Masked up and split up, but no less memorable a swearing-in ceremony

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Cabinet members who were sworn in at the Istana on July 27, 2020. PHOTO: LEE HSIEN LOONG/FACEBOOK
PM Lee chatting with Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh, whom he has designated Leader of the Opposition, at the Istana yesterday. PHOTO: MCI President Halimah Yacob with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon (second from right
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and the rest of the Cabinet were sworn in at Parliament House, due to precautions over Covid-19. PHOTO: MCI
PM Lee chatting with Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh, whom he has designated Leader of the Opposition, at the Istana yesterday. PHOTO: MCI President Halimah Yacob with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon (second from right
PM Lee chatting with Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh, whom he has designated Leader of the Opposition, at the Istana yesterday. PHOTO: MCI

The swearing-in ceremony for a new Cabinet at the Istana is tra-ditionally attended by members of the establishment and in-vited guests from a cross-section of society.

With the country in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, this year's ceremony was a far more quiet affair, split up over two locations for safe distancing.

In the Istana's State Room were President Halimah Yacob and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, along with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and half the Cabinet.

The others, including Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing, took their oaths in Parliament House instead. Mr Heng and Mr Chan are the People Action Party's (PAP) first and second assistant secretary-generals, respectively, and head the party's fourth-generation leadership.

The two venues were linked by video, with political office-holders on both sides able to see each other. But their seats were spaced out at regular intervals, driving home the message of safe distancing. Invited guests, too, watched the proceedings from separate rooms in each building.

Also invited were PAP MPs past and present, and the Workers' Party's newly elected MPs. PM Lee later posed for a wefie with WP chief Pritam Singh, whom he has designated Leader of the Opposition, after the event.

Like the PAP MPs, the WP MPs were split too - with Aljunied GRC MPs at the Istana, and Sengkang GRC MPs and Hougang MP Dennis Tan at Parliament House.

The ceremonies of previous years welcomed guests of every stripe - from top civil servants to blue-collar workers, who would mingle with the newly sworn-in ministers on the Istana's manicured lawns after the ceremony.

But this year's guest list was far more pared down. It included MPs, former political office-holders, ambassadors from around the region, judges, permanent secretaries and the chairmen of statutory boards. All of them, too, had to sit far apart in the interest of health and safety.

A mask adorned every face, from the camera crew filming the event to the President's aides-de-camp.

Many wore the basic surgical variety, although some - like Manpower Minister Josephine Teo and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah - wore fashionable cloth creations that blended in seamlessly with their formal attire.

Newly minted MP Yip Hon Weng even had on a unique beige-coloured creation with a clear plastic panel in the front, showing off his beaming smile.

PM Lee was the first to be sworn in at the Istana, follo-wed by DPM Heng and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean at Parliament House, and Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the Istana.

Each took their oaths individually, led by CJ Menon. They were then presented with their instruments of appointment by President Halimah Yacob or, for those in Parliament House, by Mr Eddie Teo, who chairs the Council of Presidential Advisers.

A total of 33 ministers and ministers of state took their oath of office during the proceedings, which lasted a little over an hour.

After the formalities were over, it was time to snap photos and upload social media posts to commemorate the occasion.

Remote video URL

Mr Heng posted a photo of the politicians and their spouses posing for a picture outside Parliament House, while Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin posted a rueful shot of himself adjusting the strap of his mask, which appeared to have snapped.

"Lesson learnt: Don't fiddle with mask. Make friends with cameraman," he wrote. "Always practise your knots."

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 28, 2020, with the headline Masked up and split up, but no less memorable a swearing-in ceremony. Subscribe