SINGAPORE - Singapore has to decide, going forward, whether it
aims to be a "Jurong Island" or a "Shenton Way", said retired top
civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow at a forum yesterday.
Pitting the two models against each other and as metaphors of
"wealth creators" and "wealth managers", Mr Ngiam expressed concern
that Singapore might be nurturing more of the latter, at the
expense of the former.
"I believe that, while many Singaporeans are competent in our
jobs, few among us are brilliant," said Mr Ngiam, the former
Ministry of Finance permanent secretary, who is now Pro-Chancellor
at the National University of Singapore.
What would differentiate the wealth creator from a wealth manager,
he felt, would include attributes such as tremendous reserves of
energy, the ability to think out of the box and "seeing
possibilities where others can only see rocks".
Speaking to a group of around 250 engineering students, academics
and industry representatives at NUS Engineering Auditorium, Mr
Ngiam was asked during the one-hour dialogue why Singapore could
not possess both wealth creators and wealth managers. He replied
that a job in the technology sector has got more multiplier effects
than one in the services sector.
"Even if you take banking and wealth management, there's no reason
why people should come to Singapore to manage their funds. It can
be in the middle of the Indian Ocean with a computer. The barriers
to entry are very low," said Mr Ngiam.
Lauding the late Dr Goh Keng Swee's contribution to the wealth
creation of Singapore, Mr Ngiam noted how Dr Goh, who was Defence
Minister, had established Sheng-Li Holdings to build up Singapore's
defence technology. Sheng-Li was later renamed Singapore
Technologies (ST) Holdings.
Under Dr Goh, Mr Ngiam said that ST engineers refurbished fighter
aircraft and built battle tanks, which were comparable to others
internationally.
"After Dr Goh retired from the Government in 1986, there is no one
to replace him as our wealth creator," he added. "The Government of
Singapore Investment Corporation and Temasek (Holdings) are
sovereign wealth managers for our national savings and reserves.
They are not wealth creators."
Temasek in particular, Mr Ngiam felt, is supposed to be a wealth
creator, but are just being "fund managers".
Going forward, Mr Ngiam said the direction Singapore takes will
have an impact on its political, economic, educational and labour
policies.
Asked what Singapore can do now to nurture wealth creation, Nr
Ngiam said: "The engineering faculty should be given more
resources." Later, he suggested that the Government could provide
funding for university final year students of any discipline to
start their business aspirations.
"At the end of the day, if 10 per cent succeed out of 100, there
will be 10 future companies," said Mr Ngiam.
-- TODAY