As Tan himself says, his appointment indicates the PAP's painful shortage of cabinet candidates. Despite giving ministers hefty salary increases last year, few young leaders are lining up to join the administration. B.-G. Lee says the government tries to bring in at least three prospective officials every five years. But Tan's appointment was the first since July 1993. Five in the 15-member cabinet now handle two or more portfolios.
Some ministers move from post to post.
The government offers choice state scholarships to attract people to civil or army service. There is also the issue of loss of privacy. Throughout his 31 years as prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, now 71, lived by a stringent code of conduct, and expected his ministers to do the same. Many may feel that Lee's high standards are too difficult to live up to. Last month Goh stressed the need for a new generation of leaders emerging in the next five years.