VZCZCXRO5253
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHGP #1667/01 1440618
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240618Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9990
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 001667 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV PHUM SN
SUBJECT: PM LEE MAKES MINOR CHANGES TO GOS CABINET 
 
REF: A. SINGAPORE 1379 
     ¶B. SINGAPORE 1326 
     ¶C. SINGAPORE 1289 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced 
minor changes to his cabinet on May 22.  The only ministerial 
change involves Minister for Transport Yeo Cheow Tong, who 
will be stepping down; his replacement will be Raymond Lim, 
currently Minister in the Prime Minister's Office.  Five new 
MPs will be appointed to junior positions in the cabinet. 
Other ministers have shuffled their secondary portfolios, 
likely in anticipation of further moves mid-term. The current 
cabinet line-up is in paragraph 7.  End Summary. 
 
One Ministerial Change 
---------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Two weeks after winning his first election as Prime 
Minister, PM Lee Hsien Loong named a new cabinet that 
reportedly reflects his priorities for the next term: 
education, foreign affairs, and youth matters.  President S. 
¶R. Nathan will swear in PM Lee and the new cabinet on May 30. 
 In the only ministerial change, Raymond Lim will take over 
as Minister of Transport from Yeo Cheow Tong, who is stepping 
down.  This will be the first time that Lim has headed his 
own ministry.  He will retain his position as Second Minister 
for Foreign Affairs, but will drop the positions of Second 
Minister for Finance and Minister in the Prime Minister's 
Office. 
 
Possible Mid-Term Moves 
----------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Tharman Shanmugaratnam will remain Minister for 
Education, but will replace Mr. Lim as Second Finance 
Minister, assisting PM Lee who will continue as Finance 
Minister. Shanmugaratnam is a likely candidate for Finance 
Minister in the future.  He has a strong financial 
background, having been managing director for the Monetary 
Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country's central bank, 
before leaving MAS in 2001 to run for parliament. 
 
¶4. (U) Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, 
Vivian Balakrishnan, will also become Second Minister for 
Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA), dropping his 
position as Second Minister for Trade and Industry.  The 
current MICA Minister, Dr. Lee Boon Yang, had asked to 
retire, but PM Lee persuaded him to stay until mid-term so 
that his successor could be groomed.  Balakrishnan will 
likely assume the position of Minister for MICA mid-term when 
Dr. Lee Boon Yang steps down. 
 
New MPs Taking Up Appointments 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (U) The PM named five newly elected MPs to junior 
positions in the cabinet.  Ms. Grace Fu will become Minister 
of State for National Development; Mr. Lee Yi Shyan will 
become Minister of State for Trade and Industry; and Rear 
Admiral Lui Tuck Yew (former Chief of the Navy) will become 
Minister of State for Education.  Mr. Teo Ser Luck will 
become Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Community 
Development, Youth and Sports, and Mr. Masagos Zulkifly will 
become Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of 
Education. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶6. (SBU)  This minor reshuffle leaves in place the 
tried-and-tested older generation.  Some of them, such as 
Deputy PM Jayakumar, are expected to retire before the next 
election.  The reshuffle also gives three of the cabinet's 
rising stars -- Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Vivian Balakrishnan, 
and Raymond Lim -- the chance to demonstrate if they can 
perform well in new areas.  It will be in keeping with past 
practice if the Prime Minister undertakes a larger reshuffle 
within two or three years in order to assign those who 
succeed in their new jobs to positions of greater 
responsibility.  The appointments of the five new MPs signal 
that the PAP has identified them as the candidates for the 
follow-on generation of rising leaders. 
 
Singapore Cabinet as of May 30, 2006 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (U) 
 
Lee Hsien Loong - Prime Minister, Minister for Finance 
 
Goh Chok Tong - Senior Minister 
 
Lee Kuan Yew - Minister Mentor 
 
SINGAPORE 00001667  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
Prof. S. Jayakumar - Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Law, 
Co-ordinating Minister for Security and Defence at PM's Office 
 
Wong Kan Seng - Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Home 
Affairs 
 
George Yeo Yong-Boon - Minister for Foreign Affairs 
 
Dr. Lee Boon Yang - Minister for Information, Communications 
and the Arts 
 
Mah Bow Tan - Minister for National Development 
 
Lim Boon Heng - Minister for Prime Minister's Office 
 
Lim Hng Kiang - Minister for Trade and Industry 
 
Teo Chee Hean - Minister for Defence 
 
Lim Swee Say - Minister for Prime Minister's Office 
 
Assoc. Prof. Yaacob Ibrahim - Minister for Environment and 
Water Resources, Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs 
 
Khaw Boon Wan - Minister for Health 
 
Tharman Shanmugaratnam - Minister for Education, Second 
Minister for Finance 
 
Dr. Ng Eng Hen - Minister for Manpower, Second Minister for 
Defence 
 
Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan - Minister for Community Development, 
Youth and Sports, Second Minister for Information, 
Communications and the Arts 
 
Raymond Lim Siang Keat - Minister for Transport, Second 
Minister for Foreign Affairs 
HERBOLD