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Mr Goh Chok Tong, in his National Day message, had shared
with us several lessons that he had learned in his time in
government.
The commitment of Singaporeans to their country and trust
between the different communities and between the people and
the government were cited as two factors that are important
to the future of the country.
He also cited the quality of national leadership as being
vital to the country's future success.
So how can the new leadership ensure that these factors continue
to flourish in the future?
Bharati Jagdish (BJ) put this to political analyst Dr Ho
Khai Leong (HKL) from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
in Singapore.
Dr Ho began by expanding on how the new leadership can ensure
that Singaporeans remain committed to the country.
HKL: "I think what Mr Goh has said is certainly a crucial
challenge for the new Prime Minister and also for the future
of the nation. This problem of younger generations feeling
a lack of a sense of belonging to the nation has been there
for a long time, so I think the new leadership will have to
deal with this problem in a serious manner. Instead of calling
those who leave "quitters", the government has to
make more commitments and offer more incentives to bring them
back and at the same time, make sure that those who are staying
will have a stronger commitment to the country. I think there're
several ways of doing that - giving them a stake in the process
of nation-building, giving them a say in decision-making,
making sure that they can find a good job in the economic
development of the public. I think all this would give them
a stronger sense of belonging and hence increase their commitment
to the country. Singapore is getting more and more pluralistic
in terms of demographic transformation. You have more and
more foreigners coming in so that makes nation-building a
much more difficult process. So for cosmopolitan Singapore
to prosper and to sustain its economic growth by making sure
that the next generation of Singaporeans commit to the process
of nation-building, the government certainly has to do more."
BJ: The other point was trust between the different communities
and trust between the people and the government. How can the
new leadership ensure that this continues?
HKL: "The trust has to be mutual. Not only do the people
have to trust the government, but the government has to trust
its people as well. I think the fact that the people trust
the government is quite apparent based on how people have
voted for the People's Action Party (PAP) in the past years'
elections. Looking at the percentage of votes, it's clear
that there is high level of trust on the part of the people.
Now, the government has to show that it trusts the people
by showing greater openness to them so that they can express
their views and their feedback on government policies."
BJ: Mr Goh also talked about the quality of national leadership
and seeking out good and able people for government. How can
we encourage future generations to become more politically
inclined?
HKL: "First of all, I think the government will need
to show openness and sincerity in the process of political
recruitment. Opening the political system for younger generations
to be active, to really have a stake in political process.
This would be a very positive first step. I think when we
talk about recruitment into politics, it's not just about
political recruitment into PAP. We're really talking about
political commitment to the nation-building process - how
to make Singapore more democratic, more open and to bring
it to a higher level in terms of political development, so
it should not be a narrow definition of bringing people into
politics, but we should have a more open and transparent process
in which people are not discouraged if they want to join oppositional
politics."
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