Danger of military presence in Spore’s enterprise development
state agencies
http://kentridgecommon.com/?p=2501
A military presence in enterprise development
Should former military leaders head Singapore’s enterprise
development?
By Kelvin Teo ⋅ April 11, 2009
SINGAPORE – What do SPRING Singapore (Standards, Productivity and Innovation
Board) and ASTAR (Agency for Science,
Technology and Research) have in common? Their leaders are alumni
of our military. Mr Philip Yeo, the previous chairman for
ASTAR served as a Permanent
Secretary at the Ministry of Defense. Now, he is at SPRING Singapore. His successor at ASTAR, Mr Lim Chuan Poh, a retired Lieutenant-General, was
formerly the Chief of Defense Force.
Thus, it is not uncommon for retiring military leaders to be
posted to positions within our government ministeries and statutory
boards. The question is if such a practice is ever sound?
The main worry is that such military personels having been in
the military for the most part of their lives may lack the
necessary industrial experience. And this is reflected in the
feedback by recruitment agencies on the non-attractiveness of
scholars who serve in the military for their entire career.
Ideally, the head of a research agency should have relevant
Research and Development background in addition to industrial
experience. Indeed, it is a worrying trend for a research agency
like ASTAR to adhere to a narrow set of
criteria in nurturing potential R and D talents.
Bloggers who engaged Mr Philip Yeo during his rare venture into
the blogosphere have tenuously pointed out the fact that a 3.8
GPA or first class honors is not sufficient
to determine the ability of a budding researcher. In addition,
others have also pointed out that the current ASTAR policy of funding PhD studies is out of touch with
the reality of how PhD programs are run in academic and research
institutions. The fact remains that it is easy to get into any PhD
program with decent grades and external sources of funding. The
equation changes completely when the candidate requires funding
from the institutions that he is applying to. Thus, wouldn’t
requiring ASTAR scholars to secure
some sort of funding from the institutions they are applying to
save a substantial amount of tax payer’s money?
The lack of experience aside, another source of concern is that
these former military men may transplant their bureacratic
practices into their new organizations, which are supposingly
centres of innovation. Innovation and bureacratic control are like
oil and water, running contrary to each other. The progress of
these organizations will inevitably be stymied by the
bureaucracy.
The civil service adopted the an old practice that has been
discarded by Shell Petroleum – the Current Estimated Potential
(CEP). A military leader who is an SAF
overseas scholar would definitely have a high CEP. Thus, one really wonders if the same CEP is used in deciding where to post these leaders after
they retire from the military.
If CEP is used in determining the posting,
such a practice is indeed flawed. After all, CEP is based on performance in a battery of tests a
student takes when he is in high school, and his performance while
in service. But CEP cannot determine the
ability of a scholar to successfully manage an organization that is
totally different from the one he used to work in.
In the face of the fact that people with necessary experience
and expertise are needed to manage government bodies charged with R
and D and innovation, one questions the wisdom of bringing in
former military scholars to lead such bodies. Is there a dearth of
truly qualified leaders in Singapore? Or the government merely
prefers one of its own to lead? Another pertinent question to ask
is – is such a posting scheme a form of reward for the loyalty of
these military leaders?
Comments:
1. DrHuangApril 11th, 2009 – 1:14 pm
Hi Kelvin,
You know the two questions below are rhetorical and you know the
answers already!
Or the government merely prefers one of its own to lead? Another
pertinent question to ask is – is such a posting scheme a form of
reward for the loyalty of these military leaders?
Duh!?
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