In Asia’s wealthiest nation, where the education system is among the world’s best, Singapore’s prime minister-in-waiting has appeared surprisingly unassuming.
Once Heng dropped out of the race, Wong’s down-to-earth approach and calm handling of Singapore’s pandemic response helped him build trust within the PAP -- and now has him positioned to become just the city-state’s fourth leader since independence. His background and personality sets him apart from Singapore’s founder Lee Kuan Yew, a stern disciplinarian, as well as his son Lee Hsien Loong, who attended Cambridge University and rose through the military ranks to become a brigadier-general.
Still, Lee Kuan Yew saw it as an advantage for Goh to be chosen by his colleagues rather than simply appointed for the role, as it would give everyone a stake in his success. In a similar vein, the ruling PAP disclosed that Wong had been chosen as Lee Hsien Loong’s successor by 15 out of 19 fourth-generation leaders following an internal party consultation process.
Like the majority of Singaporeans, Wong was brought up in public housing estates. His father hailed from China, and travelled as a teenager from the southern island of Hainan to British-controlled Malaya to help his grandfather as a chef’s assistant on the railways. In a Facebook post last year paying tribute to his father, Wong described him as part of Singapore’s “generation of pioneers who persevered against tough odds with determination and grit.
NO “something wrong with the present system which needed fixing” ? LawrenceWongST Mindset for future Singapore need some rethinking, we need to move faster in green direction and self sufficient in food security, 3030 plan won’t do it ! It’s too late when tide is up !
I don’t think he “struck a chord” with me on the “waterworks” in parliament, maybe mediocre corpse can give him more acting lessons!