Singapore’s Lee Declares Departure in Shock Announcement

In an article by Asia Sentinel, John Berthelsen reports Prime Minister Lee Hsieng Loong’s sudden announcement of departure from the government, and the situation currently taking place in Singapore’s political sphere.

The political transition is also not without controversy. Lee is long believed to have preferred Chan Chun Sing, a brusque former major general and army chief of staff who left the military in 2011 to run for office and who has served as education minister since 2021. According to widespread rumors, Lee attempted to anoint Chan as his successor in 2021 to replace Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who was pushed out, setting off months of inside jockeying before Lawrence Wong, 52, was named “first among equals” in the transition. Lee announced as long ago as 2012, when he had been in office for eight years, that he didn’t want to serve past the age of 70 but his plans were derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the controversy over Heng.
There are also questions for the formidable People’s Action Party, which has held power since 1959. In the 2020 general election, although it won 83 of the 95 seats in parliament, it won only 61.23 percent of the popular vote, testimony to the efficacy of government gerrymandering. It was the third-lowest popular vote share and the lowest share of parliamentary seats since the party came to power. It also came perilously close to losing several constituencies long regarded as PAP strongholds and lost a second Group Representation Constituency. There are growing indications that there is a desire for more diverse voices in parliament and for a political rein on the PAP. Although the World Bank characterizes Singapore as a high-income economy with a GDP of US$82,807 per capita as of 2022 – the highest in the world -- inequality is also high. In 2023, Singapore’s Gini coefficient was 0.37, where 1 is the most unequal and 0 is the most equal.