Someone needs a break from all that.
Lui Tuck Yew, whose term as Transport Minister will most likely be remembed for suffering a series of MRT network disruptions — some of which may have been beyond his or anyone’s control — has decided he won’t stand for re-election in the coming General Election. And it’s something he first broached early this year.
Lui has sent a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office and PM Lee Hsien Loong had tried hard to change his mind but at the end “reluctantly accepted” his decision. Copies of both letters have been released to media.
“I have put my utmost into fulfilling my responsibilities. I thank you for letting me know your intention to reappoint me as a Cabinet Minister if I was to be re-elected at the coming General Election,” he wrote. “But the General Election also provides an opportunity for me to step back from politics without causing any major disruption to Government at the end of its term.”
Now we all know that public service can be a thankless job — but PM Lee took Lui’s decision as a chance to highlight the Transport Mnister’s achievements, saying he and the other Cabinet members felt that Lui had more to contribute.
“Tuck Yew has done a lot for my team and for Singapore over the last decade, especially these last four years as Minister for Transport. When I asked him to go to MOT in 2011, we both knew that I was giving him a very difficult job, but he did not hesitate. There were urgent things to be done, and public expectations were high,” shares PM Lee on Facebook.
“He put his heart and soul into the task, and made many improvements to the public transport system. The benefits will be seen in the coming years. The job is not yet complete, but we are heading in the right direction,” he adeed.
The soon to be ex-Transport Minister first entered Parliament in 2006 as MP in Tanjong Pagar GRC. He was Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Education and Acting Minister for was then known as the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts before he was appointed Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs following the 2011 polls, according to Channel NewsAsia.
Photo: Gov.sg Facebook Page
