Goh wants to keep post

Goh wants to keep post

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, widely expected to win a strong mandate at upcoming polls, indicated in remarks published yesterday that he plans to remain at the helm for the next 10 years.

Goh, 55, told university students at a dialogue late Friday that he hoped to find a potential successor when he was about 65 years old but said he had no intention of dying in office.

Asked about his plans to ensure a smooth transition of power to his successor, Goh said: "First I am going to fight in this elections. I'm going to win decisively and I'm going to be around for the next five years ...

"When I am in my 60's, going towards 65, I hope I have at least five to six people with the potential to be prime minister ... I have no intention to carry on until I drop dead ...," the Straits Times reported.

Goh took over as Prime Minister in November 1990 from Lee Kuan Yew, who stepped down at the age of 67 after having ruled Singapore with an iron hand since assuming power in 1959. Lee, 73, remains in Goh's cabinet as a senior minister.