Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan retires

Janice Heng

Published Fri, Jun 26, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Singapore GE2020

Singapore

TRANSPORT Minister and Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure Khaw Boon Wan is retiring from politics and will not contest this General Election (GE). In a valedictory letter to Mr Khaw on Friday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong thanked him for his "lifetime of public service to Singapore".

In a Facebook post filled with photographs and reminiscence, Mr Khaw expressed his gratitude to Singaporeans; his constituents; and his colleagues in Parliament and Cabinet.

"Yesterday, my wife and I celebrated our 43rd Wedding Anniversary. Today, PM announced my retirement from politics, after 42 years of public service," he wrote. "It is a week of high emotion for me. Gratitude fills me to the brim!"

Entering politics in 2001 after a career in the public service, Mr Khaw has "taken on the most challenging jobs in the Cabinet", said Mr Lee.

Mr Khaw was Senior Minister of State for Health during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) outbreak. As Health Minister subsequently, he put in place processes to prepare Singapore for the next novel disease outbreak.

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After the 2011 GE, Mr Khaw took on the National Development portfolio, where he ramped up the public housing building programme. And after the 2015 GE - during which public transport reliability was a hot-button issue - Mr Khaw "volunteered to take on the politically spiky transport portfolio", noted Mr Lee.

Ministerial duties aside, Mr Khaw led the People's Action Party's post-mortem after the "disappointing results" of GE 2011, in which the party saw its lowest post-independence vote share of 60.1 per cent.

"Beyond your ministerial and political contributions, I have deeply appreciated our personal friendship, and greatly benefited from your advice," added Mr Lee, noting that Mr Khaw was the one to suggest that he venture into social media in 2012.

With Mr Khaw having been "a role model and a source of sage advice" to younger ministers, Mr Lee said he was happy that even after retirement, Mr Khaw has agreed to be available to advise his successors.

The PAP is launching its GE2020 manifesto in a Facebook and YouTube livestream at 10am on Saturday, with an address by Mr Lee, the party's secretary-general.