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https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/20...ture-economy-and-says-govt-is-the-bottleneck/
Photo of Inderit Singh (Photo - ST)
Former PAP MP Inderjit Singh criticises Heng’s Committee for Future Economy and says Govt is the bottleneck
Published on 2018-01-31 by The Online Citizen
by Vincent Low
In a recent exclusive interview with DEALSTREETASIA, former People's Action Party Member of Parliament Inderjit Singh criticised the Committee for Future Economy (CFE) which was led by Minister Heng Swee Keat. The transcript of the interview was published on Monday (29 Jan).
The CFE was established in Dec 2015 at the behest of PM Lee to address the new economic challenges that Singapore faces. It is a high-powered committee made up of five Cabinet ministers and 25 other members from the private sector.
The committee is led by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, with Minister of Trade and Industry S Iswaran as co-chairman. Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong and Minister in Prime Minister Office Chan Chun Sing are the other ministers. CFE is supposed to map out a strategy to transform Singapore by embracing innovation so as to become a digital economy.
However, at the interview, Mr Singh expressed his disappointment in Heng's committee.
Rehash of old ideas
"The CFE was something that everyone was really looking forward to. There was an expectation that if something came out, it would inspire us and show the government realised the changes needed for a future economy," Mr Singh said.
"When the report did come out, it was just many old initiatives being rehashed. So it was all about things being tried and tested, but with some fine-tuning. Nothing new came out of it, which was the biggest problem."
Mr Singh said that ideas like innovation and overseas expansion as the second wing of Singapore economy have already been discussed some 20 years ago and Heng's committee were "just rehashing things".
"They’re all the right things to do, but the only way to do it is if we change our approach," he added.
Mr Singh explained, "For instance, there’s lots of intellectual property (IP) in the universities and research institutes. How can we accelerate their commercialisation and entry into the market? Don’t make the transfer of technology so expensive or difficult."
"The CFE implementation team needs to explain how they’re going to go about fostering and implementing innovation. Currently, there are no great ideas," he added.
Photo of Inderit Singh (Photo - ST)
Former PAP MP Inderjit Singh criticises Heng’s Committee for Future Economy and says Govt is the bottleneck
Published on 2018-01-31 by The Online Citizen
by Vincent Low
In a recent exclusive interview with DEALSTREETASIA, former People's Action Party Member of Parliament Inderjit Singh criticised the Committee for Future Economy (CFE) which was led by Minister Heng Swee Keat. The transcript of the interview was published on Monday (29 Jan).
The CFE was established in Dec 2015 at the behest of PM Lee to address the new economic challenges that Singapore faces. It is a high-powered committee made up of five Cabinet ministers and 25 other members from the private sector.
The committee is led by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, with Minister of Trade and Industry S Iswaran as co-chairman. Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong and Minister in Prime Minister Office Chan Chun Sing are the other ministers. CFE is supposed to map out a strategy to transform Singapore by embracing innovation so as to become a digital economy.
However, at the interview, Mr Singh expressed his disappointment in Heng's committee.
Rehash of old ideas
"The CFE was something that everyone was really looking forward to. There was an expectation that if something came out, it would inspire us and show the government realised the changes needed for a future economy," Mr Singh said.
"When the report did come out, it was just many old initiatives being rehashed. So it was all about things being tried and tested, but with some fine-tuning. Nothing new came out of it, which was the biggest problem."
Mr Singh said that ideas like innovation and overseas expansion as the second wing of Singapore economy have already been discussed some 20 years ago and Heng's committee were "just rehashing things".
"They’re all the right things to do, but the only way to do it is if we change our approach," he added.
Mr Singh explained, "For instance, there’s lots of intellectual property (IP) in the universities and research institutes. How can we accelerate their commercialisation and entry into the market? Don’t make the transfer of technology so expensive or difficult."
"The CFE implementation team needs to explain how they’re going to go about fostering and implementing innovation. Currently, there are no great ideas," he added.
