Two Senior Ministers and Two Deputy Prime Ministers

Does little Singapore need two Senior Ministers and two Deputy Prime Ministers?

Today paper ran this AFP story on 26 March 2009:

Singapore PM names new deputy in reshuffle

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday named a new deputy as part of a cabinet reshuffle that comes as the trade-reliant city-state tackles a deep recession.

Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean will become one of two deputy prime ministers on April 1 alongside the veteran Wong Kan Seng, who also serves as the home affairs minister in charge of internal security, Lee's office said.

S. Jayakumar, a former foreign minister, was shifted from deputy prime minister to the post of senior minister alongside Goh Chok Tong, the city-state's former prime minister, the official statement said.

In Singapore's political system, senior ministers serve as key advisers to the cabinet.

Lee Kuan Yew, the republic's founding prime minister, holds the unique title of "minister mentor" in his son's cabinet.

"These changes are part of continuing leadership renewal and testing out of younger office-holders for broader responsibilities," the statement said.

Singapore became the first Asian economy to slip into recession last year, and gross domestic product is expected to shrink by as much as 5.0 percent this year, according to official projections.

Such a drop in GDP would plunge Singapore into its worst recession since independence in 1965.