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What will the political landscape will be like in Singapore
when the third generation leadership under Deputy Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong takes over?
This was one of the issues discussed at the annual Singapore
Perspectives Conference organized by the Institute of Policy
Studies in Singapore.
Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said last year,
that he would hand
over power to Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong when the
economy
recovers and no time frame was given for this.
It is against the backdrop of an uncertain global environment
that DPM Lee is expected to assume leadership. So what will
his leadership style be like?
Dr Wang Kai Yuen, Member of Parliament for Bukit Timah Constituency
says, "DPM Lee is a man who will follow no man's shadows.
He has a good grasp of
the issues and also understands the complexities between policy
choices. He is brilliant and very decisive. He is also hands
on."
However, as the son of Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, expectations
of him
are likely to be high, as Sylvia Lim, Chairman of the opposition
Worker's
Party, pointed out.
SL: Being his father's son, I think he would face some additional
pressures to prove himself and his abilities. So he's got
his job cut out for him, I would say.
On the things that she feels will not change with the 3rd
generation, Sylvia alluded to a speech made last year by Minister
of State for National Development, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.
SL: What he said was that the PAP values must not change.
If they change, they will lose the right to govern Singapore,
or something like this. And apparently these values were vetted
by the CC of the party and by SM Lee himself. Second point
of what will not change, as mentioned earlier, co-opting potential
critics and we say it's for self-preservation. The wariness
of non-politician detractors, I call them, I think will also
continue. Prime Minister Goh did say, some years ago, that
if they sensed that any person or group is political opposition
in disguise, the PAP will not hesitate to crack down hard
on them. I think this is where we find that some of the non-government
organisations have some discomfort, because they may or may
not be under the PAP umbrella, and when they try to move their
agenda forward, sometimes they bump into an OB-marker.
Sylvia also spoke on the things she feels will or may change
with the third generation leadsership.
SL: PM Goh already started this discussion about acceptance
of diverse lifestyle choices. Apparently, we are very open
now to the gay community, and also at the last general election,
the PAP fielded single candidates, which was considered a
breakthrough. In the future, perhaps, we'll see some divorcés
running on the PAP ticket, perhaps? Besides this, of course,
we see that there is a commitment to involve the private sector
more, in policy deliberations, because the DPM says that the
PAP does not have a monopoly on ideas in this complex, global
environment. But I would put a very big caveat here, to say
that the involvement of "outsiders", I would call
it, would be rather through co-option than competition. So
we expect many other committees, like the Economic Restructuring
Committee, or Remaking Singapore Committee - things where
the PAP is still leading from the front.
And will there be a change in the representation of women
in Singapore politics? Will we see more women in the political
arena under the 3rd generation leadership?
Professor Tommy Koh, Director of the Institute of Policy
Studies, addressed
this concern.
TK: I want to say, as a member of the male species, I'm very
proud of Singapore women, and I think we're making progress.
Until a few years ago, there was no permanent secretary in
the civil service, who was a woman. Now
we have two, Lim Soon Hoon, Yong Ying-I. And I'm confident
that in a few years, the glass ceiling in the PAP against
women in the Cabinet, will be broken and we'll have more than
one woman in the PAP Cabinet.
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