Involve public in finding solutions to long-term issues
We need more than a culture change in public service to solve the complex issues we face (‘Culture change key to solving complex issues facing S’pore’; April 6).
Tough issues need tough measures, but if our people do not fully understand the complexity of these issues, there would be sociopolitical costs to bear. More long-term future scenarios of various issues must be discussed, especially in Parliament.
Let people have time to digest the scenarios and their associated implications. If people do not understand these, they would not be able to comprehend the reasons behind policies.
The 2013 Population White Paper projected that owing to declining fertility in past decades, our citizen old-age support ratio could drop from 5.9 in 2012 to 2.1 by 2030.
To slow down the drop, a constant but measured inflow of immigrants and foreign workers, as well as more incentives to boost births, were proposed. The paper caused some unhappiness, but luckily, most Singaporeans understand the issues.
The recent policy to increase water prices is another example. That a few ministers had to come out to explain the rationale showed that some of us might have taken the availability of water for granted.
Being small and with no natural resources, we have more long-term problems than bigger nations. Also, these problems are more intricate than those before.
The ability to forecast and plan for the long term to tackle these issues is a dexterity we must cultivate. And the public must be constantly updated on our long-term issues and the progress towards solutions.
For example, we need to follow up every five years on our ageing population, declining births and manpower shortages, to analyse whether new issues have arisen or new measures are needed.
After getting people informed and interested in the problems, the next step is to let them take ownership and contribute towards the solutions. Let us build a Singapore with responsible, forward-thinking people who are ready to face any challenge ahead.
