·
pragmatic leadership;
·
effective public bureaucracy;
·
effective control of corruption;
·
reliance on the “best and brightest” citizens;
and
·
learning from other countries.
In August 1965, Singapore was forced to leave the Federation
of Malaysia. In his memoir, Lee Kuan Yew
was concerned about its survival, let alone being transformed into a First
World nation. GDP increased 56 times
from S$1,310 to S$73,167. Lee was a
pragmatic leader in formulating economic policy. He courted MNCs and others for technology,
expertise and their markets. It was the
willingness to change policies as circumstances dictate or events unfold rather
than follow ideological principles.
The second secret was an effective bureaucracy that played
“good music” from a “good piano” (an analogy by Sir Kenneth Stowe, U.K.) The public bureaucracy in Singapore consists
of 16 ministries and 64 statutory boards that has grown 127,279 to 144,980
employees (during 2010 – 2016).
Corruption was a serious problem in Singapore in its early
years – especially with low salaries, high inflation and inadequate
supervision. With impartial enforcement
of POCA by CPIB, corruption that proved endemic was now curbed.
Nurturing the “best and brightest” through investment in
education and competitive compensation proved to be its fourth secret.
An important strength of the ruling government is also its
willingness to learn from experiences of others and not repeating their
mistakes.
To follow the Singapore model, one needs to contextual the differences;
have the political will to allocate resources and mobilise support; and, accept
there are no “quick fixes” for solving difficult problems. As Albert Winsemius, the retired Chief
Economic Adviser remarked, “there was never a Singapore miracle. It was simply hard-headed policy…”
Many Brexiteers look to Singapore as a model for the U.K.
(after Brexit). But do they have the
ingredients to effect changes? Same, in
some sense, for Malaysia when you have a whole gamut of race/ religious tensions
to overcome before any common vision could be forged for the benefit of all.
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