- Joined
- Jul 24, 2008
- Messages
- 33,627
- Points
- 0
[h=2]ESM Goh: Singapore needs ‘first-rate’ leaders to navigate the choppy seas of changing world order[/h]
October 16th, 2012 |
Author: Editorial
ESM Goh
Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong said Singapore needs “first-rate” leaders to help Singapore navigate the choppy seas of the changing world order.
He also said that Singapore has to stay exceptional by remaining cohesive as a nation in the new world order.
ESM Goh was speaking at a public lecture, “Navigating A Changing World: Perspectives of a Small State”, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, yesterday (15 Oct). He was invited to speak as an Ezra F. Vogel Distinguished Visitor.
He said small states will have a long and bumpy journey with recurring political, economic and financial crises, and even regional conflicts, along the way.
He also said that governance must be outstanding and there must be a national consensus on where the country is heading and how problems are to be solved.
“Unless we are respected as a successful country, we cannot expect to exercise any international influence. Why should others listen to us or deal with us if our house is in disarray and we cannot even solve our own problems?” he asked.
It is interesting that Mr Goh talked about national consensus when currently, the PAP leadership seems to be disagreeing with the views of the populace on the issue of foreign influx. A Yahoo! survey showed that the management of in flow and integration of foreigners is the second most pressing concern of Singaporeans (‘National Conversation: Yahoo! poll results differ from ST’s‘) while the Mindshare survey revealed that 69% think too many foreign workers are taking up job opportunities in Singapore today (‘The real National Conversation‘).
However, former MM Lee at the Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru National Day celebration dinner said in Aug that immigration is needed because of Singapore’s low fertility rate. “If we go on like that, this place will fold up, because there’ll be no original citizens left to form the majority, and we cannot have new citizens, new PRs to settle our social ethos, our social spirit, our social norms,” said Mr Lee (‘Lee Kuan Yew laments Singapore’s low fertility rate‘).
DPM Teo in a recent dialogue held this month even warned that SMEs are facing an increasing shortage of manpower and it could affect their survivability. He said that survey from the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises showed that 8 in 10 companies are currently facing manpower shortages, with 3 in 10 even looking to move overseas in order to survive. “We have to be mindful that many of our SME owners are Singaporeans too. Many of the workers are Singaporeans. If we squeeze too hard, they will lose their jobs too if (the SMEs) move abroad or close down,” said Mr Teo (‘DPM Teo: SMEs need foreign manpower‘).
And at a Mandarin TV forum hosted by MediaCorp last month, when asked what Singapore’s ideal population target is, PM Lee replied without hesitation (‘PM Lee: 6 million population should not be a problem‘), “Today our population is over 5 million. In the future, 6 million or so should not be a problem.”
Perhaps Mr Goh should really get our house in order and fix our own problems first before going to Harvard University to preach to the Americans.
During the talk, Mr Goh also emphasized that Singapore has been able to navigate changes in the international environment because it has had far-sighted, competent and decisive leaders since independence and has succeeded in building a prosperous society.
However, Singapore’s “far-sighted, competent and decisive” leaders have to apologise to the electorate just days before the polling in the last 2011 General Election.
Lim Hwee Hua, Singapore’s first woman ex-Cabinet minister who was voted out in the last GE said after the election, “It is a surprise for us that the resentment is so deep and the unhappiness is so deep.” She said it was only during the General Election campaign, that “we began to fully appreciate the extent of the unhappiness and resentment towards the Government.” She added that the ruling party “really needs to sit up to and to seriously look at” transforming itself.
How could Singapore’s “far-sighted, competent and decisive leaders” have missed all these? Why was an ex-Cabinet minister telling her own party to “seriously look at” transforming itself if it is so competent?
Mr Goh was prime minister from 1990 to 2004. He said that in his 14 years at the helm, his singular mission was to “Keep Singapore Going”. Under his leadership, he introduced 2 important policies which have considerable consequences to the current generation of Singaporeans today – (i) “Asset enhancement” policy and (ii) “Foreign talent” policy.
.
ESM GohEmeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong said Singapore needs “first-rate” leaders to help Singapore navigate the choppy seas of the changing world order.
He also said that Singapore has to stay exceptional by remaining cohesive as a nation in the new world order.
ESM Goh was speaking at a public lecture, “Navigating A Changing World: Perspectives of a Small State”, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, yesterday (15 Oct). He was invited to speak as an Ezra F. Vogel Distinguished Visitor.
He said small states will have a long and bumpy journey with recurring political, economic and financial crises, and even regional conflicts, along the way.
He also said that governance must be outstanding and there must be a national consensus on where the country is heading and how problems are to be solved.
“Unless we are respected as a successful country, we cannot expect to exercise any international influence. Why should others listen to us or deal with us if our house is in disarray and we cannot even solve our own problems?” he asked.
It is interesting that Mr Goh talked about national consensus when currently, the PAP leadership seems to be disagreeing with the views of the populace on the issue of foreign influx. A Yahoo! survey showed that the management of in flow and integration of foreigners is the second most pressing concern of Singaporeans (‘National Conversation: Yahoo! poll results differ from ST’s‘) while the Mindshare survey revealed that 69% think too many foreign workers are taking up job opportunities in Singapore today (‘The real National Conversation‘).
However, former MM Lee at the Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru National Day celebration dinner said in Aug that immigration is needed because of Singapore’s low fertility rate. “If we go on like that, this place will fold up, because there’ll be no original citizens left to form the majority, and we cannot have new citizens, new PRs to settle our social ethos, our social spirit, our social norms,” said Mr Lee (‘Lee Kuan Yew laments Singapore’s low fertility rate‘).
DPM Teo in a recent dialogue held this month even warned that SMEs are facing an increasing shortage of manpower and it could affect their survivability. He said that survey from the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises showed that 8 in 10 companies are currently facing manpower shortages, with 3 in 10 even looking to move overseas in order to survive. “We have to be mindful that many of our SME owners are Singaporeans too. Many of the workers are Singaporeans. If we squeeze too hard, they will lose their jobs too if (the SMEs) move abroad or close down,” said Mr Teo (‘DPM Teo: SMEs need foreign manpower‘).
And at a Mandarin TV forum hosted by MediaCorp last month, when asked what Singapore’s ideal population target is, PM Lee replied without hesitation (‘PM Lee: 6 million population should not be a problem‘), “Today our population is over 5 million. In the future, 6 million or so should not be a problem.”
Perhaps Mr Goh should really get our house in order and fix our own problems first before going to Harvard University to preach to the Americans.
During the talk, Mr Goh also emphasized that Singapore has been able to navigate changes in the international environment because it has had far-sighted, competent and decisive leaders since independence and has succeeded in building a prosperous society.
However, Singapore’s “far-sighted, competent and decisive” leaders have to apologise to the electorate just days before the polling in the last 2011 General Election.
Lim Hwee Hua, Singapore’s first woman ex-Cabinet minister who was voted out in the last GE said after the election, “It is a surprise for us that the resentment is so deep and the unhappiness is so deep.” She said it was only during the General Election campaign, that “we began to fully appreciate the extent of the unhappiness and resentment towards the Government.” She added that the ruling party “really needs to sit up to and to seriously look at” transforming itself.
How could Singapore’s “far-sighted, competent and decisive leaders” have missed all these? Why was an ex-Cabinet minister telling her own party to “seriously look at” transforming itself if it is so competent?
Mr Goh was prime minister from 1990 to 2004. He said that in his 14 years at the helm, his singular mission was to “Keep Singapore Going”. Under his leadership, he introduced 2 important policies which have considerable consequences to the current generation of Singaporeans today – (i) “Asset enhancement” policy and (ii) “Foreign talent” policy.
.
