Empathy and ability to serve does not depend on how rich or poor one is, says Shanmugam

SINGAPORE: Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Monday (Jul 3) described his personal journey - from living in a rental flat to residing in a black-and-white bungalow - to illustrate the point that the ability to serve the people does not depend on one's financial background.

"I've lived in an HDB flat, a rental flat, a three-room flat, a five-room flat, a condominium, a semi-detached, bungalows, (Good Class Bungalows) – before I moved to Ridout," said the minister.

"My empathy did not increasingly decrease as my houses got larger, or as I made more money."

Mr Shanmugam was speaking during parliamentary clarifications on the rentals of black-and-white bungalows at 26 and 31 Ridout Road by himself and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan respectively.

Earlier, he had said he rented the colonial bungalow at 26 Ridout Road to prepare for the sale of his family home, and that he did not make any profit from the difference in rents by renting out his family home.

He later responded to Member of Parliament Murali Pillai (PAP-Bukit Batok), who asked about the public questioning whether ministers living in large private properties would be able to relate to the people, and whether that engenders "a picture of inequality" in Singapore.

Mr Shanmugam, who became an MP in 1988 and a senior counsel in 1998, said the issue of inequality is "seared into" him given the circumstances in which he grew up.

"When you have gone through the experiences I have, you will never forget them, regardless of how successful you become," he said.

The minister grew up in rental housing in a three-room flat in Ghim Moh. He later lived in a house at Oei Tiong Ham Park, and then in a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) at Queen Astrid Park.

"The distance between Block 3, Ghim Moh and Astrid is only about 1km. It's a short walking distance. But the psychological and financial distance between Ghim Moh and Astrid, or Oei Tiong Ham, is oceans-wide.

"I think a lot about inequality and the gap, not least because I have straddled the gap, and have lived at both extremes – rental and GCB," he said.

Mr Shanmugam said inequality should not be dealt with by "preventing poor kids from doing well".

Instead, Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew "set up a system that allowed a poor Indian kid to become a successful lawyer". "You tackle inequality by providing for social mobility, by helping people to move up," he said.

He also said that Singapore has to get its tax system "just right" so that it would be fair and redistribute wealth, while not taxing too much such that the wealthy leave.

"In Singapore, those who are wealthier must understand Singapore is a small place; we sink or swim together. And they need to contribute, pay more taxes; we have to make sure that those who are less well-off are properly taken care of, and there is social mobility and opportunity.

"Personally, based just on the two, three years' income between 2005 and 2007, before I became a minister, I probably paid more than S$2 million in taxes. And rightfully so," he added.

Mr Shanmugam also said that Singapore must encourage those who have more to come forward and contribute their time, talent and resources to build a stronger society.

He said Mr Lee's approach involved persuading some people who were "independently very wealthy" to give up their careers in the private sector and serve Singapore.

"They, together with Mr Lee, did more than most, to make Singapore a more equal society."

Mr Shanmugam pointed out that some of these men were wealthy and stayed in large properties, such as Mr Lim Kim San, who served as chairman of the Housing and Development Board and later helmed various ministries.

"The point I am making is – a person's ability to serve should not depend on where he lives, or how poor or rich he is," he said.

Turning to himself, Mr Shanmugam said he did not believe that the homes he has lived in have affected his ability to serve and empathise.

He recalled that his journey as an MP was demanding, as his legal career required his full attention, but that he also "drew meaning and purpose" from serving residents in Chong Pang.

He also recalled the decision before him when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong asked him to become a minister in 2008, when he was 48 and "at the peak of (his) career" as a lawyer.

"I asked myself, on my last day on Earth – this is a question I ask frequently – when I reflect back on my life, what would I have wanted to have done with my life? Spend all my time making more money? Or also spend some time doing some good work for the community and others, and perhaps some good for the country?

"Many things that people spend time on will not seem worthwhile to have done, in the rear-view mirror, when your life is about to end. So having twice or three times more money would not make me twice or three times more happy or fulfilled."

He eventually agreed to enter politics full-time as a minister.

"I was fortunate to have been born in Singapore. And I want to help make policies, to make sure other Singaporeans have the opportunities that I did.

"Please don't misunderstand. I am not suggesting that I made a special sacrifice in taking a pay cut, or moving from my family home. It wasn't a sacrifice. It is a privilege – a privilege to serve Singapore, Singaporeans," he said.

"No one raised any issue of my empathy or my ability to serve in the 10 years I was living in my GCB in Astrid Hill. Is the empathy affected? Does it get more affected when you move from a GCB that you own, to a black-and-white that you rent? Is that the way we are going to judge politicians?" he asked the House.

"We shouldn't start judging people on the basis of where they live, or how successful they were in the private sector, and then say: 'You're too successful, you cannot come in to serve.' I think that will be a wrong principle, and it's contrary to everything that made Singapore successful in the first generation."