Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

In total, the new Cabinet will have 37 political office holders, including seven newly appointed.

Lee continues as Prime Minister while Heng Swee Keat remains in his posts as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister and will also be appointed as Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies.

Teo Chee Hean retains his post as Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, while Tharman Shanmugaratnam stays as Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies. Chan Chun Sing will be Trade and Industry Minister.

In normal times, Singapore needs experienced ministers to provide steady hands, and also to mentor the younger ministers; and in this crisis, this need is even greater, Lee said.

In the new cabinet, Lee has rotated the ministers, especially the younger ones to gain exposure and experience. “We regularly do this during Cabinet reshuffles, and the intent is to expose the office holders to different portfolios, to gain both breadth and depth, to understand the intricacies of the issues and to see things from different perspectives,” he noted.

The PM has also brought in fresh faces from the newly elected MPs, including several from the private sector, and one of whom as a full minister. They will reinforce his team and offer new ideas and perspectives, he explained.

Lee said the new Cabinet seeks to balance continuity, exposure and renewal, and be a team that leads Singapore through the current public health and economic crisis and into the future./.VNA