SINGAPORE - Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said he was "humbled and grateful" for the trust and confidence of the People's Action Party's fourth-generation (4G) team, which chose him as their leader.
The move, announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday (April 14), paves the way for Mr Wong to succeed Mr Lee as Singapore's next prime minister.
"It is my privilege to be called upon to lead this team. I will do my utmost to uphold this responsibility," Mr Wong, 49, said in a Facebook post, adding he was also deeply grateful for the support of his fellow PAP MPs, who have endorsed the decision.
Mr Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force handling the pandemic, said the party's 4G leaders have "stood shoulder to shoulder with each other" in the fight against Covid-19.
"The experience of the past two years has cemented our cohesiveness and strengthened our resolve to steward Singapore safely through this crisis and beyond," he added.
He noted that since the PAP came to power in 1959, its model of political leadership has never been about one person, but the team.
The 4G team's decision comes a year after Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, 60, announced he had decided to step aside as their leader, so that a younger person with a longer runway can lead the country when PM Lee retires.
Mr Wong was appointed to the key finance portfolio at the last Cabinet reshuffle in May 2021.
He was a senior civil servant before he entered politics at the 2011 General Election, holding the post of chief executive of the Energy Market Authority. Mr Wong was previously the principal private secretary to PM Lee as well.
After the election, he became minister of state for defence and education. He was appointed acting minister for culture, community and youth in November 2012, and promoted to full minister in May 2014.
He became minister for national development in 2015, and took on an additional appointment as second minister for finance in 2016, and was made education minister after the 2020 General Election. He became finance minister in May 2021.
In his post on Thursday, Mr Wong said: "As we have been reminded many times, the right to lead cannot be inherited.
"Together with the rest of the 4G team, I will continue to serve Singaporeans wholeheartedly, and strive to earn the trust and support of each and every one of our fellow citizens."
Residents in Mr Wong’s Limbang ward in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC said he has taken care of their estate well, and is friendly and approachable.
Mr Rusman Lamri, 56, said he met Mr Wong at a bursary award ceremony, when his son received an award.
“He’s very friendly and I think the estate is managed well under him, I have no issues here as a resident,” said Mr Rusman, a driver.
Others like forklift driver Ng Ah Huat, 57, who has lived in Yew Tee for about a decade, said Mr Wong helped to resolve issues raised at Meet-the-People Sessions.
“As a resident here, I am happy that he has been chosen to lead. I feel he has looked after our needs well,” said Mr Ng in Mandarin.
Engineer Matthew Ong, 51, said it was possible that Mr Wong’s co-chairmanship of the multi-ministry task force battling Covid-19 has raised his profile, and led to his peers selecting him as their leader.
Citing the task force’s decision to live with Covid-19 and treat it as endemic, Mr Ong said he hoped that Mr Wong and the 4G leaders would continue to make “bold and right” decisions for the country.
