Singapore MM, SM to leave Cabinet
Above: MM Lee (right) and SM Goh at a press conference after the 1988 General Election.
SINGAPORE's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong are retiring from the Cabinet.
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In a joint statement, MM Lee and SM Goh said they have studied the new political situation and that the time has come for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the younger leaders to have a fresh slate.
They also said the "younger generation wants to be more engaged".
Minister Mentor was Singapore's first Prime Minister in May 1959 after the People's Action Party won the General Election. He is the longest-serving PM in the Commonwealth and the longest-serving head of government in Asia.
He assumed the post of Senior Minister in 1990 and then Minister Mentor in 2004.
SM Goh was Prime Minister of Singapore from 1990 to August 2004 and served as Singapore's Senior Minister from 2004. Posts he held in the Cabinet include the Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Finance, Minister for Health and Minister for Defence.
In SM Goh's Facebook fanpage MParader, he posted: "Just issued press statement to say that MM and I are retiring from Cabinet. PM can then refresh his Cabinet to forge a new Singapore consensus by rethinking policies and reshaping Singapore with fresh ideas.
I will now have more time to devote to our GRC. Team Marine Parade will build a consensus on creating our 4G Home. --- gct"
Replying to a question in the comment thread on whether he will still be a Senior Minister, he replied: "No more SM or MM in Cabinet. I am out of government but remains MP for MP GRC. Will have more time to spend with residents, something I have always enjoyed doing. --- gct"
Mr Lee and Mr Goh will remain MPs in their wards Tanjong Pagar and Marine Parade GRCs respectively.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong did not confirm that he would accept their resignations from Government.
He said it was a major matter and he would think about it for a couple of days before he gives his response.
Both MM Lee and SM Goh had stirred controversy with some of their statements during GE.
According to Political Editor Chua Lee Hoong of The Straits Times, MM Lee is widely seen to have cost the PAP votes when he said Aljunied residents would have to repent if they voted for Workers' Party, while SM Goh, too is seen as having cost the PAP with his remarks on opposition candidate Tan Jee Say, among other things.
Former Joo Chiat MP, however, does not think that their retirement was a direct result of the recent elections.
He told The Sunday Times: "I don't think this was caused by some people's views raised during the GE. Whatever people say, 81 out of 87 (seats) is a good result by any standard. There is no reason politically to do something like this."
MM Lee and SM Goh's media statement in its entirety:
"WE HAVE studied the new political situation and thought how it can affect the future. We have made our contributions to the development of Singapore. The time has come for a younger generation to carry Singapore forward in a more difficult and complex situation. The Prime Minister and his team of younger leaders should have a fresh clean slate. A younger generation, besides having a non-corrupt and meritocratic government and a high standard of living, wants to be more engaged in the decisions which affect them. After a watershed general election, we have decided to leave the cabinet and have a completely younger team of ministers to connect to and engage with this young generation in shaping the future of our Singapore.
But the younger team must always have in mind the interests of the older generation. This generation who has contributed to Singapore must be well-looked after. "
MM Lee's reply to questions from The Sunday Times about their decision:
"Our main reason is to show Singapore is in a new era. It cannot be government as usual. Both former PMs withdrawing from the Government will indicate that it is not government as usual, and that the PM can and will revise and revamp his policies going into this new situation.
"SM Goh and I believe this is the right thing to do, to give PM and his team the room to break from the past, and we want to make it clear that the PAP has nevfer been averse to change. It is vital to avoid a situation where people vote to have more opposition for opposition's sake."
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