Ong Ye Kung among four co-opted into PAP top-decision making body

SINGAPORE — Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung has been co-opted into the People’s Action Party’s central executive committee (CEC) and will take up the post of organising secretary. The party also added the post of assistant organising secretary to its line-up.

Mr Ong is one of four additional party members co-opted into the CEC after the committee — the 34th — met on Thursday (Jan 5), the party said in a press release. 

The others are Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli and Members of Parliament Sitoh Yih Pin (Potong Pasir) and Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok).

Mr Ong replaces Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, who was previously one of the CEC’s organising secretaries but is no longer on the committee — a move political watchers said signalled the party’s desire for leadership renewal. 

The other two organising secretaries are Health Minister Gan Kim Yong and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Chan Chun Sing.

The two new assistant organising secretaries positions have been filled by Ministers of State Teo Ser Luck (Manpower) and Sam Tan (PMO and Manpower). Also new is the appointment of Minister of State (Communications and Information and Education) Janil Puthucheary, who now chairs Young PAP (YP). He replaces Mr Chan, who will now be adviser to YP.

Last month’s CEC election saw Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob and 11 Cabinet ministers — including two earmarked as fourth-generation leaders, Mr Chan Chun Sing and Mr Heng Swee Keat — voted into the 2017-2018 PAP CEC. 

Two other ministers, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin and Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, were co-opted into the CEC then after they received the 13th and 14th highest number of votes among cadre members. 

Political watchers TODAY spoke to said that the line-up showed that the party is letting younger faces play bigger roles.

Dr Felix Tan of SIM Global Education said: “If you look from the broader perspective, they’re letting all these new candidates take more important positions and more important roles in the PAP, demonstrating they’re looking for a renewal in the leadership.” 

Singapore Management University law lecturer Eugene Tan said the appointment of Mr Ong and Dr Puthucheary, who were elected in 2015, signalled that the party felt they were ready for bigger things, with Mr Ong, among those touted for fourth-generation leadership, taking over from Dr Ng.  

He also noted the appointment of Mr Teo and Mr Tan as assistant organising secretaries, as well as the co-opting of Mr Sitoh, Mr Murali and Mr Masagos, pointing out that they appeal to different audiences.

“I see this as a deliberate choice to ensure the party can connect to different bases,” he said, noting that Mr Sitoh and Mr Murali are known for their grassroots work. 
Associate Professor Lan Luh Luh, of the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Law, said that even though they were giving more members a role in the CEC, the party was still being cautious. 

“You wouldn’t want to elect too many young ones straight into the CEC or make too many changes. The PAP is still very cautious,” she said. with additional reporting by VALERIE KOH