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SINGAPORE – Bukit Batok MP Murali Pillai, 56, will be appointed minister of state for law and transport from July 1. He is one of two backbench MPs who will become political office-holders in announced by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at a press conference at the Istana on May 13. Jurong GRC MP Shawn Huang, 41, will be promoted to senior parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Finance. The other promotions in the new line-up include Ms Low Yen Ling, who will be promoted from Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, and Trade and Industry, to senior minister of state for the same portfolios. She will also continue as Mayor of South West District. Minister of State Desmond Tan will move up a rung to senior minister of state. He will remain in the Prime Minister’s Office, as well as the National Trades Union Congress, where he is now deputy secretary-general. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Rahayu Mahzam will be promoted to minister of state and take up a new appointment in the Ministry of Communications and Information, which will be renamed as the Ministry of Digital Development and Information from July 8. She will continue in the Ministry of Health, but relinquish her portfolio in the Law Ministry. The new Cabinet will be sworn in together with DPM Wong, 51, when he becomes Singapore’s fourth prime minister on May 15. The senior parliamentary secretaries will be sworn in on May 24, and Mr Murali on July 1. Mr Murali, a senior counsel and partner with law firm Rajah & Tann, told The Straits Times he is honoured to be invited to serve in the Government. “After almost 30 years in private practice as a lawyer, I am coming in with some trepidation. I am sure there will be a steep learning curve,” he said, adding that he will work hard to support the Cabinet. The second-term MP, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs and Law, said he will assume his new appointment only on July 1 as he needs more time to deal with his ongoing court cases and other client obligations. Mr Huang, a director at Temasek International and former F-16 fighter pilot with the Republic of Singapore Air Force, was elected in the 2020 General Election. “I am deeply humbled and honoured to be considered, and will serve the best I can for Singapore and Singaporeans,” he said. Asked at the press conference if he has a number in mind of potential office-holders he wants to bring in at the next general election to strengthen the team, DPM Wong replied: “It’s not so much a specific number. Clearly, I need as many as I can get.” In every new slate of candidates that the People’s Action Party fields at each general election, there will be some with potential who are immediately appointed office-holders, he noted. Backbench MPs who do well over a period of time will also be brought in, he said, citing the promotions of Mr Murali and Mr Huang in this round. The new Cabinet will have nine senior ministers of state. Asked why he is not promoting any senior ministers of state, some of whom have served in the post for some time, DPM Wong said he has not had the chance to interact with them in the capacity of prime minister and assess their full range of work. He said it is better for him to assess them in his new capacity over a period of time, rather than rush into making appointments now. On promoting Ms Low, Mr Tan and Ms Rahayu, DPM Wong said ministers are asked every year to assess the junior office-holders whom they work with, and the prime minister will eventually decide whether to promote any of them. He added that he and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had discussed and decided on the promotions for this round. Whenever any office-holders are promoted, it means that they have done well in their present roles and can contribute more in a higher capacity, DPM Wong said. “A promotion today doesn’t mean an automatic promotion in future,” he said, noting that this will depend on how they perform in their roles and the impact they have. He added: “For all of us, it is really about synergising the combined efforts of every individual so that the outcome for the team is better than the sum of the individual parts.” DPM Wong also said he will hold more press conferences in future. “I intend to do more to engage you, the media, and through you, the public at large. I will also engage with the public directly, including different segments of society,” he said, adding that he hopes to share his thinking on key concerns and issues that are on Singaporeans’ minds through these engagements. “I also would like to listen, get feedback and views, and get inputs as to how we can best shape new policies and programmes together. So, I look forward to involving all Singaporeans so that we can take Singapore forward together.”