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CRYING SHAME FOR FENCER,
B22
YE’S CLEAN, IOC SUGGESTS,
B25
BRONZE BECKONS, B26
Watch Feng Tianwei in her
bid to become the first
Singaporean to win an
individual Olympic table
tennis medal at 9.30pm
By LYDIA LIM
DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR
THE Prime Minister has reshuf-
fled his Cabinet, promoting six
office-holders, including three
who entered politics last year, and
creating a new Ministry of Cul-
ture, Community and Youth.
The new line-up also has Ms
Grace Fu promoted to full minis-
ter, the second woman to make
the grade.
These changes come 14 months
after Mr Lee Hsien Loong’s radi-
cal shake-up of the Cabinet, post
General Election 2011, which
marked the retirement of former
prime ministers Lee Kuan Yew
and Goh Chok Tong and three oth-
er veteran ministers.
The focus this time is on the
Cabinet’s youngest members –
first-termers Chan Chun Sing,
Tan Chuan-Jin and Lawrence
Wong. Aged 39 to 43, they take
the helm at three ministries. Their
promotion to Senior Minister of
State and appointment as Acting
Ministers suggest they may form
the core of Singapore’s fourth gen-
eration of leaders.
Yesterday, in an e-mailed
response, Mr Lee praised their per-
formance, saying: “They plunged
deep in right from the start, and
have tackled their tasks energeti-
cally and imaginatively. They
have learnt quickly and become
more confident and familiar with
the issues.”
With many no doubt wanting
to read in these changes signs of
whose star has risen fastest, Mr
Lee said he has appointed Mr Tan
and Mr Wong as new Acting Min-
isters but “others have done well
too, and I will give them heavier
responsibilities in due course”.
Mr Chan was appointed Acting
Minister after last year’s election.
He also noted the political
work ministers do, which he said
“can often be even more impor-
tant”. “So you should not judge a
minister’s contributions only by
the portfolios explicitly assigned
to him,” he said.
Mr Lee added that he expects
to do further reshuffles from time
to time this term.
With the changes, Mr Tan will
helm the Manpower Ministry
from today, taking over from Dep-
uty Prime Minister Tharman Shan-
mugaratnam, who also holds the
Finance portfolio.
Mr Chan will helm the Ministry
of Social and Family Development
(MSF) and Mr Wong will head the
new Ministry of
Culture, Commu-
nity and Youth
(MCCY).
These two min-
istries will result
from a restructuring of two cur-
rent ministries – for community
development, information and the
arts – into three, from November.
Public communications and
engagement will come under the
renamed Ministry of Communica-
tions and Information (MCI),
where Dr Yaacob Ibrahim remains
in charge.
Yesterday, Mr Lee said the new
ministries would sharpen the Gov-
ernment’s focus on three increas-
ingly important priorities.
“MSF will strengthen our fami-
lies and social safety nets as pil-
lars of support in more uncertain
economic condi-
tions.
“MCI will over-
see our efforts to
improve public
communications
and engagement, which are more
important in the age of social me-
dia and a more active citizenry.”
Besides nurturing arts, sports
and engaging youth, MCCY will
also drive community develop-
ment, “which in Singapore, per-
haps more than elsewhere, is inte-
gral to building an inclusive and
cohesive society”, Mr Lee said.
He added that “all three minis-
tries will have to break new
ground, try fresh approaches, and
keep up with rapidly changing con-
ditions and needs”.
Mr Lee Yi Shyan and Mr Masa-
gos Zulkifli also move up a rung to
Senior Minister of State.
PM Lee has appointed back-
bencher Indranee Rajah as Senior
Minister of State from Nov 1 and
Associate Professor Muhammad
Faishal Ibrahim as Parliamentary
Secretary. “They have proved
themselves both in and out of Par-
liament, and shown that they can
be more than MPs. I hope to make
more backbench promotions in
future reshuffles.”
lydia@sph.com.sg
By TERRENCE VOON
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
LONDON – Singapore paddler
Feng Tianwei will play the big-
gest women’s singles match of
her career today despite losing
to world No. 1 Ding Ning in the
Olympic semi-finals yesterday.
The world No. 8 went down
to China’s reigning world cham-
pion 7-11, 4-11, 11-9, 10-12,
11-6, 6-11 at the ExCel Arena,
but still has a chance to win Sin-
gapore’s first medal at the Lon-
don Games.
She will secure the Republic’s
first-ever Olympic bronze medal
if she overcomes Japan’s fourth
seed Kasumi Ishikawa in the
third-place playoff today.
Ishikawa ousted Singapore’s
Wang Yuegu 8-11, 11-5, 11-4,
11-8, 11-4 in the quarter-finals.
But she lost to China’s Li
Xiaoxia in the next round 5-11,
4-11, 13-11, 6-11, 7-11.
Over at the Wembley Arena,
Singapore shuttler Gu Juan en-
sured that history was already
made for the Republic following
her 21-10, 21-7 preliminary
group stage win over Australia’s
Victoria Na.
The victory saw the world
No. 17 become the country’s
first woman shuttler to reach
the last 16 at the Olympic
Games.
Gu will play against Chinese
Taipei’s Cheng Shao-chieh,
ranked six rungs above her, to-
day for a quarter-final berth.
tvoon@sph.com.sg
MORE REPORTS: TOP OF THE NEWS,
A8-9
Highlights
Feng (above) will play against Japan’s fourth seed Kasumi Ishikawa for the
bronze medal today. Ishikawa ousted Wang (below) 8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4
in the quarter-finals. ST PHOTOS: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN
PM sets up one
new ministry,
and refocuses
two others
Feng still in medal hunt
Younger ministers move
up in Cabinet reshuffle
GONGFU SOCCER,
FOR REAL
ASIA, A12
HOPE FOR CHINA FOOTBALL?
LIFE! C4
JOHN TRAVOLTA IN SINGAPORE
MAN AT THE HELM
IN DIGITAL LIFE
RUGGED COMPACT
CAMERAS
TOUGH
SHOOTERS
PROMOTED:
Ministry of Community
Development, Youth and
Sports (MCYS)
New name:
Ministry of Social and
Family Development
(MSF)
Ministry of Information,
Communications and the
Arts (Mica)
New name:
Ministry of
Communications and
Information (MCI)
Ministry of Culture,
Community
and Youth (MCCY)
■ Ms Grace Fu, 48
Minister in the Prime
Minister’s Office,
Second Minister for the
Environment and Water
Resources & Second
Minister for Foreign
Affairs.
■ Mr Chan Chun Sing, 43
Acting Minister for Social and Family
Development and Senior Minister of
State (Defence)
■ Mr Tan
Chuan-Jin, 43
Acting Minister for
Manpower & Senior
Minister of State
(National
Development)
■ Mr Lawrence Wong, 39
Acting Minister for Culture, Community
and Youth & Senior Minister of State,
(Communications and Information)
■ Mr Lee Yi Shyan, 50
Senior Minister of State, (Trade and
Industry, and National Development)
■ Masagos Zulkifli, 49
Senior Minister of State (Home Affairs
and Foreign Affairs)
KEY CHANGE S
APPOINTED:
■
Ms
Indranee
Rajah, 49
Senior Minister
of State (Law
and Education)
■
Assoc Prof
Muhammad
Faishal
Ibrahim, 44
Parliamentary
Secretary
(Health and
Transport)
ST GRAPHICS
Led by:
Minister
Yaacob
Ibrahim, 56
Led by:
Acting
Minister
Chan Chun
Sing, 43
Community, Youth and Sports
Development move over
Arts and National
Resilience move over
Led by:
Acting
Minister
Lawrence
Wong, 39
One new ministry created
and two others refocused
SINCE 184 5
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012