Lawrence Wong, Desmond Lee elected to PAP's top decision-making body , Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
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Lawrence Wong, Desmond Lee elected to PAP's top decision-making body

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Education Minister Lawrence Wong and National Development Minister Desmond Lee have been elected to the People's Action Party's top decision-making body for the first time, reflecting the acknowledgement by cadres of their prominence on the national stage.

Both men, seen as key members of the PAP's fourth-generation leadership team, were co-opted into the central executive committee (CEC) at the last biennial party conference in 2018.

Observers and party cadres say the results of yesterday's election signal continuity and stability in the PAP's leadership ranks amid the ongoing crisis.

Mr Wong, 47, co-chairs the multi-ministry Covid-19 task force, while Mr Lee, 44, co-chairs a task force to help Singapore's economy emerge stronger from the crisis.

More than 2,000 party cadres voted at the PAP's biennial party conference yesterday, with the top 12 nominees elected for a two-year term.

The other CEC members are Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 68; Deputy PM Heng Swee Keat, 59; Mr Chan Chun Sing, 51; Mr Gan Kim Yong, 61; Ms Grace Fu, 56; Mr K. Shanmugam, 61; Mr Masagos Zulkifli, 57; Mr Ong Ye Kung, 50; Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, 51; and Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, 59.

The 12 were elected by secret ballot from a list of 19 nominees.

Ministers Indranee Rajah, 57, who was among the top 12 in 2018, and Josephine Teo, 52, were co-opted into the CEC as they got the 13th and 14th highest votes.

The other names on the ballot were labour chief Ng Chee Meng, 52; newly promoted ministers Maliki Osman, 55, and Edwin Tong, 51; Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary, 48; and North West District mayor Alex Yam, 39.

Singapore Politics