Chee Hong Tat joins PAP’s CEC for the 1st time after getting co-opted

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat joins PAP’s CEC after receiving 13th-highest number of votes

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat has joined the People’s Action Party’s (PAP’s) top decision-making body for the first time.

His election to the ruling party’s 38th Central Executive Committee (CEC) was confirmed during the PAP Conference, which was held over the weekend.

New CEC members elected during PAP conference

The new CEC members were elected during the biennial conference’s second day on Sunday (24 Nov), reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).

12 of them were elected by party cadres in a secret ballot from an initial list of 19. In no particular order, they are:

• Mr Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister
• Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister
• Mr Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister
• Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development
• Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education
• Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development
• Mr K. Shanmugam, Minister for Law and Home Affairs
• Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health
• Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment
• Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth
• Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office
• Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs

Among them, seven were recommended by the outgoing CEC to be PAP’s core leaders: Mr Wong, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Mr Heng, Mr Chan, Mr Masagos, Ms Fu and Mr Shanmugam.

Chee Hong Tat co-0pted into new CEC

Mr Chee was co-opted into the CEC as he received the 13th-highest number of votes.

This is the first time he has joined the CEC.

Another member, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, was also co-opted as he received the 14th-highest number of votes.

Dr Tan was previously co-opted into the 37th CEC in 2022.

Among the omissions this time round was Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo, who was part of the previous CEC.

Party insiders told CNA that besides Mrs Teo, the four other candidates not elected were: Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Desmond Tan and Marsiling–Yew Tee MP Alex Yam.

Up to 6 CEC members can be co-opted

While 12 CEC members must be elected at the PAP Conference, up to six more can be co-opted over the coming weeks.

The CEC should not have more than 18 members, according to the PAP constitution.

Specific appointments within the CEC, like Chairman and Secretary-General, will be announced later, along with other co-opted members.

However, SM Lee will not be Secretary-General as he is stepping down from the post, he announced during his speech at the conference on Sunday (24 Nov), saying:

This will be my last speech to the party conference as Secretary-General.

He said the next time the CEC meets, typically within a few weeks of the conference, he will propose that Mr Wong take over as the next party chief.

Also read: SM Lee stepping down as PAP Secretary-General, party pays tribute to him

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Featured image adapted from Chee Hong Tat on Facebook.