SINGAPORE: Singapore made broad changes to its cabinet yesterday, replacing its defence minister and announcing that its health minister would step down once an outbreak of SARS stabilises.
Describing the changes as a renewal of "Singapore's political leadership", the government put new emphasis on homeland security and brought several junior ministers into its upper ranks.
Education Minister Teo Chee Hean will replace Tony Tan as Minister of Defence from August 1st. Tan will become "Co-ordinating Minister for Security and Defence" from August but remain deputy prime minister, a role he shares with Lee Hsien Loong, the son of Singapore's first prime minister and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Health Minister Lim Hng Kiang will step down once Singapore's outbreak of SARS stabilises, the government said.
Singapore has the world's fourth-highest number of confirmed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome cases, with 199 people infected and 21 dying from the virus. Nearly 90 percent of Singapore's infections have taken place in hospitals.
Lim will be replaced by senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts, Khaw Boon Wan, who also takes on the role of senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance.
In a new cabinet-level position, Lim will oversee population issues such as ageing, marriage and births, and the recruiting of talent, and remain second minister for finance.
The island nation, once one of Asia's fastest growing tiger economies, is in a hurry to retool its economy to fend off competition from rivals such as Malaysia and China and adopt greater flexibility in social controls such as censorship.
Young leaders have been touted by the government as the way forward for shaping policies increasingly centred on attracting offshore creative talent and investments to Singapore. The World Health Organisation said yesterday its warning to travellers against visiting Hong Kong was likely to stay for at least another few weeks as the city's leader warned the epidemic was still not under control.
The WHO announced the travel warning for Hong Kong and southern China, the areas worst hit by the deadly SARS virus, on April 2nd.
The warning prompted a sharp drop in tourism.