Much work to be done for Singapore to fully embrace technology: PM Lee
During the interview, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong fielded questions on a wide range of topics, such as relations between United States and China, the threat of jihadism, and the Singapore economy. Photo: Ministry of Communications and Information
SINGAPORE — Much work remains to be done in moulding the ethos of Singapore society such that people are ready to tap technology and adapt accordingly to seize the jobs of the future, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.
“Are you forward looking, are you prepared to change, are you a society where, if there is a problem, you can talk about it and we can begin fixing it? Or are there certain things which really, not only cannot be changed, but cannot even be talked about,” he said in an interview with Australian radio station ABC Radio National.
Pointing to the jobs market as an example, Mr Lee said: “There will be jobs. The question is what kind of jobs, and will it be able to use the talents and meet the aspirations of our people, and can we prepare our people for the jobs which we think they should be capable of doing?”
In this case, organisations and employees must be able to appreciate technology and be prepared to restructure to tap technology, he said.
“You must have a whole structure of managers, leaders, promoters, people who may not themselves be techies, but who have enough appreciation of technology … to know what is snake oil, what is real, what should be pushed, and which fears are genuine, and which are just phantoms in the night.”
Singaporeans ought to have the mindset that there are “no wrong doors”, but we are not there yet, Mr Lee said.
“Wherever you go, we find a way to make it happen. That is the ideal. We are some distance off from there … I think there is a lot of work to be done. It is not easy to work this into our society.”
But Singapore has a “base”, in that its people are generally well-educated and well-connected.
“Everybody has handphones, and smartphones … The base is there. But to go from there to what the potential is, and what we should be striving for, it is a lot of work,” Mr Lee said.
