Govt to put together ‘strongest team possible’ across all sectors of society: Chan Chun Sing
Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing speaks in Parliament on Monday (May 14).
SINGAPORE — Stressing the need to have the “strongest team possible” across politics, public service and the business community, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said on Monday (May 14) the People’s Action Party (PAP) Government will “spare no effort” in finding the strongest set of individuals with diverse skillsets and perspectives.
“This cannot be left to chance… Agreeing with us is not the pre-requisite. Agreeing to put Singapore first and foremost is the pre-requisite,” said Mr Chan, who was the first fourth-generation Cabinet Minister to speak during the debate on the President’s Address and the ministries’ plans and policies.
Beyond having good and nimble systems, Singapore must have good people, he reiterated.
“Countries with more resources may afford to have less cohesive leadership teams and still survive,” Mr Chan said. “But for Singapore, we must ensure that we have the strongest leadership team possible, for others to take us seriously and be willing to work with us.”
Such teamwork does not exist just within one generation, but also between generations, he added. “Our leadership model is to have overlapping generations of leadership teams to help the next generation to do even better. This provides continuity in our interaction with others and for us to compete at the highest global level with consistency in vision and execution with purpose,” Mr Chan said.
Reiterating that “political leaders, not just politicians” are wanted to lead the country — a point which he had made previously in an interview with Straits Times earlier this month — Mr Chan stressed the need for leaders “who weigh options carefully before acting decisively, and never opt for just the most expedient idea or solution for personal interests or short-term gains”.
He pointed out that politics is not just about winning votes but about serving the country and its people. “To win votes by stoking anger and unhappiness may be a common practice in politics elsewhere. This is negative politics and is not constructive,” he said.
In this regard, he lauded former Worker’s Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang’s “efforts to work together to build a better Singapore”, even though the PAP may not always agree with his perspectives or methods, Mr Chan said.
“While Mr Low sat on the opposite bench, he is nevertheless a fellow Singaporean and very much party of Team Singapore… Although Mr Low may have different perspectives, but from his speeches, we can detect his pride in Singapore and his determination to defend our sovereignty. Thank you Mr Low,” he added.
After leading the WP for 17 years, Mr Low stepped down as the party’s secretary-general last month, with fellow Aljunied GRC Member of Parliament Pritam Singh taking over the mantle. Mr Chan said the PAP “look forward to similarly working with” Mr Singh and the WP to “put Singapore’s and Singaporeans’ interest first, always”.
