Does or will govt know root causes of problems

robertteh SG

We have been listening a lot to all the MM's talks about change of mindsets, need to install the 4th generation leaders, brain drains and all sorts of changes we need to make to catch up fast-paced challenges in a more complex and competitive world lately.

Does MM Lee ever wonder why we have these sorts of problems after 40 plus years and still cannot resolve them with all the leadership we are supposed to have in our highly talented government.

One simple answer can be given to such a scenario: Government is too self-centred and too slow to accept change and challenges itself.

Often when there is any problem like our falling economic competitiveness, or rising costs thereby driving away our own talents or businesses, such problems were caused by government's wrongful, anti-progress and anti-competitive and even anti-people policies which MM Lee has refused to admit problems caused by himself and his own refusal to change.

Take the case of hoarding of taxes as state surpluses and privatising of basic government services to allow government linked companies to make extra profits from lands and assets already owned in the first place by the taxpayers.

People have been asking for years for greater transparency and accountability in investments of such surpluses belonging to them in overseas projects from Shin Corp to Global Crossing or Bangalore.

What happened to all these feedbacks. Has MM Lee listened for years to these feedbacks. It seems like it is only when MM Lee is forced by bigger forces affecting political sensitive sovereign funds that he has finally decided to change and adopt certain codes of practice for GIC finally as recently announced by Dr. Tony Tan.

Although people have been listening to government call to change mindsets, and even give credit where credit is due there is no change of mindset on the part of MM himself who still stick to many past unworkable policies for years until too late.

The problem is we do not yet have a government who is responsive to criticism or who is fair and willing to admit mistakes or take actions to solve problems?

Very often the key or main issues are ignored with a lot of window dressing trying to explain all the detailed or technical aspects but the principles like policy errors of past were not admitted due to self-centredness or face.

If principles are wrong detailed discussions of technicalities of issues will be pointless.

In the governance of this country, there is a need to recognize that a good government is one which is responsive to changes. Changes can happen only by government itself being willing to make changes to wrong fundamental principles in the governing of a country.

The monies which Temasek or GIC are investing in are people's monies accumulated as surpluses due to over-taxing and profiteering of the people through all sorts of schemes and devices with all sorts of excuses as posted by many people here.

Government has often claimed credits for such surpluses without admitting that these surpluses were the results of wrongful exploitations of their fruits of labor.

So it is not wrong for people to question repeatedly government's investments in many overseas projects like Shin Corp or Bangalore or Russian Township.

Principles are being questioned and not particulars of investments. Has the government so far been willing to be more transparent and accountable in the way it invested their monies - some US$100 billions - in various overseas projects from Shin Corp to Global Crossing, Telcomsel etc.

Because of its past failures to respond to citizens' concern over such reasonable expectations, people are not easily appeased by superficial measures or quick fixes. They will not rest this issue until more is being done to prevent losses of the kind seen in Shin Corp. It is not because the government has not made some profits in some other investments as you mentioned. They know the government has made some profits in some other investments. It is the principle of care and prudence which has to be exercised by anyone taking charge of public funds which has not been followed obviously by those who made these shoddy decisions.

There is obviously much more to be done to ensure that decisions in investments are made only scrupulously and professionally not by gut feel like in the case of Micropolis or Shin Corp.

If Dr. Tony Tan now realized this error of Temasek and began to set up clear guidelines or codes of practice it is a good move. Problem is our leaders have been too stubborn on records over many such negligence and errors and this is only the tip of the iceberg.

NKF should have been taken to tasks way back in early 1990s for similar failures to disclose information to make the organization more transparent and accountable. Due to the similar obstinacy (called variously auto-piloting by Ngiam Tong Dow and Disaffective divide by Dr, Catherine Lim) many major policy errors took years to be admitted and changed.

As leaders, they ought to be willing to accept mistakes but often it took them ages to do so resulting in serious migration, dropping child birth, rising costs of living etc. It is only when his own grand children studying overseas currently also decided not to return to Singapore that MM Lee finally has admitted that we have a serious brain drain problem. Back to top

HyperFocal SG

... I believe that they DO know, but are just pretending that it isn't their cause, side-stepping issues & turning tables to look good & absolve themselves from any liabilities...

Doubletalk SG

LAST month, the Internet was abuzz debating the legacy of leaders, especially on the view that 'what's a few million dollars lost in excesses' compared to the hundreds of billions they created in assets for their country (or company).

Closer to home, the old National Kidney Foundation (NKF) saga comes naturally to mind.

Its former chief executive officer built the NKF into a world-class outfit from scratch. But reports of a $600,000 yearly salary, first-class travel and gold bathroom taps unleashed a public uproar, which ultimately led to his exit from the organisation he developed.

With thoroughbreds of the ruling People's Action Party's whiter-than-white governing policy, Singaporeans' exacting standards of incorruptibility are only to be expected.

Hence the intense debate on the realpolitik assessment that leaders with blemished legacy should still be honoured.

An obvious concern is that such an opinion may become a paradigm which other leaders - be they heading a family or a company - will be wont to emulate.

For example, a husband could think that, so long as he provides his wife with all the trappings of luxury, 'what's a few extramarital affairs from time to time?'

Or, the CEO could point to his company's record profits to defend his board of crony appointments and mind-boggling personal bonuses.

Lawyers defending a wasteful but super-performing leader could also argue that no man is perfect and their client's net benefit to his company was a million times over his misdemeanours.

Given the power, influence and resources vested in the hands of leaders, can anything but the highest standards of morality and ethics be expected from them - even with the caveat that no man is perfect?

To paraphrase motivational writer Napoleon Hill: Success that is not built on honesty, truth and justice - is failure.

Mohamad Rosle Ahmad

http://comment.straitstimes.com/showthread.php?t=9491

gartheven2000 SG

hi robert...is it really true that Lee's grandchildren decided to emigrate to US?!?!? i mean, as in dropping SG citizenship? just a question yah....tks

robertteh SG

Dear Gartheven2000,

If our leaders should expect their followers to follow them and fight for the country they themselves should have the courage to fight and not be coward or selfish and be among the first to run away at the first sign of trouble.

You will remember our ex-PM Goh once calling people who migrated to other countries as quitters when he could not stop his own children staying overseas refusing to return to serve or fight for the country.

How ironic is this kind of leadership who could not even set himself as a good example.

Now after talking so much of values and loyalty for the past 40 plus years, our MM Lee's own grand children have also announced their intention not to return after their overseas studies.

Is this announcement not enough evidence of our leaders' hypocrisy expecting others to be loyal while they or their own families could hardly be so.

As leaders they must lead by personal example, morality and values. If they want people to follow them and be committed to their causes of struggles they should seriously reflect on their own lack of sincerity or lack of conviction.

If the next moment after preaching people to be committed their own children are not returning from overseas study do you think they could convince the people of seriousness of whatever they are preaching.

will4 SG

Dear Gartheven2000,

How ironic is this kind of leadership who could not even set himself as a good example.

Now after talking so much of values and loyalty for the past 40 plus years, our MM Lee's own grand children have also announced their intention not to return after their overseas studies.

Is this announcement not enough evidence of our leaders' hypocrisy expecting others to be loyal while they or their own families could hardly be so.

Hi Robert, This time round MM Lee expresssed grave concern about the seriousness of the brain drain by the local. Do u think the figure will go higher?

robertteh SG

If MM Lee is more objective as a person and more willing to solve fundamental problems, our brain drain will not have happened and definitely not to the figure of 1,000 top talents pa.

Now that he has finally admitted this problem probably as a result of his own grand children also thinking of migrating, or not returning after overseas study, it has become worse.

More people whenever they can such as through cashing out of property during recent run-up due to world recovery, are now joining the queue of migration.

Lin Yu SG

so those who stayed behind not talent liao

dragon_stone SG

so those who stayed behind not talent liao

the vacuum being filled by other immigrants? wonder which percentage do they fall in the talent category or else SG is degrading...

dragon_stone SG

after 40+ years, they still don't understand that some theories are not the same as practising...

Doubletalk SG

Would any rich adopt any poor families as their own, for those few who do, they are hardly if ever in leadership roles that matter... it's always when pain hits home... then only scanned thoughts prevail?