Donald Low, Professor of Practice in Public Policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, argues that it would not be fair to blame the Singapore government for missteps that are apparent only in hindsight. The crisis in foreign worker dormitories, on the other hand, was predicted. The government’s failure to act quickly is a mistake Singapore must learn from.
Singaporeans are justifiably proud of their strong, competent government; trust in government is also a valuable resource for the authorities. But it must be complemented by a strong society—one that is capable of checking, questioning, and demanding accountability from a powerful state. Between a strong, competent state and a strong society that can check and constrain the state’s excesses lies a narrow corridor that protects our rights and freedoms while allowing the state to function effectively.
Furthermore, when confronted with a novel, unfamiliar threat which our routines and repertoires have not been designed for, it is even more important that the government embrace diversity, or at least keep an open mind about dissenting views. Whether this is over how severe this novel coronavirus would be, or if mask-wearing helps, keeping an open mind and allowing for the possibility that you may be wrong and your critics may be right gives you more room for manoeuvre, and gives you more “political space” to change directions if and when you have to. And in a rapidly evolving crisis such as this, making mid-course corrections and changing tack are almost inevitable — as we have already seen.
What is clearly not helpful is having sycophants who try to create an illusion of unanimity or unity by silencing dissent. In this particular crisis, we have seen the PAP internet brigade in its full glory: attacking dissenting voices, demonizing critics, mocking other governments, and trying to enforce groupthink. Almost none of what they have done has been of value to the national effort in this crisis; it is not even clear they are helping the ruling party since they seem to appeal only to its hardcore supporters.
As Dr Li Wenliang said before he died, “A healthy society should not have only one voice”. The people who have been imploring the government to do more about the wretched living conditions of our foreign workers have been vindicated; we should have been listening and paying more attention to them and their suggestions. They are our Li Wenliangs, and we are stronger as a society if we would accept them as a legitimate and necessary part of our society even if we disagree with them.
The second lesson I hope Singaporeans learn from this crisis is that of humility. While I supported the government’s early assessments of the severity of Covid-19 and the need to prioritise masks for healthcare and frontline workers, what I found disturbing then were all these unnecessary, quite infantile and snide comments about an already beleaguered Hong Kong government and society. In times like these, we really should not be kicking others when they’re down. My good friend, Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh, wrote a brave piece at the time, asking Singaporeans whether they should be feeling so smug at the time; it’s worth reading again.
More importantly, when we’re dealing with a new and unfamiliar threat, we really should be a lot more circumspect about claiming superiority and criticising how other countries or societies are dealing with the threat. The more complex or wicked the problem, the more humility we should have. Their solutions which we thought were unnecessary, even dumb then, are exactly what we have to do now.
None of us should criticise the Singapore government for saying that the crisis has now worsened and it needs to take more drastic measures that it did not think were necessary before. As John Maynard Keynes said, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”
But we should all reject the smug self-superiority and hubris that many of us have displayed over the years.
Full post - https://www.academia.sg/academic-views/coronavirus-right-lessons/
Singaporeans are justifiably proud of their strong, competent government; trust in government is also a valuable resource for the authorities. But it must be complemented by a strong society—one that is capable of checking, questioning, and demanding accountability from a powerful state. Between a strong, competent state and a strong society that can check and constrain the state’s excesses lies a narrow corridor that protects our rights and freedoms while allowing the state to function effectively.
Furthermore, when confronted with a novel, unfamiliar threat which our routines and repertoires have not been designed for, it is even more important that the government embrace diversity, or at least keep an open mind about dissenting views. Whether this is over how severe this novel coronavirus would be, or if mask-wearing helps, keeping an open mind and allowing for the possibility that you may be wrong and your critics may be right gives you more room for manoeuvre, and gives you more “political space” to change directions if and when you have to. And in a rapidly evolving crisis such as this, making mid-course corrections and changing tack are almost inevitable — as we have already seen.
What is clearly not helpful is having sycophants who try to create an illusion of unanimity or unity by silencing dissent. In this particular crisis, we have seen the PAP internet brigade in its full glory: attacking dissenting voices, demonizing critics, mocking other governments, and trying to enforce groupthink. Almost none of what they have done has been of value to the national effort in this crisis; it is not even clear they are helping the ruling party since they seem to appeal only to its hardcore supporters.
As Dr Li Wenliang said before he died, “A healthy society should not have only one voice”. The people who have been imploring the government to do more about the wretched living conditions of our foreign workers have been vindicated; we should have been listening and paying more attention to them and their suggestions. They are our Li Wenliangs, and we are stronger as a society if we would accept them as a legitimate and necessary part of our society even if we disagree with them.
The second lesson I hope Singaporeans learn from this crisis is that of humility. While I supported the government’s early assessments of the severity of Covid-19 and the need to prioritise masks for healthcare and frontline workers, what I found disturbing then were all these unnecessary, quite infantile and snide comments about an already beleaguered Hong Kong government and society. In times like these, we really should not be kicking others when they’re down. My good friend, Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh, wrote a brave piece at the time, asking Singaporeans whether they should be feeling so smug at the time; it’s worth reading again.
More importantly, when we’re dealing with a new and unfamiliar threat, we really should be a lot more circumspect about claiming superiority and criticising how other countries or societies are dealing with the threat. The more complex or wicked the problem, the more humility we should have. Their solutions which we thought were unnecessary, even dumb then, are exactly what we have to do now.
None of us should criticise the Singapore government for saying that the crisis has now worsened and it needs to take more drastic measures that it did not think were necessary before. As John Maynard Keynes said, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”
But we should all reject the smug self-superiority and hubris that many of us have displayed over the years.
Full post - https://www.academia.sg/academic-views/coronavirus-right-lessons/
