When questioned point-blank by foreign reporters whether if he has ambition to be the next Prime Minister, Minister Chan Chun Sing tacitly admitted so like Halimah Yacob:
“All of us have to be prepared to do the job when called upon. I will repeat what Minister Khaw Boon Wan has shared: ‘In Singapore, leadership is a responsibility to be borne, not a position to be sought.'”
The former army general who is the forerunner of the Prime Minister contest also commented that there will be no difference even when Lee Hsien Loong steps down:
“In Singapore, you are not going to expect, if person A becomes the Prime Minister versus person B, that the direction is going to be so diametrically opposite as to cause a huge discontinuity or disruption… I accept every leader has got his own style and personality … but by and large, those are not the determining factors. At the margins, the personality, style, all that makes a bit of a difference, but the central policy direction is determined by the team.”
The foreign reporters then questioned Minister Chan Chun Sing why is a personal matter like the Oxley Road house tabled in Parliament, and the faithful servant of Lee Hsien Loong defended the PM claiming Lee Kuan Yew is not above the law:
“The most important thing is that it showed no man is above the law, not even the late Mr Lee. People say: ‘Why did you set up a committee to examine the issue, perhaps in defiance of his wish?’ If Mr Lee had his personal wish and no one in the current or future cabinet has the sense of responsibility to think through the issue according to the needs of the society and the times, what would it speak about the quality of leadership in Singapore?”
Lee Hsien Loong will likely make himself a “Mentor Minister” or “Emeritus Senior Minister” post, just as he did for Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong when they stepped down as PMs. The dictator will still control the next PM just as how he currently controls puppet president Halimah Yacob.