Social and Family Development Minister Tan Chuan-Jin,
48, has been nominated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as the
next Speaker of Parliament.
The announcement by the Prime Minister's Office
(PMO) on Tuesday (Sept 5) came nearly a month after the post was
vacated by Madam Halimah Yacob, who is contesting in the
Presidential Election later this month.
Mr Tan, set to be the third Speaker in less than five
years, will need to be elected by Parliament at its next sitting on
Sept 11.
The Speaker's post was vacated after Madam Halimah, 63,
resigned on Aug 7 to run in the Presidential Election, the first
reserved for the Malay community following changes to the Elected
Presidency scheme passed by the House last year. Member of
Parliament (Punggol East) Charles Chong, one of two Deputy
Speakers, has since been filling in as Acting Speaker.
PM Lee, writing in a Facebook post, said it had not
been easy to find a suitable replacement, noting: "While
Chuan-Jin stood out as the best choice, it was a very difficult
decision to nominate him, as it meant losing an effective activist
at (the Ministry of Social and Family Development)."
Describing Mr Tan as having "the temperament and
personality for this role", PM Lee added: "Chuan-Jin remains an
important member of my team, though in a different role. I have
asked him to maintain his interest in environmental and social
issues, and his concern for the needy and disadvantaged."
Mr Tan, in accepting PM Lee's nomination, said:
"Good ideas can come from both sides of the House, as does good
intent. In fact they abound throughout the length and breadth of
our society.
"Our duty must be to harness these for the common good
– so as to put them to the service of fellow Singaporeans, and to
build a better society."
Mr Desmond Lee, who is is currently Minister in the
Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister in the Ministry of Home
Affairs, will relinquish his appointments and take over the
helm of the Ministry of Social and Family Development. He will also
continue as Second Minister in the Ministry of National
Development
The Prime Minister's Office also announced the
appointment of Ms Josephine Teo as Second Minister in the Ministry
of Home Affairs. Ms Teo will relinquish her appointment in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and continue as Minister in the Prime
Minister’s Office and Second Minister in the Ministry of
Manpower.
Mr
Desmond Lee (left) and Ms Josephine Teo. (Photo: PAP)
Should Mr Tan be elected by the House as Speaker, he
will follow in the footsteps of Mr Abdullah Tarmugi, who became
Speaker in 2002 after an eight-year stint in the Cabinet.
Seen as part of the core group of fourth generation
leaders, Mr Tan, who rose to the rank of Brigadier-General, left
the army to join politics in 2011. Two weeks after the 2011 General
Election, he was appointed a Minister of State at the Ministry of
Manpower and Ministry of National Development. Mr Tan was appointed
Acting Manpower Minister in 2012, and became a full Minister in
2014. About a year later, he took on the social and family
development portfolio.
Mdm Halimah became the first female
Speaker in January 2013. TODAY file photo
Madam Halimah, who also left her roles including as
Member of Parliament and member of the ruling People's Action Party
(PAP), became the ninth Speaker of Parliament in 2013 after Mr
Michael Palmer resigned in late 2012 over an extramarital
affair.
In her resignation letter last month, Madam Halimah had
said she was grateful to have served as Speaker, and will miss the
role, her residents in Marsiling-Yew Tee group representation
constituency and her constituency work.
Paying tribute to Madam Halimah's contributions as
Speaker, PM Lee had said in a letter to her last month that she had
presided over parliamentary sittings "with dignity and a sure
touch".
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