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https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/prime-minister-lee-hsien-loong-4g-leaders-announcement-2626176 Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announces Finance Minister Lawrence Wong as leader of 4G team Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announces Finance Minister Lawrence Wong as leader of 4G team COVID-19 multi-ministry task force co-chair Lawrence Wong speaking at a press conference on Sep 3, 2021. (Photo: Ministry of Communications and Information) 14 Apr 2022 06:37PM (Updated: 14 Apr 2022 06:37PM) Bookmark Share SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday (Apr 14) announced that Finance Minister Lawrence Wong will be the leader of Singapore's fourth-generation (4G) team. In a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PM), Mr Lee said: "After a process of consultation, Cabinet ministers affirmed today their choice of Minister Lawrence Wong as the leader of the 4G team. Advertisement "This decision was endorsed by all Government members of parliament in a party caucus this evening." After consulting the ministers, Mr Lee asked former Cabinet Minister and People's Action Party (PAP) Chairman Khaw Boon Wan to start a process involving the Ministers, as well as Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and NTUC Secretary Ng Chee Meng. "Mr Khaw met each one of them individually, to sound out their personal views in confidence and to facilitate a new consensus on a 4G leader. "The views of the Prime Minister and the two Senior Ministers were not sought." Mr Khaw found that the "overoverwhelming majority" of those consulted supported Mr Wong as the leader, the statement wrote. Advertisement Earlier on Thursday, Mr Khaw briefed Cabinet Ministers, as well as the Speaker and NTUC Secretary-General, on his findings, and all endorsed the decision for Mr Wong to lead the team. With this decision, Mr Lee will make adjustments to Cabinet appointments, which will be announced in due course. "This decision on succession is a crucial one for Singapore. It will ensure the continuity and stability of leadership that are the hallmarks of our system. "The Ministers recognise that the right to lead cannot be inherited. Mr Lawrence Wong and his younger team will continue to give their best to Singaporeans, and justify their trust and support." Last November, Mr Lee said that Singapore's 4G team needed a "little longer" to choose the country's next leader, but the decision will come well before the next elections. Advertisement "As the situation stabilises, settling on my successor will be an important matter which cannot be put off indefinitely," said Mr Lee, speaking at the Suntec Convention Centre during the People's Action Party (PAP) Convention 2021. "The 4G team will need a little longer to make a decision. But I am confident that they will settle it well before the next General Election comes around." The candidate to succeed Mr Lee, 70, has been up in the air since Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat stepped aside as the leader of the PAP 4G team last April. Mr Heng, 60, cited his age as the reason and said he would have "too short a runway" should he become Prime Minister after the pandemic. Mr Lee, the PAP secretary-general, had intended to step down when he reached 70 years old but said that he will stay on due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Advertisement Source: CNA/lk(ac)