Three days ago, the prime minister announced the creation of three new ministries: Culture, Community and Youth; Social and Family Development; Communications and Information. The new departments were carved out from the current ministries of Information, Communications and the Arts plus Community Development, Youth and Sports.
The latest Cabinet reshuffle seems to have provided some confusion yet changes nothing much to the current issues which are affecting the people. Things like "building strong families" and "deepening the sense of identity and belonging to the nation", as stated in the press statement, just sound too old-fashioned and cliché to Singaporeans.
People want solutions and policy changes which can affect the country in a positive way, not some PR gimmick like deleting and adding new names for ministries. Instead of providing more assistance to the poor and elderly, the government's decision to appoint two new faces seems puzzling.
Not only will the new additions, Grace Fu and Indranee Rajah, burden the wage bill, their appointments as minister in the prime minister's office and senior minister of state in law and education respectively raises more questions than create answers. Does the legislative really need three ministers without portfolios?
Also, the fact that Chan Chun Sing, currently an acting minister (equivalent to full minister), was being appointed as a senior minister of state in another ministry (defence) gives the impression that he is still not ready to be promoted to a full minister. This would only decrease the amount of confidence people have for their government.
Next, why is there a need to have a ministry of social and family development when current MCYS is already in charge of its objectives and tasks? And sports have fallen into the scope of the ministry of culture, community and youth although the word "sports" is evidently missing.
The press statement which was released on Tuesday is apparently filled with nice words that serve to placate our eyes. Sadly, identification of issues like poverty and the influx of foreign workers were not stated at all. However, it was mentioned that MCCY will "focus on building a cohesive society". What does that truly mean?
This reshuffling looks more like a public relations exercise to remind Singaporeans that the ruling party is still doing its job and Cabinet re-organizations are essential to keep efficiency levels up.
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