This will help Singapore raise new breed of
entrepreneurs, says SM
THE public sector is too talent-heavy and up to half its
scholars should be released into the private sector after six or
seven years, said Senior Minister Lee Kuan
Yew.
They should be sent into the private sector to become entrepreneurs
and not just managers, he added.
Right now, too many of Singapore's able are professionals when the
country actually needs more business people.
While the system has worked well before with the Government
retaining the best brains, the next phase of development must focus
on producing more entrepreneurs, he said.
This way, they will not only have a solid knowledge of how
government works but also 'the brain power and the drive' in the
private sector.
He made these points in an interview with Chinese daily Lianhe
Zaobao, Channel U and Channel NewsAsia, broadcast last night.
He noted how in global competitive rankings, such as those by the
well-regarded Institute for Management Development (IMD), Singapore
scores very highly on its public sector systems, from its laws to
services.
But it does not fare well on other criteria such as the level of
entrepreneurship and venture capital.
'What does that mean? That means too much concentration of talent,
drive and energy in the public sector,' the Senior Minister
said.
It meant Singapore had the systems right, which was necessary at
the beginning. But now, the Government could still provide youths
with scholarships, but release them after they have worked for six
or seven years.
'Let half go, let one third go and get them to be entrepreneurs,
not just managers.'
Every year, the Public Service Commission awards 50 to 60
scholarships but there are also several hundred others given out by
other government agencies and government-linked companies.
The idea of pushing scholarship holders back into the private
sector has been raised before, most recently by sub-committees
within the Economic Review Committee.
The sub-committees had debated whether it was time to change the
scholarship system but no decision was taken, other than an
affirmation that the public sector still needed its share of the
top brains.
The subject of entrepreneurs emerged during the interview Mr Lee
gave to talk about the 10th anniversary of the Suzhou Industrial
Park (SIP). He is now in Suzhou for the celebrations
tomorrow.
On Suzhou, he said one lesson learnt has been that there must be
'total alignment' of interests at the central, provincial and local
levels before starting projects.
When the SIP started in 1994, Singapore controlled 65 per cent of
the stakes, and China the rest. The idea was for Singapore to
transfer its software and knowledge to the Chinese, using SIP as a
model development.
But the park soon ran into problems, which were only solved after
the controlling stakes were reversed.
Mr Lee said that if this had been done from the start, there could
have been a higher level of software transfer. Still, he added: 'We
never walked away from the project, we put our best efforts in and
solved the problem. Therefore, I would say because we had all these
difficulties, there is a deeper appreciation on both sides that we
are long-term players. We are not fly-by-night operators. When we
promise, we deliver, whatever the difficulties.'
He said the value of being involved in Suzhou is to have it now as
an icon of the 'Singapore quality, integrity and capability'. He
also revealed that China now wants Singapore to go into projects in
the west and north-east. It is considering them but must not take
on more than it can deliver, he added.
He also underscored how the Suzhou experience had forged relations
at the top: 'If we have not had Suzhou, they would not have
understood or they would not have been so convinced that we have
something to offer. Just think of it, we're three, four million
with the workers from abroad, and they're 1,300 million.
'So, why should they meet us at that high level? But I think that
they have found that although we are small, we have systems which
they can apply throughout many of their hundreds of cities.'
[/quote]
not so sure if this will work.. pushing ppl into private
sector?
not all kinds of so called talents can thrive in the business
world..
