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Singapore’s PM Lee says ‘will decide later’ when to hand power to heir apparent Lawrence Wong
- Lee Hsien Loong said he will decide in due course when to step down and hand power to Finance Minister Wong, with timing of next election due by 2025 a key factor
- He also revealed 15 out of 19 key ‘stakeholders’ comprising ministers, the powerful national trade unions chief and the parliamentary speaker backed Wong to be his successor
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Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Saturday he would “decide later” when to hand power to his newly named heir apparent Lawrence Wong, noting that the timing of a general election due by 2025 will be a factor in how the leadership transition takes place.
Speaking to local media two days after his ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) signalled Finance Minister Wong would be its next leader – and consequently Singapore’s next prime minister – Lee said the transition would be done “carefully and deliberately”.
“I will discuss with Lawrence, and we will decide later, what the best strategy is for us to fight the next general election – whether it is for me to hand over to him first, he consolidates, he leads into the next election of the 4G team … or I go into the next election leading the PAP, fight the next election, and if we win, after that Lawrence takes over,” Lee said, according to a transcript of his remarks at the press conference.
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“It will depend on how things evolve and is something which we will decide later on. Either way, our plan is for Lawrence to be the next PM, if the PAP wins the next [general election].”
Lee, in power since 2004 after taking over from Goh Chok Tong – the successor of his father and Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew – has helmed the PAP in four general elections.
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