Crisis of leadership in S’pore
Sunday, 11 May 2008, 7:00 am | 66 views
Mr Viswa Sadasivan, CEO of communications training and consultancy Strategic Moves and renowned social commentator, recently gave a talk where he shared his views about politics in Singapore.
True to his style, Mr Viswa’s off-the-cuff presentation was peppered with witty anecdotes, incisive observations and a strong sense of conviction about what Singapore needs to change in order to reach the next level of development and progress.
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Salient points from speech by Mr Viswa Sadasivan
We Singaporeans are often exhorted by our political leaders to take ownership, be innovative and think out-of-the-box. But the term “think out-of-the-box” is much abused, as oftentimes we step out of the box into a larger box.
One of the key challenges we are facing increasingly is a crisis of leadership. While we have no shortage of good managers — people who are pre-occupied with and are able to get things done right – we don’t have enough leaders, people who want to do the right thing, and who have the conviction and wherewithal to do it.
It is not clear whether this “crisis” is a result of us simply not having people with leadership qualities, or is it because such people are not willing to step forward because of a host of reasons which could include cynicism and apathy. It probably is a combination of both.
Consider how few people have the courage to disagree with strong personalities such as Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. Is it because there aren’t enough things that matter enough, or because we are afraid of getting a robust response or being rapped in the knuckles? Will there ever come a day when we do not need MM Lee to step in to help carry the ground when Singapore makes fundamental policy shifts?
Accountability and the media
An increasingly sophisticated, exposed populace demands a greater level of accountability – and it has to be seen to be so. The media is opening up, but often it looks like it is taking one step forward and two steps back. Certainly, the pace at which the media is opening up is lagging behind the pace the people expect of it. This consequential erosion of media credibility – especially in reporting on local issues – is unhealthy. If uncorrected, in a crisis the government will not have an effective vehicle through which it can convey critical messages. This is especially so in the increasingly porous new media environment.
For example, in the wake of the Temasek-Shin Corp saga, the local media remained largely silent. The more it was silent, the more credence was given to the many conspiracy theories that were spreading fast and furious. Singaporeans wanted to hear from the establishment about what really happened. But this hardly came. As a result, the only source of information, by default, ended up being the likes of foreign newspapers such as the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) that provided commentary and analysis on the issue, which, needless to say, were not favourable to Singapore.
Another example is the Mas Selamat Kastari escape incident. From a public relations and communications perspective, it was a disaster and crisis of national proportions. Yet there weren’t enough statements by our political leaders – statements that could actually have helped turned the crisis into an opportunity to bring the people together, as was the case in the way we managed the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) crisis.
Qualities of leadership
Leadership can be defined as having the confidence to stand up and make assertions on issues that matter, which in turn will inspire your audience to buy into your belief. To do this, a leader needs to have clarity of thought and the courage to move out of his or her comfort zone, when necessary.
Leaders need to have an intrinsic sense of right and wrong. These qualities don’t seem to be apparent in our society. This is worrying.
The difference between what is expected of a political leader and a senior civil servant is that the latter helps to formulate policies, while the former assesses the soundness of the proposed policies, their long-term implications, and then goes out to convince people to believe in them. While we have good people with credibility and integrity in cabinet, not enough of them appear to have the acumen to explain them clearly and simply, and persuade the ground. This is a key quality of leadership, which in turn is a tacit balance of IQ, and EQ – an intrinsic capacity to listen.
Pragmatism, a cornerstone of Singapore’s approach to governance, affords us the flexibility to move with the tide and not be constrained by ideologies. This has worked pretty well for Singapore, especially economically. But going forward, especially with so many distractions and conflicting signals and priorities, it is imperative that the government and we as a people be clearer about our anchor values and things we stand for, especially on issues of meritocracy, equality, homosexuality and race and religion. This is what will determine our moral compass as a society. It is something we need to give to our young.
Political participation
Most of our leaders appear to be of the same ilk — possessing strong academic and work credentials, with a very cautious approach to almost anything. You wish there would be more occasions for spontaneous remarks. Some of those who were considered non-conformists in their pre-government days appear to become thoroughly assimilated within a matter of months of assuming office. Yes, this might be perception and not truth– but perceptions do matter, as that is what determines the votes at the polls.
Singapore needs alternatives – in thought and action – to better cater to the proliferation of niche perspectives and interests, and these alternatives must be authentic.
Some years back, then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong remarked that Singapore does not need political opposition. A pertinent analogy in response would be that of an athlete who has won the gold medal in the Olympics. His next goal would be not just to retain his gold, but to beat his own record. However, is it possible for him to better his performance without having worthy competitors to pace him?
So why have so few good people stepped forward to join the Opposition?
Firstly, our citizenry today are products of decades of depoliticisation, with little propensity to enter politics, much less opposition politics.
Secondly, the “fear factor” and a keen awareness of the fate that has befallen quite a few who have campaigned under the opposition banner over the years has had a chilling effect on the people. Those who still choose to enter opposition politics despite these considerations either have nothing much to lose, or are persons of great moral courage and deep conviction who deserve our respect.
Even the PAP faces similar challenges in recruiting good people. It would appear that a number of people who were approached to join the party declined because they felt they would not fit in. Some I spoke to even expressed concern of losing the respect of their peers if they stood for elections under the PAP banner. This is not a healthy sign and the ruling party needs to ask themselves why is such a feeling amongst some of the more credible, accomplished potential political leaders.
It would be not just in the PAP’s interest but in the best interest of Singapore to repoliticise the ground, and find an effective, sustainable antidote to the antipathy towards political participation.
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The Online Citizen thanks Mr Viswa for permitting us to publish these comments.
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Hi,
as it stands, being a minister = million dollar salary and heartlanders barely making $1K cannot understand why it takes so much to get honest people to serve the people.
Are all ministers greedy and will only serve if their descendants are forever financially secure? ( because 2-3 millions/year is enough for security of their children and children’s children if invested prudently).
Aren’t there any public-spirited person willing to don the all-white for a reasonable salary? Not one?
I am sure there are some out there willing to put the people first but because they would not want to rock the boat and upset the rulers, they will rather not join up then be seen to be greedy. So million salary is a two-edged sword!
What is the use of caring what will happen to the tiny red dot in the future?
Frankly speaking, I see no good future for me or my children to continue to stick it
out here. I think, under such a clinical and stifling environment, the wisest thing to
do is to migrate to another better place where we can call home, where we can at
least develop a genuine sense of belonging in the long-run. Down here, nothing seems to belong to us.
The miserable pigeon-hole flat that we paid exorbitantly for with our
hard-earned sweat money for 25 bloody years is not ours. We merely
signed a lease of 99 years, which is subject to resettlement in 30-40 years if
they were to tell us to get loss and move to another place.
The car we buy is not ours - we are merely given permission to use it for ten
years, after which if we want to use it for another ten years we have to buy it one
more time - not from the car company but from the gahmen.
The son we born is not ours because when he reaches 18, by law he belongs to
the gahmen until the age of 45 or 50, depending on his reserve liability, as he
can be called up or mobilized any time for whatever purpose the gahmen wants.
The CPF savings we put into the hands on the gahmen are not ours because
rules keep changing until we can only smell it when we reach the age of 85,
provided we are that lucky to be still alive at that time.
Moreover, we have been talked down all the time. Policies, schemes, laws, rules
and regulations have been shaft down our throats most of the time, irrespective of
whether we like them or not. And making unpopular and ridiculous decisions
seems to take on as a norm instead of exception, and they got the cheek to boast
about it. We simply cannot participate in anything that is against them or do the
things that are not to their liking or advantage. We must always follow what they
want us or tell us to do. We are just like NSmen all the time. They made us serve
NS and expect us to continue to be NSmen the rest of our lives, taking orders
from the top all the time. The multi-millionaire ministars are the commanders
and we are their soldiers. The whole country simply becomes a giant military
camp. What is this?
Anyway, if our forefathers had migrated here, what is the big deal for us to migrate
back to our own previous fatherland or motherland? In a bigger country, if the
cost of living is too high for us, we can move to another town, or if we cannot
afford then we still can move to the country-side and live off the land. Come on,
the world is so large. Why get ourselves stucked on a tiny island of only 253 sq
miles or 655 sq km, with nothing to fall back on, except fighting with more and
more foreigners who are willing to snatch away your job at half your pay?
Truly, will there be a good future for us, the ordinary lot? From the way things
are going, anyone can assure me that we will have a good future on this tiny red
dot? If you have the secret menu, please share with me. Don’t be selfish lah!
The Ordinary Citizen.
Political in-breeding is another reason (especially for PAP).
We know that there is a inner circle and others who are just there to make up the numbers. How to get into the inner circle? If you have certain academic credential (from very specific schools), you stand a good chance. If you have some ‘guanxi’, you stand a even better chance. This means that people who don’t stand much chance of getting into the inner circle will not want to come forward even though they are aware of their capability to take on the leadership positions (they might as well try for leadership positions in the private sector). On the other hand, people who may not have genuine capability but are within the inner circle will definitely not mind giving a try for leadership.
This result in a vicious circle: Seeing more of the sick white-horses getting chosen for the race, the really healthy black-horses are so disgusted and will not join the race.
This may just be a myth, but there are a lot of people who probably believe in it one way or another.
Appended below is an interesting diagnosis and prognosis of the recent disastrous bashing of the ruling party by the ruled. There is so much similarity between BN and PAP that the latter should take heed if similar drubbing is not to be repeated south of the Causeway.
Except for “over-eating” and “overworking”, most of the maladies are also applicable down south. Even for “over-eating”, there is a similar disease of giving important jobs and appointments (instead of projects) to non-appropriate people.
Enjoy…..
*A ” Medical” Perspective on Why the BN Lost in the Recent Elections*
With the thrashing that they got in the 12th.GE, the BN is now in ICU and they are doing a post mortem to find out what happened.
To help BN with this task, the following medical report has been prepared to identify the diseases / illnesses that have been plaguing it and how these ailments have caused this sickening organization to become so sick that major surgery is now being considered.
*Diagnosis*
*Overeating *- gorged themselves giving projects to non-appropriate people.
*Heart failure* - did not have a heart to really care about what are real people’s problems such as Poverty.
*Diabetes*- fondness for sweet things, i.e. saying sweet things but doing opposite most of the time.
*Stroke *- stroked too much of their own ego and became too arrogant and over confident.
*Overworking *- too busy running here and there cutting deals.
*Alzheimer’s *- forgot to play the proper role of an elected representative
*Obsessive-compulsive neurosis*- obsession with cleaning, especially
sweeping things under the carpet
*Liver problems*- failure to de-Liver on promises
*VD*- Very Deaf. Did not listen to the grievances of the people and did not heed the healthy advice and feedback from bloggers.
(The above was prepared By Political doctor)
After reading the posted comments by Mr Viswa, I quite agree with most of the points raised by him. However I will also like to highlight my own summary points as well.
I believe Singapore is facing 3 major problems - outflow of Singaporeans in the face of low population growth, inflow of foreigners as a means to replace the outgoing ones, poor political atmosphere.
1. Outflow of Singaporeans in the face of low population growth
As a fellow Singaporean, I have several friends around me whom, after graduating with a decent diploma or degree, left Singapore for other countries such as Australia and Europe in the search for better job opportunites. This trend, in my opinion, seriously contradicts the Singapore government’s stand that Singapore is currently attracting foreign investments, therefore proves to be a city of opportunities, a city of possibilities, but to what extent? The only result I see is that our own talents choose to forgo Singapore for other countries for several reasons such as better wages and employment benefits offered overseas as well as less corporate competition which may seem logical to some, if all.
Throughout the past few months or so, the media has been emphasising the need for ensued economic growth and this is done in various ways. One way is to actually lower corporate taxes, provide economic subsidies for foreign investments. Another way is to present Singapore as a link to other countries, thereby giving rise to many ‘hubs’ such as sports hub, design hub etc. But these events does not guarantee the survival of Singaporeans as far as employment is concerned since these reliefs apply more towards foreigners.
2. Inflow of foreigners as a means to replace the outgoing ones
With the fact that low population growth will continue to exist so long as Singapore’s economic environment is “too vibrant” to such that the importance of careers dominates that of family, it is evident that in order to maintain the economic growth we want, talents must be recruited even from other countries, mainly China and India.
As a fellow student, I have felt the “pressure” even in schools whenever I see the expansion of the cohort of foreign students year by year. Slowly and eventually, foreigners seem to overcome Singaporeans in terms of employability and performance as they are willing and able to accept lower wages compared to Singaporeans. Does this mean the fault lies with Singaporeans for still insisting on higher wages? We have to realise that fact that the lower wages foreigners earn here are comparatively higher back in their countries, but Singapore’s cost of living is definitely different from that of others.
In terms of working performance, foreigners may be better than Singaporeans but then they also lack a sense of belonging since Singapore is not their country after all. Does the Singapore government represent the interests of foreigners more than Singaporeans?
3. Poor political atmosphere
Singapore government prides itself as 1st world government, but recently there are events that don’t really reflect 1st world. One example is the Mas Selamat incident. When news of how he escaped appeared on the media, I couldn’t control myself but say that his escape is also simply ‘1st world’. A terrorist who once attempted to bomb Singapore’s major places of interest escaped from the detention centre belonging to a country of 1st world standard, through a toilet window. Who can accept this? In addition, PM Lee said that ministers shouldn’t step down regardless of whether they are responsible or not. Is he trying to say that ministers forever won’t step down, a form of dictatorship?
Finally, the politics in Singapore, in my own opinion, is almost a one-sided affair, with the ruling party dominating the country for more than 50 years. I believe, as what Opposition MP Chiam See Tong always say, one-party rule is unhealthy, which I totally agree. In the most recent elections in 2006, I have truly seen the true colors of Singapore politics. Votes are “bought over with money”, electoral boundaries suspiciously adjusted so as to influence the dominance of one party’s vote over another, slander and accusations which somehow always get refuted at the last moment.
My conclusion: Singapore has no future.
Mrs. LKY is in serious condition. There are higher laws above man-made laws, no matter how powerful and rich they are, they can’t live forever and ever. Sooner or later they will have to go and answer to their Creator.
After all, they are just mortals, human beings, no different from you and me.
Indeed, I fear for Singapore’s future. Even as a foreigner who hasn’t lived here for long, it didn’t take me long to see through the govt’s deceit, manipulation, greed, oppression, lies, cronyism, nepotism, elitism, selfishness, self-righteousness, severe lack of civil freedom, zero freedom of speech and expression, zero freedom of criticising govt, the govt playing God over people’s lives (SIA’s pilot Ryan Goh), million dollars minister pay, scandal after scandal (NKF, Shincorp, Mas Selamat), zero govt accountability (Mas Selamat), huge disconnect with the common folks. In short, the whole climate of fear and oppression people in this islet live under.
I see the govt’s plan to build IR (euphemism for Casino or gambling den) as its loud and clear inability to grow the economy further. Aren’t there other ways or means to grow the economy rather than opening a place with potentially damaging social vices? And the FT policy of importing low-skilled foreign workers (you need foreigners just to be your kopitiam’s beer lady? what’s going on here? Highly skilled foreign engineers, yes. But, beer ladies? come on…) to take over Singaporean citizens’ jobs speaks volumes of the govt’s caring of its own citizens.
As for expats like myself, my only raison d’etre in this tiny islet is to work in my specialization and earn money and when it’s time to go, I pack up and go, as I have no binding whatsoever with this place. So much for the govt’s FT policy to attract high-skilled foreigners to come and sink roots in Singapore.
My advice for Singaporean citizens who are able, have the means and intelligence, go migrate to greener pastures while you can. Don’t wait too long, the longer you wait, the older your age becomes, the more difficult it becomes for you to build a new and better life elsewhere.
The planet is huge, don’t limit your life to only 600 sq. km islet, especially when you see no future for yourself and your descendents.
I wish all Singaporean citizens the best of luck.
And that is why we should only pay FTs fair value for what they bring to Singapore. Nothing more, nothing less.
We should instead reward our NS men and citizens more, as they are the ones defending and staying on in our homeland. No need to entice these so called FTs with more monetary incentives to stay or work here. These foiks are fair weathered ones… they will run away at the first sign of trouble.
The tragedy of Singapore is her success. Successful on many fronts but emptied of soul, character and purpose. She claims to be built on justice and equality but that is nowhere to be seen.
Over the last 40 years, she thrived on a form of meritocracy that is really elitism, one upmanship, where the fittest conformist survives and losers are eliminated from as young as school-going kids. There’s no room for love, compassion, integrity, sacrificial giving, moral values and other qualities that are conveniently set aside because they don’t matter in statistics, rankings and scorecards. It therefore comes as no surprise that though we claimed to be tops and world-class in many aspects of life, we have failed so miserably to convince our very own people to settle down and procreate, and have to resort to importing willing foreigners, who in time to come, will be caught in the same vicious cycle we have been subjected to.
What has gone wrong for this powerhouse of humble beginnings?
I would put it down to a lack of leadership renewal.
No one can deny that MM Lee is a strong leader, and there is no equal in the present cabinet, not even his son the Prime Minister. Without his uncompromising leadership, Singapore would not have made it out of the dumps and chaos when she separated from Malaysia in the 60s. However, his strong leadership has also become a crutch & a liability for the cabinet, past and present. His views, opinions and decisions appear to overrule everyone else’s, whether it’s concerning domestic policies, integrated resorts or GIC’s investments. Symbolically, he may have handed over the Prime Minister’s title, but technically he is still the guy in charge of Singapore’s roadmap, at 84 years of age.
Great leaders often arose from the people they identify with, ie., their peers and their generation. Such leaders succeed because of their firm understanding and empathy of the needs of those whom they step out to lead. When we have a leader from a totally different generation and society class calling the shots, we are in trouble. As evident from MM Lee’s actions and words, he’s still very much driven to succeed. It would appear that success for Singapore among her Asian peers is not enough. He still seems preoccupied with engineering Singapore for a higher level of success. What that means, I don’t know, but what I do know is that this generation does not share such goals. Nobody is telling the Govt to make us the superpower of this globe. Nobody is saying to succeed at all costs. What this generation is saying has been all but lost on MM Lee and his pseudo-leaders.
I can only agree with what my friend said, that “real change for Singapore will only come when MM Lee has passed on”.
Indeed we have a leadership crisis. There has been only one PM in Singapore all this while. The 2nd and 3rd PM are actually “proxy minister”. The MM has been pulling the strings even though he passed it on to the ’seat warmer’, who in turn selected the incumbent. The MM’s contemporaries like Goh Keng Swee, Hon Sui Sen, Toh Chin Chye, Rajaratnam, E W Barker etc were part of the leadership in the early years. They left the polical scene a long long time ago and moved on, except for the MM, who obviously cannot let go. It is no exaggeration that what we have in the present cabinet, cannot hold a candle to those men. The present political scenario just does not allow men and women with better talent and more effective leadership qualities to serve the country, without first joining the ruling party. The ruthless manner in which political opponents are dispatched makes it a compelling reason for such men and women to stay away. This is the greatest disservice to the country and legacy of the MM. However there is hope because I agree with netizens who pointed out that the MM will take this legacy with him to his grave. Singapore has many noble and talented people who will step up to the plate and that includes those who left the country but their heart is still here.
Thank you “Expat” for your direct and somewhat suprising views.
Sometimes I long to be an expat in another country (but have not had any openings or opportunities to date) ; the feeling is that Singapore make it a point to treat expats better than its own people to attract them to stay on.
I hope that you will train up some locals in your area of specialisation before you leave. Thank you for your contribution.
There is a Chinese saying to the effect: Fortunes and privilege cannot pass down more than 3 generations. Well, it looks like in the Lee dynasty case, only 2.
Mrs Lee is ill critically. MM himself had 2 bypasses. His son had lymphoma. His grandson is an albino. His first daughter-in-law died young. what else? The whole family tree is beset with woes and catastrophies. One wonders whether it’s all in the Big Black Book. Retribution.
Hi logicalman;
patriot has a different view of MM Lee Kuan Yew. I have said in many of my comments at different sites, including one at P65 Lam Pin Min Blog, that Singapore was given its’ Independence on a platter.
I am of the opinion that the British Ruler, having given Independences to India, Malaya and with the Dutch having given Indonesia Independence, had probably little to gain to remain in Singapore. Technically, Singapore would have been given to Malaya, if the British had decided so. However, Singapore wanted Independence and was given, the British, I believe, must have been pleased. It can be reasonably say that the British and her brother, the US of A will have a ‘better friend’ right in the centre of S E Asia. I do believed that the British/American did not expect much welcome politically from Indonesia and Malaya(later Malaysia).
Britain, together with her allies, were quite worried about the survival of independent Singapore and had provided assistances to her(Sg) NATTIONAL DEFENCE. Singapore then was the most developed and financially the richest state in the whole of S E Asia(except Brunei with its potential oil). As such, it is not wrong to say Singapore had inherited quite a fortune with its’ Independence. Of great significant was(is) the (entrepot) seaport developed by the British that benefits us till this day and after.
Why then, did the British gave up? The British Empire was declining and waning whereas nationalistic fervours were on the rise and since fortunes were already made, why stay to suffer liabilities? In the context of Singapore or rather S E Asia, Britain absolutely had no reason to stay as Singapore is situated between Indonesia, a large country with a very huge population and Malaysia, both staunchly Islamic.
The strategic location, that gives Singapore businessses, that in turn prospers the state and its’ populace; last till today and maybe a little into the future. However, a little fortune was not satisfying, materialism(vanity) is infinite, the more the merrier, humanity has to take the back seat and was forgottened. Hence, we face the problems of greed, lack of compassion, loss of conscience and human nature.
Not that I want to deny MM Lee as a great man, he is a highly intelligent, ruthless and capable strategician that outwits all his opponents, including all his citizens. He rules over all his citizens but lose most of their respects and now in this blog, words such as not honourable and much other negatives are flooding like Tsunami. There were also calls for champagne celebration preparations to celebrate in anticipation of his Late and calls for him and his entourages to go 18 layers down. And someone told me that he(LKY) will never close his eyes, I agree, not even if he(LKY) stop breathing, for he is too ambitious.
‘Fu si liu pi, ren si liu ming’, meaning a tiger leaves behind its’ hide and man leaves behind his name(reputation) when they died and reputations could be fame and infamy and ironically, the latter tends to last longer for a longer posterity.
patriot.
Dear all,
please allow me to correct a word in my former post. The word ’strategician’ should be replaced by ’strategist’, my apology for the mistake.
patriot.
TheWrathOfGrapes,
A perfect clinical assessment of the current PAP government. It has since developed additional illnesses.
Severe Constipation - unable to excrete the goods that they extracted from the people leading to……
Colon cancer
An urgent invasive surgery is the only alternative.
Harrison,
Very creative thoughts! I laughed at your statements and very funny too.
FG
FG,
We need to send in a team of highly qualified maverick surgeons into parliament theatre to remove the Stage 3 cancerous parts. Thereafter, radiation and chemotherapy need to be administered constantly by Singaporeans to prevent a recurrence.
Should the operation turn out unsuccessful, pain and damage would have been inflicted and PAP will have to opt for organ transplant. It’ll have to join a long waiting list then.
Harrison,
The surgeons will be have the shock of their lives when they operate of these patients to find that they have no hearts, no guts and no spines…
T,
A great piece of surgical procedure performed by you - short, sharp and precise.
Profits And Pay politics is bedridden as such.