GE2025: S’pore needs leaders with integrity, competence, a sense of public service, says Heng Swee Keat
(From left) Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong and PAP new face Hazlina Abdul Halim interacting with Yarrow Gardens resident Bernie Liu, during a walkabout in Joo Chiat on April 5. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Goh Yan Han
Apr 08, 2025
SINGAPORE – Singapore needs leaders with integrity, competence and a sense of public service, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.
And those who join politics must do so for the right reasons, he added.
“Not because ‘I want to win an election’, not because ‘I want the power to do things’,” he said. “But ‘I’m doing this for the long-term good of all Singaporeans’.”
DPM Heng, who is East Coast GRC’s anchor minister, was speaking to The Straits Times on April 3. During the sit-down interview, he gave his views on his constituency, his party and the growing desire for political pluralism.
When voting in the next general election, it is not just about which party is on the ballot or the idea of pluralism, but about which party can serve Singaporeans better, he said.
He added that what matters for Singapore’s future is having good leadership and a good system of governance.
“I think all of us who are in the PAP believe that as of today, we are still the best party to run the government, to take Singapore in a new direction,” said DPM Heng, who is the party’s chairman.
“If we are not able to form the government, if we are out, then Singapore will be governed in a very different direction.”
DPM Heng pointed out that the People’s Action Party fields a number of political officer-holders in each group representation constituency, adding that he hopes Singaporeans recognise the role such leaders play.
“I certainly wouldn’t have been able to do the five Budgets to support Singaporeans and our businesses if I was out in the last election,” added DPM Heng, who was finance minister when the Covid-19 pandemic started in 2020.
That year, he delivered an unprecedented five Budgets. The general election was held in July.
He also said Singaporeans should not assume that PAP MPs hold homogeneous views, just because the party has many more seats in Parliament, said DPM Heng.
Each MP brings different perspectives, and the party must remain a broad group that can reflect the interests, concerns and aspirations of Singaporeans, he said.
The PAP brings these together in a way that allows it to make and implement effective policies, he added.
What PAP MPs have in common is a deep belief in building a multiracial, multi-religious, multicultural society, he said.
DPM Heng cited a recent encounter with a stranger, who had approached him to say she was worried for Singapore because of the growing interest in having different political parties in Parliament.
The woman’s view was that citizens should vote for people who can take the country forward, as it is not just about having more opposition politicians.
“I said, ‘I agree with you, but it is our people’s choice, and I hope that our citizens vote wisely, vote for their long-term future,’”said DPM Heng.
There is a national agenda that Singapore has to tend to carefully, he said.
“And if you have good, competent, hard-working MPs on the ground, who can mobilise people together, who can do things in the neighbourhood, your neighbourhood will be a better neighbourhood,” he added.
