January 21, 2010
Minister in Prime Minister’s Office Mr Lim Swee Say has another
mindbogging quote for Singaporeans again. Not too long after
exhorting Singapore workers and companies to boost their
productivity by being “cheaper, faster and better”, he now sings a
slightly different, if not confusing tune.
In a speech made at a forum yesterday, Mr Lim said Singapore
should invest more in R&D to strengthen the nation’s economic
potential.
“The strength of the Singapore economy, whether we are
able to sustain our growth for the long term, depends not so much
on how productive we are and how capable we are in the areas of
production. I think we need to become increasingly an innovation
driven economy……..All these are core strengths that the Singapore
economy ought to invest more and more in the future so that we can
continue to ensure that the Singapore economy will be competitive
and vibrant so that they can continue to create growth and create
jobs for our people,” he was quoted saying by Channel News
Asia.
He added one way to “spur” innovation” is to
inculcate a passion for science among youths by
creating “more platforms for them to share ideas and insights with
young science talents from overseas.”
Singapore scores poorly among the 30 most developed
countries in the world in terms of innovation and research
according to a UBS study released last year.
The ruling party has tried to rectify the problem by
pumping in billions of dollars into R&D, especially the Life
Sciences in recent years to catch up with others.
While Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have many
internationally recognized brands such as Sony, Samsung and Acer,
Singapore only has Creative which was founded in the United States
and even then, it appears to be struggling in the last two years or
so.
Mr Lim doesn’t seem to appreciate the fact that creativity
and innovation is something which cannot be taught in schools, but
is intricably linked to the external environment, education system
and political situation.
To foster creative thinking, one must first be allowed to
ask questions, challenge the authorities and debunk the established
order which is simply not possible in Singapore where students can
get a warning from the police by wearing T-shirts printed with the
pictures of White Elephants.
The over-emphasis of the Singapore education system on
rote-learning and academic grades is also not conducive to the
nurturing of talented scientists, thinkers and
entrepreneurs.
Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Bill Gates were not all
gifted academically, but ended up being the pioneers of their
times.
The ruling party always love to jump on the bandwagon of
others and copy the success of other countries. Unfortunately, it
fails to realize that it is part of the problem itself.
