POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS IN GOVERNMENT

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong asked the Prime Minister (a) what are (i) the reasons for keeping so many Ministers in the Prime Minister's Office and (ii) the duties and responsibilities assigned for each of these Ministers; and (b) whether the number of senior political appointments in Government can be cut to reduce Government expenditures.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (Mr Lee Hsien Loong) (for the Prime Minister): Sir, there are seven Ministers in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), excluding the Prime Minister. Each one has specific duties and responsibilities.

(1) Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The Cabinet taps Senior Minister's wealth of experience, knowledge and insights on a wide range of issues. Senior Minister is also the Chairman of GIC, the Government investment management company which invests Singapore's foreign reserves.

(2) Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is the Minister for Finance and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He is under PMO because he also looks after the Public Service Division, which handles the personnel matters and policies of public officers.

(3) Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan is the Co-ordinating Minister for Security and Defence. We created this new appointment because of the grave threat posed by terrorism. The threat cuts across the work of many Ministries, and requires overarching supervision. Dr Tan chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Security and Defence.

Dr Tan is also in charge of university education. In addition, he chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Developing Research and Professional Manpower.

(4) Minister Lee Yock Suan, as Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, helps the Foreign Minister in policy issues as well as some of his many overseas travels and meetings. The Ministerial appointment in PMO is to reflect Mr Lee's status as a senior member of the Cabinet. It carries more weight when he represents Singapore overseas than the title of Second Minister for Foreign Affairs.

(5) Minister Lim Boon Heng is the Secretary-General of the NTUC. Because of the important role our workers play in the economy, the NTUC Secretary-General holds an appointment in PMO. He reflects the views of workers to the Cabinet. In turn, he transmits the thinking of the Government on economic and labour-related issues to the unions.

(6) For the same reason, Mr Matthias Yao Chih, Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC, is a Senior Minister of State in PMO.

Lastly, Minister Lim Hng Kiang is Minister in PMO and Second Minister for Finance. Within PMO, he looks after the issues of aging population, marriage and procreation, and the attraction of international talent to Singapore. These population-related issues are crucial to the long-term survival and prosperity of the country, and they cut across several Ministries. Mr Lim also runs the day-to-day affairs of the Ministry of Finance.

There are no immediate plans to reduce the number of senior political appointments in the Government. All of them have substantive responsibilities.

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong: Mr Speaker, Sir, would the Deputy Prime Minister agree that there is a growing public perception that the Prime Minister's Office is the holding ground for older Ministers awaiting their retirement, and that something should be done to change that perception? It does not matter whether that perception is correct or wrong, but something has to be done to change the perception.

Mr Lee Hsien Loong: I am not aware of any such perception. If anything, people accuse the Senior Minister of being too active rather than waiting for his retirement, and I think that is not a bad thing.

Mr Speaker: Dr Maliki.

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman: Question No. 9, Sir.