Kym,
You have touched on a fundamental aspect of governments one which
will determine finally whether we progress further from here,
stagnate or go downhill as a nation.
For the first 40 years in our nation building we are too easy going
and accepted the propaganda about needs for pragmatism stuff
thereby allowing the executive to assume too much power over the
other branches which exist for distinctly important purposes.
We have seen an executive which over time has overly arrogates all
the other functions onto itself at the expense of accountability
openness and equity.
Our politicians use concepts of meritocracy to entrench its
controls and power over the other branches with little regard to
their important functions.
In retrospect, we might have missed out creative and enduring
benefits to our nation building had these two branches been allowed
to function naturally as they should.
By running a more broad-based government participated by all the
branches we could have achieved greater efficiency and
productivity, creativity through powerful forces and knowledge
application from greater openness, honesty, integrity and equity
provided by all three branches the executive, legislative and
judiciary.
Singapore is still a young country. Up to this point, we have been
told we need only great leaderships or getting the best people into
government.
Our executive-dominated system cannot quite see anything beyond
immediate surpluses or gains of the govering elites to serve its
own perceived agendas. We are becoming narrower and narrower in
building our nation, Today we are beginning to see inquity and
inequality with many social and cultural aspects of nation building
overlooked due to lack of checks and balcances which could have
been exercised by more effective judiciary or legislative.
The points of views or visions in any policies of government tend
to be narrowly conceived to suit the executive' immediate preceived
needs and agendas.
We are becoming narrow and divided as a nation with only the elites
and rich holding sway while the majority of citizens struggling for
three meals despite their contributions over the last 40
years.
This state of our nation building is caused by a strongly empowered
executive concentrating all the powers giving little share for
proper balancing with legislative or judiciary. The executive
practically pushes all decisions into at the legislative chamber
and judiciary.
We are accepting such rule because we have not learned from the
longer term and enduring values through sharing of hardship and
wellbeings equity and justice which can only be effectively ensured
by all the branches in our nation building.
Looking at the longer term we should build social cohesions and
cultural values in the people through a broader nation building
philosophy like what the more matured countries have been doing
like USA, UK, Switzerland, Finland, their people value freedoms,
rights, equity, fairness, workers' rights, justices and
innocent-till-proven guilty principles, observance of the same
corporate governance and rule of law by government through checks
and balances.
We might not see the woods for the trees as there is very little
left of our politicians to lead the thinking or provide the
alternative views other than what we have been told by the
first-generation autocratic leaders.
History will show no doubt that self-proclaimed leadership
abilities being promoted by the executive-dominated system will not
build the broad foundation of a country. Executive-oriented system
is very vulnerable and shallow a system and it will lead finally to
abuses and transgressions of rights, equity and justices in a
society.
Without building on a broad-based approach giving due consideration
to values, aspirations and accountability there will be
contentiousness. We are now going through that phase as citizens
are not happy with the lack of proper accountability.
Accountable governance should not be compromised by any expedient
policies to suit the rules and beliefs of the governing party.
There should be broad-based and mature policies for the good of all
from the overall national perspective. Only by involving the broad
participation of all will we build a more competitive and enduring
society where everyone works. For now a lot need to be done to
unravel the past self-serving executive which is making all the
decisions and implementations without balancing the needs and
aspirations of people as a whole.
