Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a slew of changes in his new Cabinet on Monday, including one that may signal a possible successor.

Heng Swee Keat, 54, the former Education Minister, was tasked with the Finance portfolio, taking over from current Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

… Bilveer Singh, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), said the two were placed in the Education ministry to be “tested and tried”.

“They’ve been thrown into the deep end, and Education is a hot potato in this country, one of the most important ministries,” Singh said.