out to respond quickly to the unpredictable external environment.
"Government leaders led by PM Wong have to be able to bring diverse groups around a common agenda, purpose and governance process."