Lucky Tan slaps LCB for his eulogy

[makapaaa]

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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Lucky Tan slaps LCB for his eulogy</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>rainnix <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>May-30 2:05 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 20) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>33881.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2010/05/mm-lees-eulogy.html
MM Lee's Eulogy...
"When he held a contrary view, he would challenge my decisions and make me re-examine the premises on which they were made. As a result, we reached better decisions for Singapore."
- MM Lee's Eulogy [Link]
I read all the eulogies for Dr. Goh but found this sentence by MM Lee most interesting. He talks about the importance of being challenged and questioned by Dr. Goh to force him to 're-examine the premises'. The result of Dr. Goh's contrarian view is the govt reaching 'better decisions for Singapore'.
Dr. Goh left the govt more than 20 years ago. So who was around to provide 'contrary views' and challenge MM Lee's and subsequent prime ministers' premises? You notice how long it takes for the govt to fix its birth control policies and adjust its foreign workers policies. It is done long after everyone knows something is wrong.
I was at the National Museum open house yesterday and there was an old clip of Dr. Goh and the Jurong Industrial Park. The park cost the govt $50M and there was tremendous fear among the decision makers (Dr. Goh and Hon Sui Sen) that the investment can go wrong and they would have to live with the consequence i.e. Jurong Industry Park would have been known as "Goh Folly" to the next generation...... if it had failed he was ready to take responsibility and that would have been the end of his political career. $50M in those days was huge sum given that our entire reserves was only $400M. Today, the Singapore govt can lose a few billion here, tens of billions there and you don't hear of anyone taking responsibility for the loss. Perhaps "contrary views" and "challenges" to those big risky investment decisions would have resulted in better outcomes for Singapore.

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[scroobal]

I am not sure if one is reading too much from that sentence. Its common point that is usually raised in an eulogy. A compliment.

As for for Jurong Bird Park, it was never meant to be profitable. It was to provide some quality of life to the harsh industrial environment. He also made sure that Jurong Hill had a good japanese restaurant to attract and retain the Japanese stakeholders. It was part of the overall cost of building Jurong Industrial Estate.

Maybe the young chaps have no idea what Goh intended. In fact the Zoo, the Bird Park came under Temasek to be self sustaining which defeats the very purpose it was created. It was never meant to be profitable.

 

[exSINgaporean]

I am not sure if one is reading too much from that sentence. Its common point that is usually raised in an eulogy. A compliment.

As for for Jurong Bird Park, it was never meant to be profitable. It was to provide some quality of life to the harsh industrial environment. He also made sure that Jurong Hill had a good japanese restaurant to attract and retain the Japanese stakeholders. It was part of the overall cost of building Jurong Industrial Estate.

Maybe the young chaps have no idea what Goh intended. In fact the Zoo, the Bird Park came under Temasek to be self sustaining which defeats the very purpose it was created. It was never meant to be profitable.

Scroobal:

What makapaaa said is the "Jurong Industrial Park" and NOT the "Jurong Bird Park."

 

[scroobal]

Sorry, my mistake. Thanks for pointing it out.

Scroobal:

What makapaaa said is the "Jurong Industrial Park" and NOT the "Jurong Bird Park."