Favourite books, leadership style and managing dissent: Highlights from Lawrence Wong’s interview before becoming PM

SINGAPORE: Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong recently gave a wide-ranging interview to the Singapore media - days before he takes over as Singapore’s fourth Prime Minister on Wednesday (May 15).

The following are edited excerpts of his answers on some topics covered in the interview last Friday, which include handling dissenting voices, his leadership style and slaying sacred cows.

MANAGING DISSENTING VOICES

Mr Wong said that there is “no doubt” that Singapore is becoming more diverse and will continue to “move in that direction”.

“So the way forward is for us to embrace that diversity, continue to engage one another, and at the same time, work even harder to find unity amidst diversity, to find common ground,” said Mr Wong.

“From the government's point of view, we do want to open up the space for different groups to be involved in shaping our future - we take this very seriously.”

Already there are moves being done in this regard, he said, citing examples like youth panels and the Singapore Government Partnerships Office.

However, there would be instances where “we have to agree to disagree”, and where the government has to embark on policies “that are not so popular” because they are important for the nation, he said.

“Then the government will have to carry the decision. We will have to explain, engage with the public, why we think this is important and hopefully be able to persuade Singaporeans to move along.”

And “where there are sensitive issues, where different groups have different views and sometimes competing, contradictory views”, said Mr Wong, “it may be that the government does not have to always take the lead”.

In such instances, the government would play the role of “a facilitator, a listener, an honest broker” to help different groups engage each other and find compromise.

“And then think about what is the best way for Singapore to move forward without fracturing our society.”

POLITICAL CONTESTATION

Mr Wong said that gone were the days of the People’s Action Party (PAP) dominance. In the last General Election in 2020, for example, there were “quite a number of hotly contested seats”.

He said that in the next general election due by November 2025, if “the contest is fiercer and we were to lose just a few percentage points, it is not unimaginable for two or maybe three opposition parties to come together, form a coalition and run the government”.

“This is the reality of our political situation today. It is no longer a dominant system, one-party system,” he added.

He said that he will do his best to make sure PAP earns the confidence and trust of Singaporeans and gets the mandate to govern.

“But if along the way, who knows how long, but down the road - we hope not, this will not happen - but if it does happen, that the PAP is not able to deliver up to the standards that Singaporeans expect of us and an alternative party or parties emerge that can offer a better answer, then they deserve to get the mandate.”

FAVOURITE BOOKS AND LEADERSHIP

“I do not have a must-read list; I read widely. I think many ministers do; it is not just me. I read mostly non-fiction these days," said Mr Wong, in response to a question on whether he has a list of must-read books for different groups of people given that he is known to love reading.

“A lot of it is current affairs. From time to time, I would select topics that I would like to read more, learn more about. So some of the more recent topics, I am trying to figure out more about quantum computing, artificial intelligence, so I just read some books on that."

He shared that he also read biographies of leaders from Singapore’s founding generation, such as Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Keng Swee and S Rajaratnam, as well as foreign ones.

He recalled a book on former United States President Dwight D Eisenhower and something he said about leadership that has always remained with him.

“He distilled leadership into two things. One, knowing what to do and two, getting people to do what is the right thing. It sounds very simple, but actually, there is a lot of wisdom in that,” said Mr Wong.

“First, you need to know what to do. Knowing what to do does not mean that the leader must have all the answers, but certainly the leader can listen to advice, get views, but eventually the leader must say this is the way forward, because if you are not even able to articulate and express this way forward, then there is no need for a leader to exist.”

What is also equally important is the leader’s ability to “engage people, motivate them and get everyone on the same page” to move forward together, he added.

SLAYING "SACRED COWS"

Mr Wong was asked if there were specific policies he would relook as the next Prime Minister, and whether there were long-held “sacred cows” that he was prepared to slay.

“We are prepared to relook everything; it is not so much that we are going to slay a sacred cow for the sake of doing so, but we are prepared to re-examine all our assumptions and consider under different circumstances, different societal expectations and needs; how might we do things different?” he said.

Mr Wong said that this process has already begun, citing the Forward Singapore exercise which he launched two years ago, recent policy moves in public housing and improvements to the SkillsFuture scheme, as well as the upcoming unemployment benefit scheme “which in the past (we) had said this was not something we would do”.

Given the more volatile economic environment and more frequent job disruptions, said Mr Wong, “we feel it is necessary to have some support system in place”.

“So it is one illustration of how we are prepared to re-examine all our fundamental assumptions and consider ultimately what is the best way to take Singapore forward.”

SWISS STANDARD OF LIVING

Mr Wong was asked if he is confident that the government would be able to take Singapore to even further heights. This is in light of how in the past the nation had other advanced economies to look to as examples, but today Singapore is already at the forefront of many areas.

“I am confident not just in the government, but in Singaporeans. I think in the end, it is up to us to move forward in this new phase. You are right, that in this new phase we are entering at a much higher level than we used to. We are in a much stronger position today than ever in the past,” he said.

“In the past we could come up with a broad statement like (the) Swiss standard of living. It is very hard to identify one single benchmark today. So in this new phase, we are in uncharted territory. We have to find our way forward,” he added.

“We have to still learn from the best, find best practices, but we have to break new ground. We have to find fresh solutions for our problems and challenges.”

"IRON FIST WITH VELVET GLOVES"?

Mr Wong was asked if he would describe his leadership style as “iron fist encased with velvet gloves” given that he had said in a previous interview that he would be consultative but not shy away from making difficult decisions for Singapore.

“Well, it is what I have described already, which is that I will listen, I will engage widely. But at the end of the day, I will have to carry the final decisions and bear the ultimate responsibility of decisions taken,” said Mr Wong.

He added that Singaporeans have caught a glimpse of his leadership during COVID-19 - when he co-chaired the government task force managing the pandemic - as well as in recent Budgets, which he delivered as Finance Minister.

“So they know that as far as my leadership style is concerned, I will be open, consultative, I will listen. But in the end, I will not shirk from doing the right thing and the important decisions that are necessary to take Singapore forward. So that is how I would describe myself,” he said.

“I do not know if that means ‘iron fist in velvet gloves’ or whatever other metaphor you want to use, but I think over time, Singaporeans will get a better sense of me and my leadership style.”

This article was originally published in TODAY.