TRANSPORT Minister Lui Tuck Yew takes on a second portfolio today, replacing Mr Chan Chun Sing as the Second Minister for Defence.

His new appointment was announced yesterday as part of the latest round of Cabinet changes.

Commenting on it yesterday in a Facebook post, the former chief of Singapore's Navy said he looked forward to renewing his interactions with the Defence Ministry.

"Will do my best to contribute to both transport and defence portfolios. But you can be sure that I will still continue to pay particular attention to matters related to public transport," he added.

Mr Lui's links with the military go back to the 1980s, when he joined the Navy as a Singapore Armed Forces scholarship holder.

He rose to become Chief of Navy in 1999 and served in the position until he left in 2003 to join the Maritime and Port Authority and later the Housing Board as chief executive.

Mr Alex Yam, deputy chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Defence and Foreign Affairs, said that with Mr Lui's experience, he would be "well-attuned to the requirements of service and is also known to many of the men serving in the Singapore Armed Forces as well as the other services".

Mr Lui entered politics in 2006 and has since held posts in the Education and Foreign Affairs ministries as well as the former Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. He became Transport Minister in May 2011.

Mr Chan will be the new secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress and a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office.

THAM YUEN-C