THE buzz in Singapore is that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is about to announce a Cabinet reshuffle any day now.

But whatever the changes, political watchers expect that the new line-up will not be only a reshuffle, but also about succession planning.

Speculation has been rife over the past fortnight about changes to ministerial portfolios, as Mr Lee had said late last year that he would reshuffle the Cabinet after the Budget Debate. That ended three weeks ago.

Said former nominated MP Zulkifli Baharudin: 'It's more about succession planning rather than a Cabinet reshuffle per se. The Government is in a very comfortable position, and it should use this position to expose its people to different postings.'

He and others believe that some ministers would be 'shifted around' even if they are comfortable where they are. At the same time, some junior office-holders would be promoted to assume more responsibilities.

The last Cabinet reshuffle was in May 2006, two weeks after PM Lee won his first General Election as Prime Minister. Then, five new MPs and two backbenchers were appointed to political office while several ministers were given more responsibilities.

PM Lee had said then that more changes would be made mid-term.

Observers suggest that the promotion of some junior ministers would be likely.

Mr Gan Kim Yong, the 49-year-old Minister of State for Manpower and Education who entered politics in 2001, is a favourite to move up.

Another is Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, the 46-year-old Minister of State for Education, who entered politics only two years ago.

Said Member of Parliament Lily Neo, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education: 'We meet during briefings and from the way he answers, I knew he had a good grasp of the issues.'

Current Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who also took over from PM Lee as Finance Minister in December, is due to relinquish the Education portfolio after the reshuffle.

Ministry officials hosted a farewell dinner for him this Tuesday - even though, as he quipped, he does not know who his successor will be.

Some watchers expect to see a woman being appointed to helm a ministry.

Two names cited are Minister of State (Finance and Transport) Lim Hwee Hua, 49, who entered politics in 1996, and Minister of State (National Development) Grace Fu, 43, who did so in 2006.

There may also be new faces inducted into the Cabinet.

Fifth-term MP K. Shanmugam and first-term MP Alvin Yeo, both lawyers in private practice, are seen as possible candidates to be groomed to succeed Law Minister S. Jayakumar, 68, who has helmed the ministry since 1988.

At the same time, some junior office holders - like senior parliamentary secretaries Amy Khor and Masagos Zulkifli - may move up the ranks.

Others who occupy junior ministers' positions now may give up their posts to concentrate on other roles.

Ultimately, said academic Terence Chong, 'what this team does, the risks it takes, the results it achieves and the manner in which it handles challenges, both internal and external, will define its place in history'.

xueying@sph.com.sg