SINGAPORE, Aug. 1 Kyodo Singapore...

SINGAPORE, Aug. 1 Kyodo

Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong implemented several cabinet changes Friday based onward an announcement earlier this year that involved creating a support of coordinating minister for security and defense and the appointment of a health minister.

Defense Minister Tony Tan becomes coordinating minister for security and defense a situation Goh created to combat terrorist threats in Singapore.

Tan was replaced as defense minister on Teo Chee Hean, who was mov from the education portfolio.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, senior minister-of-state in the Ministry of Trade and Industry and also in the Ministry of Education, has been promot to acting minister for education.

The 63-year-old Tan does not head a fresh ministry but will work from the Prime Minister's Office, chairing an inter-ministerial committee forward security and defense, whose members include the foreign, defense and family circle affairs ministers.

Tan, who was defense minister for the last eight years, said Wednesday that his priority is to review Singapore's national security strategy and map on the outside a coordinated inter-ministerial framework to appropriate Singapore's defense and security needs

Singapore has been targeted at terrorists in recent years, apparently suitable to its close ties to the United States and Israel.

The control uncovered an alleged bombing intrigue by several members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian terrorist cluster believed to be linked to the al-Qaida network, easily after the Sept. 11 2001 attacks onward the United States.

Health Minister Lim Hng Kiang was replaced at Khaw Boon Wan, who will be acting health minister. Khaw played a [i]clavis[/i] role in helping Singapore contain the spread of austere acute respiratory syndrome.

Goh had announced the Friday changes in April, saying they were meant to ''renew Singapore's political leadership.''

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