Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s cabinet has been sworn in in Singapore. 5 Tamilians have been sworn in as ministers in major portfolios. Thurman Shanmugaratnam has been appointed Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies. Mr Ka. Shanmugam, S. Eeswaran, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan and Indrani Raja are the other ministers of Tamil origin who have been appointed. Of the 37 people in the cabinet, 9 are women.
Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Parliamentary elections in Singapore were held without controversy. The ruling People’s Action Party, led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, has regained power. Voters elected 93 MPs in this election. Following the results, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced his new cabinet on Friday.
The new government has appointed six new ministers in 15 departments. Most of the old ministers, including Dr Tan Chee Leng, senior ministers Theo Chee Heen and Thurman Shanmugaratnam, have been re-appointed as ministers. For the first time this year, the swearing-in took place in 2 places, Istana and Parliament.