i thought it was made clear in the reports: hes gonna be the SM,
and he will focus on international affairs? sounds very much like
what the current SM is doing.
[/quote]
SINGAPORE : Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong has given an indication of
the sort of role he will have in Cabinet after stepping down on
August 12.
He made the comments at the launch of a book about Neptune Orient
Lines.
But Mr Goh says ultimately his role and designation will be decided
and announced by the new prime minister - Mr Lee Hsien Loong.
Before he entered politics in 1977, Mr Goh was the managing
director of Neptune Orient Lines.
So it was fitting for him to launch a new book on the success of
the shipping line over the past 35 years.
But Mr Goh was not just looking back at how he had helped
NOL.
He was also looking ahead to his new role in the Government after
he hands over the baton to Mr Lee Hsien Loong on August 12.
Urging Singaporeans to rally around the new prime minister, Mr Goh
also spelt out the role he would like to play in the new Cabinet -
one which focuses more on international than domestic
matters.
"I would like to concentrate on a few projects on the international
side because I think the new Prime Minister will have to also
consolidate his domestic ground even as he reaches out to have his
own international network of contacts. I am very keen on developing
better ties with the Middle East," he said.
It has been revealed that Mr Goh will take over Senior Minister Lee
Kuan Yew as the number 2 in government, and Mr Goh hopes that this
will become an established practice.
"If we can set this as a practice for Singapore, I think it is
unique to us, it is useful to us, because the experience of the
prime minister will not be evaporated overnight," he said.
Mr Goh also dismissed suggestions that keeping both himself and
Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew in Cabinet would cramp Mr Lee Hsien
Loong's style of government.
Mr Goh said: "We will not in any way cramp the style of the new
prime minister...we will know how to contribute to discussions and
know that our views should be given but not be imposed upon the new
prime minister and his team.
"I can tell you that Mr Lee Hsien Loong makes up his own mind. He
takes in all inputs and he makes up his own mind, even inputs from
Lee Kwan Yew, the Senior Minister now.
"So I have no problem whatsoever. After sometime, people will get
to know the way we work. We are not in this to restrict what the
new man should do, otherwise why should I step down?"
Mr Lee Hsien Loong is due to announce his new cabinet line-up on
August 10 or August 11. - CNA
