Singapore PM restructures ministries, promotes ministers

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday announced the restructuring of two current ministries to form three new ones that will focus on family, community development and public communications, respectively. He also promoted a number of office holders, including some of the "high flyers" who had emerged from the general election last year. The current Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Communications, Information and the Arts will be restructured to form three new ministries with effect from Nov. 1 this year, the prime minister said in a statement. The three new ministries are the Ministry of Social and Family Development, the Ministry of Communications and Information and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. Lee said the restructuring reflects the "new phase of development" that Singapore is in. "Social and community issues are increasingly important in our shared home," he said, highlighting the need for efforts to strengthen Singapore's families and social safety nets, foster the arts and sports, and improve public communications and engagement "so as to reach out more effectively to our increasingly diverse society in the age of social media and rapid technological progress." Lee also promoted several office holders, with effect from Aug. 1, and appointed some of them ministers and acting ministers. Grace Fu, currently a senior minister of state, will be promoted to full minister. She will be minister in the Prime Minister's Office, as well as second minister for the environment and water resources and second minister for foreign affairs. Chan Chun Sing, the current acting minister for community development, youth and sports and former army chief who joined politics last year, will be the acting minister for social and family development when the new ministry is established on Nov. 1. In addition, he will relinquish his appointment as the minister of state for information, communications and the arts, and be appointed senior minister of state for defense. Tan Chuan-Jin, who also joined politics last year, will be acting minister for manpower and senior minister of state for national development. Lawrence Wong, who also joined politics last year, will be the acting minister for culture, community and youth when the new ministry was established on Nov. 1. He will also be the senior minister of state for communications and information. They and two others, namely Lee Yi Shyan and Masagos Zulkifli, will be promoted to senior ministers of state. Yaacob Ibrahim, the current minister for information, communications and the arts, will be in charge of the Ministry of Communications and Information after the restructuring on Nov. 1. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will relinquish his appointment as minister for manpower. He will remain as minister for finance and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.