Who were the CEOs paid millions in the private sector?
Are these CEOs really the talents with ability to be given the high
flying jobs?
Are ministers by presumption or assumption these private sector
talents to be paid million-dollar salaries?
Will people who are highly educated or high flyers really the
talents?
In my view it is a matter of luck or connection or circumstances
that certain people are chosen to fill the high flying posts.
That is because in any business or industry, there are always some
people who by reason of connection, politics or relationship to
bosses or powerful insider are lucky to get such high-flying jobs
over many others who may be even more qualified or talented.
Yet our ministers want to disregard all these facts or realism and
choose to compare themselves with these high-flying private sector
CEOs when luck, connection etc actually and not talent as such play
a greater part.
It is a fact that many people with many master degrees or PHD from
eminent universities do not get paid as much as junior ministers
who were just out of certain government posts due to internal
politics or connection.
It is like touching a lottery to get one of those posts. So if our
ministers were among those people interviewed without pulling of
strings as minister they may not smell the chance or being lucky to
be selected for such posts.
In the same way, only people well connected to our leaders because
of schooling or being camp mate were being given high positions in
government related companies.
So meritocracy is really a bullshit or half truth.
With this sort of realism, it would be a blatant lie for ministers
to claim they are the talents because certain CEOs in the private
sector were paid even more as it is not talent who are paid more
any way even in the private sector.
In fact many ex-ministers were not doing that well after they
joined the private sector as they have not the talents like turning
around poorly managed entities as perceived by MM Lee.
They could only make some sound and fury when they were given cushy
jobs within government linked companies because such companies do
not have to perform but only need to increase their fees or count
on government support or patronage.
So MM Lee has been talking rubbish when he claimed that he was
practising a meritocratic society. A recent lecturer who has
resigned from his NUS post told the plain truth when he observed
that in Singapore it is not what one knows that counts but who he
knows.
So it is all rubbish to tell people that our ministers were worth
millions and without them Singapore ship will sink.
If so our ex-ministers wants to prove they have indeed the talent
they should be able to take over the stewardship of companies
perhaps like Sony or Matsushita and outperform their previous
bosses or founders or come up with a Toyota Production System to
excel in governing companies.
Have they got such calibre? Let MM Lee prove what he has claimed if
he is still so sure about his objectivity and meritocracy to clear
all doubts.