Designated successor
Singapore’s new leader is now tasked with fortifying the ruling party’s walls and earning back the trust of the public that took a hit by scandals before next year’s general elections
It so happens that succession stories are often scripted like thrillers. When Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew stepped down in 1990, after three decades in power, he picked Goh Chok Tong to be the “stopgap” Prime Minister until his son’s time came. At times, the plot glitches, and the heir is chosen due to chance and circumstance. Take Lawrence Wong, the former Finance Minister who will succeed Lee Hsien Loong — the son who has been in power for 20 years — to become Singapore’s fourth Prime Minister.
Mr. Wong was not the rst and familiar choice. The 51-year-old former civil servant has not been trained in the way Mr. Lee or Mr. Goh have. In 2018, the rst pick withdrew, and the smooth succession planning was crinkled with uncertainty. All eyes shifted to Mr. Wong during COVID. His was a steadying voice guiding Singapore through the pandemic. Corruption and ethics scandals within the ruling People’s Action Party have left Singaporeans yearning for accountability. Mr. Wong is now tasked with fortifying the party’s walls, and earning back the lost trust, before next year’s general elections.
Mr. Wong on April 15 accepted the leadership position with “humility and a deep sense of duty”.
He was raised in the Methodist tradition of Christianity. His mother was a teacher. His father is from China and travelled to the British-controlled Malaya to work with his grandfather. He later went to Singapore to work as a sales executive. If his mother passed along discipline, his father bequeathed him a love for music. At age eight, Mr. Wong received a guitar, sparking a love affair with rock, blues and soul. After high school, Mr. Wong pursued economics on a government scholarship in the U.S., because “all the guitarists and musicians I followed were largely American”, he told The Straits Times.
The young economist picked a job in the Ministry of Trade and Industry circa 1997, the start of the Asian
nancial crisis. Future stints included time at the Ministries of Finance and
Health, after which he shadowed PM Lee between 2005 and 2008.
Political entry
Mr. Wong’s rst test came during the pandemic when he “rose to the occasion without breaking under stress and pressure”, a colleague said in an interview. His calm handling of the pandemic helped him build trust within the PAP.
Over time, Mr. Wong has cultivated a professional reputation for being clear and persuasive; serious and sincere; attentive and amicable. Speaking of his work ethic, the politician said: “...in the Methodist tradition, you would say your work is your worship... [your work] is a testimony of how you as a person are an example... for the world.”
Mr. Lee had intended to step down before his 70th birthday, a plan upended because of the pandemic. The transition also overlaps with crises on the PAP’s frontiers. Three high-pro le politicians resigned after a corruption and ethics case threatened to sully the reputation of the party. Mr. Wong said in July he would “work doubly hard” to earn Singaporeans’ con dence.
In the successor’s hands lies the dynasty’s legacy. But what will be Mr. Wong’s legacy? Some think he may uphold the status quo without ru°ing many feathers. The opposition Singapore Democratic Party in 2022 said Mr. Wong is “substantively no dierent” from his colleague [PM]. Critics have censured him for increasing taxes. Others foresee more worker-friendly policies, devised through processes that engage citizens. Mr. Wong has also spoken about changing the “identity” of the island state to make it “a more middle-income society”.
Mr. Wong in a 2022 interview recollected a wisdom his mentor acquired when he worked with Goh Keng Swee, the deputy to Lee Kuan Yew. Dr. Goh’s philosophy was to always know the answers to Lee’s questions. If the deputy failed, he “would make it a point” to try and master the topic within hours. The designated successor is inheriting this advice. One month before the change of the guard, he said in a post: “I pledge to give my all in this undertaking.”