Intricacies of political succession underappreciated, mentors often more exasperated than they let on publicly: ESM Goh
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong delivers a speech on Nov 8, 2018, during the launch of his biography, on his journey to becoming Singapore’s second prime minister.
SINGAPORE — The transfer of power from one generation of leaders to another involves painstaking preparation and the complexity of the process is not widely understood by Singaporeans, Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong said.
“The intricacies of political succession are underappreciated and underestimated,” he said on Thursday (Nov 8) at the launch of an authorised biography on his journey to becoming Singapore’s second prime minister.
“The mentors are often more exasperated than they let on publicly. And the understudies are like swans — calm on the surface but paddling furiously below.”
Mr Goh added that he was “not a born politician” himself but was fortunate to be mentored by founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and other first-generation leaders such as Goh Keng Swee, S Rajaratnam, Hon Sui Sen and Lim Kim San.
“I had my knuckles rapped, more than once. Only when they were satisfied that I could fly Singapore was I allowed to occupy the cockpit,” Mr Goh said at the book launch held at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, in the very hall where he collected his bursary and paid his fees as a student.
Noting that Singapore is now in the midst of another “generational political transition”, he said that the process involves many elements.
“This requires painstaking preparation and testing in all aspects — in policies and politics, in taking hard decisions, in fighting and winning elections, in winning the minds and hearts of the people, in forging good relations with leaders of other countries and in bonding as a team.”
A major theme of the book, titled Tall Order — The Goh Chok Tong Story, is leadership renewal.
This weekend, the identity of the man who will eventually become the next chief of the ruling People’s Action Party — and in all likelihood, Singapore’s next prime minister — is expected to become clearer at the party conference, through its Central Executive Committee election.
At the book launch, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke of the need to entrench as political norms the culture of leadership self-renewal and cohesive teamwork.
“It is not just about finding the right successor: We need to assemble the right team to lead Singapore,” he said.
“Leadership self-renewal isn’t exactly a secret sauce, but it is what enables our system to work.”
When the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew brought in Mr Goh and other second-generation leaders, he had to retire many comrades who fought side by side with him through the “darkest days” of Singapore’s history, PM Lee said.
Some of the stalwarts felt they had much to contribute and wanted to “continue in harness for a while longer”, but ultimately agreed to step aside.
“They accepted the broader objective of bringing in fresh blood early, and understood that a new generation needed to be trained and tested,” PM Lee said.
Many, including some members of the Old Guard (the pioneer generation of leaders) doubted if the second-generation leaders had “fire in the belly” and the political charisma to mobilise the nation, he added.
PM Lee, who first met Mr Goh socially around 1978 and has known him for more than 40 years, said that Mr Goh wisely decided not to try to be a copy of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and established his own leadership style.
When Mr Goh stepped down in 2004 after 14 years as prime minister, Mr Lee took over in a “similarly uneventful transition”.
“Again there was change, but there was also continuity,” he said.
“This is something that rarely happens elsewhere, and we should not believe that it will always happen in Singapore. My colleagues and I are doing our best to ensure that this changing of guard will be just as smooth and sure-footed,” he added.
The next team is shaping up and PM Lee said that they are taking charge of sensitive issues and tough conversations with Singaporeans. They are making themselves and their convictions known and developing rapport with voters.
Following Thursday’s launch, a charity event held in conjunction with the release of the biography — which was penned by Mr Peh Shing Huei, former news editor of The Straits Times — will be held on Nov 21 to raise money for people with disabilities and disadvantaged students.
A second volume of Mr Goh’s biography is also in the works.
