Singapore’s Transport Minister Khaw Will Retire: Straits Times

(Bloomberg) -- Khaw Boon Wan, Singapore’s transport minister who grappled with issues from train breakdowns to expanding the city-state’s infrastructure, will retire from politics after nearly two decades and will not contest in the upcoming elections.

Khaw’s resignation was revealed in a letter to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, reported by Straits Times, who hailed Khaw as a key voice who pushed to expand Singapore as a regional air and sea hub. Khaw, who entered politics in 2001, had also previously served in the health and national development ministries and helped shape many of the key government policies in place today.

“You were in my cabinet since day one, and have been one of my most reliable lieutenants,” Lee said in his letter on Friday, noting how Khaw has taken on the most challenging jobs in the cabinet.

After the ruling People’s Action Party disappointing results in the 2011 general elections when voters dumped it from several seats amid a perception it was out of touch with public concerns about issues like immigration, Khaw led a post-mortem to identify where the party had fallen short. The conclusions and recommendations he presented was a “watershed moment for the PAP” and “the honest introspection and self-critique” set the party on a fresh course, according to Lee’s letter.

‘Politically Spiky’

Khaw volunteered to take on the “politically spiky” transport portfolio after the 2015 general election, Lee said, and sought to improve the local mass transportation system amid mounting public criticism from two major disruptions on train lines. He also undertook the task of expanding the country’s container port terminals and airport facilities to meet growing demand.

Under Khaw, SMRT Corp., one of the two train line operators, was taken private by Temasek Holdings Pte in 2016, and upgrades on the rail system on the existing lines are being carried out. The government also transferred ownership of all mass transport assets to the Land Transport Authority and selected companies to operate the trains and buses through tenders.

Khaw said last week that the construction of the fifth terminal at Changi Airport would be delayed for at least two years as it studies how the coronavirus outbreak will affect travel demand. The new facility was expected to be completed in 2030.

He also oversaw the expansion of Singapore’s container port in the eastern part of the island as part of a bigger project to relocate its port facilities out of the central area. The first phase of operations at the new Tuas port is expected to start in 2021.

Khaw will be among other old-guard politicians who are stepping down ahead of the upcoming polls. This week, Goh Chok Tong, who was the city-state’s second prime minister, as well as Low Thia Khiang, the long-time opposition figure, said they are leaving politics.

Singapore will hold an election on July 10 as Lee seeks a renewed mandate to govern amid the coronavirus pandemic that has pummeled the country’s economy.

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