Let us take a look at the following examples. It would show that
PAP government get its "how to deliver" of "what it want to offer"
from the outside experts, public, and civil servents. Like the
latest one:
YOUNG Singaporeans who spoke up during a six-week consultation
exercise that has just ended want a better and more inclusive
Singapore.
PM Lee offers a more inclusive society and the how to deliver is
from the public. So any party leader in that position can have the
same resources to come up with the "how to".
================
SEPT 23, 2004
PREVENTING BLACKOUTS
Panel of nine to review power grid
By Alexis Hooi
A HIGH-POWERED committee of nine local and international energy
experts has been formed to review Singapore's electricity and gas
delivery systems.
The panel is expected to submit a report to the Government, with
recommendations for bolstering the reliability of the power grid,
next year.
================
On how to improve birth rate, how did the final package come to
being? Isn't it the work of civil servents who gather, organize,
and evaluate public feedback and comments and then present to the
minister to make the final decision.
================
Entrepreneurship? The challenge is ours
By Isabelle Chan, CNETAsia
Friday, October 15 2004 1:18 PM
commentary What do you want to be when you grow up?
I had different answers as I was growing up. I wanted to be a
teacher
when I was 12 years old; an advertising executive when I was 18;
and a
journalist when I was 21.
Becoming a businesswoman never crossed by mind. And the
career
decisions I had to make were mainly about the courses I had to
study
to get into my dream profession and which company I wanted to work
for.
Today, we face slightly different choices: Should you join
the
corporate world as an executive, or start your own business?
The Singapore government is trying to make this decision an easy
one,
especially for those who decide to take up the challenge and risks.
In
fact, the authorities hope more Singaporeans would consider
entrepreneurship as an option and they are doing what they think
is
needed to provide a nurturing environment.
From restructuring the educational system and methods of teaching,
to
appointing an "entrepreneurship minister", the government has,
over
the last two years, introduced new programs and incentives to
get
Singaporeans to venture into business. And hopefully, produce
more
entrepreneurs like Creative Technology's Sim Wong Hoo who can
continue
to put Singapore on the world map in sectors like technology
and
biomedicine.
During his National Day Rally address on Aug 18, 2002, the then
Prime
Minister Goh Chok Chong emphasized the importance of remaking
Singapore and announced that the government would, among
several
things, promote entrepreneurship. Many questioned the
country's
ability to successfully breed entrepreneurs, considering how
Singapore
is well-known for its "rigid" and law-abiding society which is
not
exactly conducive for innovative ideas to flourish.
It's been more than two years since that speech, and so far,
the
government has attempted to create the right conditions for
aspiring
entrepreneurs to start a business. For example, all homeowners
are
allowed to conduct small-scale businesses in their homes under
the
Home Office Scheme, which was introduced in June 2003. And judging
by
this week's showing at the Global Entrepolis @ Singapore 2004
event,
there is no question that the government is committed to creating
an
enterprising culture.
On top of the expected lineup of high-level industry speakers such
as
K V Kamath, managing director and CEO of India's ICICI Bank
and
Padmasree Warrior, chief technology officer of Motorola, this
year's
premier business event featured a minister-studded cast. They
include
His Excellency S R Nathan, president of the Republic of
Singapore,
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew,
and
Minister for Trade & Industry Lim Hng Kiang.
The speeches were varied, but the tune was the same. The
government
heads were there to not only grace the event but lend support to
the
local business community, which need strong regional business
ties
with its ASEAN neighbors as well as India and China.
Although there was little tech news to report on, I enjoyed
listening
to two guest speakers. One was Hong Chen, chairman and CEO of
Milpitas, Calif.-based GRIC Communications, who spoke at the
Distinguished Technopreneurs Forum Incoporating Forum on
Silicon
Valley-Asia Links. The other was Fred Lin, one of the founding
members
of Multitech Tawan, which is now Acer, who spoke at the 2nd Monte
jade
Singapore Annual Gala Event.
Both trained as engineers, but they later became entrepreneurs
and
built successful technology companies. Among their achievements:
Hong
founded and led his company's successful IPO on NASDAQ in 1999,
while
Lin set directions for several new Acer subsidiaries.
Hong and Lin shared their struggles and growing up experiences
with
the delegates, which was one of the objectives of the event.
The Chinese-born Hong had lots of tips for budding entrepreneurs,
such
as finding the right partner and recognizing that "it's better to
take
a small piece of the bigger pie than a big piece of a smaller
pie".
Lin emphasized the importance for the founders of companies to
evolve
their attitudes and abilities as the company grows. Once the
company
passes the startup phase, new leadership attributes and styles will
be
required to match the new business changes and requirements, he
said.
Startup scorecard
Twenty new startups received support for funding under the
Startup
Enterprise Development Scheme (SEEDS) programme at an
official
ceremony held at the Enterprise Exchange during Global Entrepolis
@
Singapore 2004. More than half of these 20 companies provide
innovative IT products. They include Web content developer Avant
Werx,
biometric technology provider IDLink Systems, and online
gaming
developer Mikoshi.
Eighteen companies obtained support for SEEDS funding from
the
Economic Development Board and two from SPRING Singapore. SEEDS,
the
co-funding equity scheme between government and private
investors,
provides a total of S$11 million (US$6.5 million) to the new 20
companies.
This brings the total of enterprises that have received SEEDS
funding
to 120 since its launch in 2001, and a total of S$66 million
(US$39.3
million) has been raised. The 120 SEEDS enterprises are projected
to
generate S$350 million (US$208.2 million) and more than 1,400 jobs
by
the end of this year.
But money is not the only thing that these young startups get.
Four
companies with relevant domain and industry knowledge--Agilis
Communications Technologies, AdPlanet Group, Singapore Tyler
Print
Institute and Sirius Capital Holdings--have been roped into the
SEEDS
program to provide support and mentorship to budding
entrepreneurs.
Limit to government's help
These pro-business programs aim to create a more nurturing
environment
for local ventures but the key question is: Where does the help
from
the government end? "An entrepreneurial culture cannot simply
be
planned and ordered into being," said Prime Minister Lee at
the
opening of Global Entrepolis @ Singapore 2004.
The government has acknowledged that it cannot succeed in
promoting
entrepreneurship by giving out state subsidies or government
contracts, and has reiterated that it doesn't plan to jump in
too
quickly to help when the going gets tough.
"Our people need to have fire in their bellies. They need to be on
the
lookout for opportunities, and be ready to take calculated risks.
They
must dare to conceive business plans and realize them," Lee
said.
And while Lee calls fostering an entrepreneurial spirit "the
most
difficult economic challenge for governments", I say this challenge
is
ours, not theirs. If choosing entrepreneurship is a choice that
we
make by ourselves, the challenges and risks should also be
ours.
As Lee aptly put it: "A true entrepreneur depends on his
resourcefulness and drive, his business ideas, judgment and
execution.
Only if Singapore entrepreneurs succeed in creating their
businesses
through their own efforts, and can hold their own against
competition,
can we say that we have truly achieved an enterprising
culture."