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WHEN the top decision-making body of the People’s Action Party (PAP) next meets, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will be poised to take over as the ruling party’s new secretary-general – a move that will complete the leadership transition process in Singapore.

In a speech at the PAP’s conference on Sunday (Nov 24), Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is the current secretary-general, said he intends to propose that the party’s new Central Executive Committee (CEC) elect PM Wong as the next secretary-general.

SM Lee said he intends to continue to be part of the CEC in a “supporting and advisory role”.

“In the CEC, as in the Cabinet, I will neither be the first responder nor the final decider,” he told party members and union leaders at the Singapore Expo.

“Instead, I will do my best to support the new secretary-general by offering him the benefit of my experience, helping him to strengthen the party and mobilise support from Singaporeans, and to collectively tackle the problems and challenges ahead of us,” he said.

Since becoming deputy secretary-general in 2022, PM Wong has assumed “more responsibility” in running the party and preparing for the next general election (GE) in 2025, noted SM Lee.

“In May this year, he took over from me as PM. That transition has gone very smoothly.”

Leadership transition

In a 16-minute speech, SM Lee made the point that leadership transition – the planning, preparation and execution of this – is one of the most important responsibilities for a party and political leader.

“We are here to serve, and to lead to the best of our abilities while we are in office. But we also have a duty to ensure that Singapore continues to have good leadership, not just during our term in office, but also beyond.”

While Singapore has carried out orderly transitions for its top political leadership three times in a row, it is important to not take this for granted, said SM Lee.

He shared that many foreign leaders he has met have expressed “astonishment” at how uneventful Singapore’s transition has been.

“It is amazing to them, because in other countries, all sorts of things can and do happen. Often, when a party does badly in an election and loses its mandate to govern, its leader is forced to resign to take responsibility,” he said.

“Sometimes, a ruling party loses public support even before elections are held; the ministers and MPs sense the mood and lose confidence in their leader. The party then changes leaders, in the hope that someone else will do better and turn their fortunes around.”

This is sometimes done more than once, and even when there is no electoral pressure, there can be factions and rivalries within the ruling party, said SM Lee.

“Very fortunate”

“Different party leaders will jostle for the top leadership position. These fights within the party can be as fierce as fights between different political parties. In all these cases, disruptive leadership changes bring discontinuity, upheaval, uncertainty and misfortune for the party and the country,” he said.

Singapore has been “very fortunate” to have avoided these scenarios and stayed cohesive so far, he added, with the PAP winning successive elections and retaining the support of Singaporeans, even during tough times.

“The party leadership is united and shares a common goal – to serve the best interests of the country, and not to advance anyone’s personal ambitions,” he said.

The “seamless handovers” have given the country a tremendous advantage in allowing the PAP to maintain consistent leadership and direction, mobilise the people to focus on difficult and long-term issues, and to make steady progress year after year.

“It’s the mark of a well-functioning political system. That is why we must do our best to keep our system stable, and elect good leaders always who will selflessly prepare their successors and hand the responsibility on when the time comes.”

Strong report card

The PAP will be able to present a “strong report card” to voters at the next GE, said SM Lee.

He said that the party has “worked hard” to improve the lives of Singaporeans since the last polls in 2020, and over many terms before that as well.

“This PAP government steered the country safely through Covid-19. Singapore emerged stronger from it, better prepared for the future,” he said.

“We worked hard to tackle concerns on people’s minds, to improve people’s lives, and create more opportunities for all. We maintained and enhanced Singapore’s strong standing in the world.”

SM Lee said the coming GE will be a “hard-fought election” that will involve a new generation of voters.

“Society is changing; people’s expectations are changing. High standards and good government are now taken for granted. This in itself is not a bad thing, but it puts more and more pressure on the government to do more, even as it is becoming harder and harder for the government to meet rising expectations,” he said.

The senior minister added that Singaporeans remain anxious about issues such as housing and the cost of living, and stressed that the government is actively tackling these.

The most difficult task, he said, is reaching the segment of voters who acknowledge that the PAP has done a good job of governing and would like it to continue, but would want more opposition and alternative voices in Parliament.

“We have to work very hard to make sure that voters understand that they cannot afford to treat this next general election as a by-election. What’s at stake is the future of Singapore,” said SM Lee, adding that he expects all seats in Parliament to be contested.

“You will not just be voting to decide who your constituency MP will be. Your vote may well determine which party governs Singapore. Therefore, the wisest and most responsible thing for Singaporeans to do is to vote according to your conscience, for the party that you think will best secure your lives, livelihoods and futures – the party you truly want to govern Singapore.”