Ambassadors, associations send get-well wishes to Heng Swee Keat
SINGAPORE – Foreign dignitaries and local business associations have begun to send their well-wishes to Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat following his stroke on Thursday afternoon.
Ambassadors and business groups are sending their well-wishes to Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat following his stroke on May 12. File photo: Jason Quah/TODAY
SINGAPORE – Foreign dignitaries and associations on Friday (May 13) sent get-well messages to Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat following his stroke on Thursday afternoon.
Among the first to make a statement was United States Ambassador Kirk Wagar. “Thoughts and prayers for a swift and full recovery. Swee Keat is as fine a person as you will ever find,” he wrote in a tweet on Thursday night.
On the Facebook page for the 50th anniversary of Singapore-Japan diplomatic relations (SJ50), a message went up on Thursday night that read: “All members of the Embassy of Japan in Singapore and Japan Creative Centre are sending our sincere wishes to Minister Heng Swee Keat for his quick recovery.”
On Friday morning, Dr Michael Pulch, the European Union Ambassador to Singapore, wrote on Facebook: “The news of Singapore Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat’s stroke has come as a shock to all of us. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr Heng and his family during this difficult time. We wish him a speedy recovery.”
On Thursday night, the chairman of the Singapore Business Federation, Mr Teo Siong Seng, sent a statement wishing Mr Heng a speedy recovery on behalf of the business community while the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises’ (ASME) president and executive council members issued a similar statement on Friday morning.
The Singapore International Chamber of Commerce, on behalf of staff and members, wished Mr Heng a full recovery in a Facebook post on Friday.
Mr Heng is now in Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s intensive care unit after initial neurosurgery to relieve pressure in his brain due to bleeding.
He had suffered a stroke during a Cabinet meeting at 5.34pm on Thursday and was rushed to the hospital, accompanied by three members of Cabinet who are also trained doctors and who were also attending the meeting — Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Minister of State (Education, and Communications and Information) Janil Puthucheary.
Since news broke of his sudden stroke, get-well wishes have been pouring in from his colleagues as well as from opposition parties.
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