By Faris – August 16th, 2010
Capable leaders, meritocracy, a level playing field and the use of English as a working language.
These are the four key reasons why Singapore was able to transform itself from a small fishing village to the cosmopolitan, first-world city it is today, said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
Speaking at the National Day dinner in his Tanjong Pagar constituency on Sunday night, MM Lee said, “From 1965 to 1990, we made Singapore go from Third World to First, and from 1990 to 2010, we gave Singapore the cosmopolitan gloss, that polish, that poise, that vibrancy.”
All this would not have been possible he said without “an exceptionally strong government, with the ablest, the toughest and most dedicated of leaders.”
The Straits Times quoted him as saying, “We head-hunt for them, test them out in heavy responsibilities. People get to where they are on merit, not guanxi (connections), not nepotism, not corruption. Hence all are capable and competent.”
“Only such leaders can keep the economy growing and create good jobs and generate the revenue to pay for the equipment and training of our 3G SAF,” he continued, before adding a strong armed forces was key behind keeping the country safe and secure.
He also said Singapore is quick to learn from challenges faced by other countries and to adapt solutions based on the needs of its people.
“We studied how they have managed their problems, why some are more successful than others. Then we extracted the principles to adapt and modify them to fit our society,” he said.
The 86-year-old highlighted the use of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) to control traffic congestion and recycling of water to manage water supply as good examples of such a policy.
One of the founding fathers of Singapore, MM Lee also said the country’s policies are not carved in stone. He said, “We always re-examine old policies and positions, and change them with changing world circumstances.”
He referred to examples such as the Formula One and having a casino in the country. He stated that there were shifts in policies because the government recognised the economic revenue that such projects generate.
But one of the areas Singapore is doing very poorly in is its total fertility rate which presently stands at 1.22, far below the 2.1 needed for a population to replace itself.
The solution, he said, was to bring in immigrants from Malaysia, China, India, and the region.
MM Lee said, “Where do we go from here? I think it depends on the younger generation — how much drive, how much energy they have, how much they are prepared to make the effort to climb up that face of the cliff to a higher plane.”
Source:http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/08/16/four-key-reasons-behind-singapore-success-mm-lee/
