Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

DPM Heng happy to stay in Finance Ministry, says defence stint not critical for top job

SINGAPORE — Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Heng Swee Keat is content with his finance portfolio — among other responsibilities — as he understudies Mr Lee Hsien Loong, despite some analysts previously pointing out that a future Prime Minister should be exposed to the defence portfolio.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said that the key is to build a strong and cohesive team that can win the trust of Singaporeans.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said that the key is to build a strong and cohesive team that can win the trust of Singaporeans.

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

SINGAPORE — Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Heng Swee Keat is content with his finance portfolio — among other responsibilities — as he understudies Mr Lee Hsien Loong, despite some analysts previously pointing out that a future Prime Minister should be exposed to the defence portfolio.

Mr Lee, who is Singapore’s current Prime Minister, and his predecessor Goh Chok Tong had stints in the defence ministry before taking on the top job.  

“If you go by the logic of that, then anyone wanting to be the leader of the team will have to go through many jobs and I don’t think that is the critical point,” said Mr Heng last Friday (May 3).

He was giving his first media interview since his appointment as Deputy Prime Minister on May 1. Mr Heng, 57, is widely expected to succeed Mr Lee, 67, if the People’s Action Party prevails at the next General Election (GE) due by early 2021.

Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister, said that the key is to build a strong and cohesive team that can win the trust and confidence of Singaporeans.

“Our Cabinet system… is a system of collective responsibility, and of course at the end of it, the Prime Minister will have to take the final decision,” he added.

Before assuming the top post in 2004, Mr Lee held various appointments, including Second Defence Minister. Mr Goh, who was Prime Minister from 1990 to 2004, had helmed the Defence Ministry, among other portfolios.

Mr Heng was named Education Minister just weeks after the 2011 GE and has been heading the Ministry of Finance (MOF) since 2015.

Asked which other portfolios he wanted to be exposed to that would be useful to his role as DPM, Mr Heng said that he was happy to stay in the MOF, which gave him the “best overview” of the goings-on in the Government.  

“Every ministry that needs to do a big project comes to the Ministry of Finance,” he said.

Mr Heng added that he has also done a lot more work in foreign affairs than his education and finance portfolios might suggest.

For instance, he dealt with many officials around the world in his previous Public Service appointments before he joined politics.

He was managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) when the 2007 and 2008 global financial crisis hit and the authority had to negotiate new rules and work closely with finance ministers and central-bank governors overseas to weather the downturn.

When he was permanent secretary at the Ministry for Trade and Industry from 2001 to 2005, Mr Heng supported then-Prime Minister Goh in regional meetings of the Association of South-east Asian Nations and the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation.

Mr Heng’s journey in politics hit a turning point when he was forced out of action for several months after suffering a stroke during a Cabinet meeting in May 2016.

He has since recovered and said that he has learnt to “pace” himself better so that he has enough exercise and rest.

He now focuses on “key issues” in the ministry and has delegated a lot more work to Second Finance Ministers Lawrence Wong and Indranee Rajah.

Mr Heng also heads the Future Economy Council, where he works with other ministers on economic transformation.

The council was set up in 2017 to oversee the roll-out of the recommendations of the Committee on the Future Economy. These recommendations span areas such as the development of skills and capabilities, as well as innovation and productivity.

On what he does to relax in his free time, Mr Heng said that he exercises almost daily, listens to music and attends concerts by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He also goes on holiday occasionally and visits different parts of Singapore with his wife, National Heritage Board chief Chang Hwee Nee.

“These are all very enjoyable activities,” he added.

 

Related topics

Heng Swee Keat Politics

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.