A recurring theme I and thousands of other Secondary school students had learnt in social studies class was the success of the Lee Kuan Yew generation in pulling off the “Singapore Miracle”.
Indeed the rapid economic growth and prosperity of the 1960s, 70s and 80s was nothing short of a miracle. The fact that a third world country, barely half the size of London and with no natural resources could propel itself to the world stage, being a global hub for trade and finance and boasting some of the highest standards of living in the world.
Singaporeans have much to be proud of the achievements of the pioneer generation. Much of what Singapore is was owed to them.
It would seem surprising to any curious onlooker, why any resistance or cynicism towards the government would be justified, especially given that the party in power now was the same party that brought Singapore its success. But paradoxically, the PAP, which was the main reason for Singapore’s prosperity in the early years, may very well be the cause of its downfall in modern times. To understand where Singapore is going, one must rid himself of the notion that the PAP of the 1950s and 60s is still the same party of today. If you examine the policies of the pioneer batch of leaders, and contrast it with today’s leadership, you might as well be comparing apples and oranges.
Toh Chin Chye Let’s start with Toh Chin Chye. He was a prominent member of the country’s pioneer generation of political leaders after Singapore’s independence in 1965, serving as Deputy Prime Minister (1965–1968), Minister for Science and Technology (1968–1975) and Minister for Health (1975–1981). He also served as the PAP from 1954 to 1981. His name has mostly disappeared from the current political scene but his contributions are many. He selected Majulah Singapura as the country’s national anthem. He also had a hand in designing Singapore’s flag and coat of arms. As the first Chairman of the PAP, he steered the party and established its values in which it would govern by. Dr Toh Chin Chye was known for his outspoken views, most famously on the debate on the Medisave scheme in 1983 which he argued that healthcare should be the government’s primary responsibility. He was against the idea to the extent that he abstained himself from voting for the approval of the scheme in the parliament, in defiance of the party whip. Dr Toh also debated against raising the withdrawal age of CPF in the parliament in the mid-eighties. In 1984, Howe Yoon Chong, then Minister of Health and MP for Potong Pasir, proposed that the CPF withdrawal age be raised from 55 to 60, in order to deal with a greying population. Soon, the CPF minimum sum was implemented, contribution rates were cut and withdrawal age would eventually be raised to 60 by 1993. Ironically, the party he helped create turned into the party that he repeatedly stood against. Today, the minimum sum has reached $155,000 and Singaporeans are forced to continue working beyond retirement to fulfill the ever increasing amount.
Goh Keng Swee I believe not enough credit has been given to him. His governing principles and humility are something the current generation of leaders are truly lacking in.Upon Singapore’s independence on 9 August 1965, Goh became the nation’s first Minister for the Interior and Defence. He subsequently served as Finance Minister (1967–1970),Minister for Defence (1970–1979) and Minister for Education (1979–1980, 1981–1984). He initiated the setting up of the Economic Development Board which was established in August 1961 to attract foreignmultinational corporations to invest in Singapore. The next year, he started the development of the Jurong industrial estate on the western end of the island which was then a swamp, offering incentives to local and foreign business to locate there. Famous Singapore landmarks like the Jurong Bird Park and the (former) Underwater World in Sentosa were all conceptualized by him. Despite his impressive credentials, Dr Goh was known as a simple, humble man who had genuine concern for the needs of the people. He had in fact started his career as a social researcher at the Social Welfare Department (SWD), which he joined in 1945, although the SWD was then a small organization with little prestige in the civil service. As a young officer in the SWD he played a central role in organizing the People’s Kitchens during the British Military Administration (1945-46). The people’s Kitchens provided very low-cost but nutritious meals which ensured that fewer people went hungry during the years of rampant food shortages.He had argued against high wages for high ranking civil servants. During the financial crisis in the 60s, Goh ordered a general pay cut of top civil servants and government officials starting with his own pay. He argued that public officials should lead by example and be well in tune with the situation on the ground in order to govern effectively. When Goh was offered to chair MAS, he insisted that he only be paid half of his original ministerial salary. Today, our ministers are paid several times that amount, even after accounting for inflation. Our Prime Minister is today, the highest paid leader in the world, with no close second. The PAP has argued that high salaries deter corruption. But the pioneer generation seemed to do just fine with far less. And they accomplished far more.
Ong Teng Cheong Ong Teng Cheong will be best remembered for being the “people’s president”. However, his legacy extends beyond his presidency. Ong’s political career spanned 21 years. He was MP, Cabinet Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, before resigning to become the first elected President of Singapore in 1993. His first political appointment was Senior Minister of State for Communications. At that time, Ong pushed for the development of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRT), the largest construction project in Singapore’s history. During his tenure as the Minister of National Development, Ong was a proponent and advocate of the Mass Rapid Transit system. Tony Tan, who was minister for trade and industry at the time famously slammed the idea as “foolish”. Ong made many grounds in repairing the strained relationship between the unions and the government where his predecessor had failed. Ong was described as a ferocious union activist, working actively in the interests of the unions and stretching union activism to the very limits of that which would be tolerated by the government. In January 1986, Ong sanctioned a strike in the shipping industry, the first for about a decade in Singapore, deeming it necessary as “the management were taking advantage of the workers”. However, he did not inform the Cabinet beforehand, out of fear that the Cabinet would prevent him from going ahead with the strike.Tony Tan vigorously opposed Ong Teng Cheong’s decision to sanction the strike, being instead concerned with investors’ reactions or an impact on foreign direct investment. In contrast, NTUC today is far weaker as a union. Employee abuse is rampant. Industrial relations broke down during the bus driver’s strike in Dec 2012. And anger stemming from foreign worker abuse culminated in the Little India riots a year later. Ong became Singapore’s first elected President in 1993, and it was a presidency marked by many charitable projects, the largest of which is the President’s Star Charity, an annual event held to this day. As president, Ong was tangled in a dispute over the access of information regarding Singapore’s financial reserves. The government said it would take 56 man-years to produce a dollar-and-cents value of the immovable assets. Ong discussed this with the accountant general and the auditor general and eventually conceded that the government only had to declare all of its properties, a list which took a few months to produce. Even then, the list was not complete; it took the government a total of three years to produce the information that Ong requested. Today, the government has still declined to reveal the true value of Singapore’s financial reserves. Ong Teng Cheong died in his sleep later on February 8, 2002, at the age of 66, from lymphoma in his home. Coincidentally or perhaps symbolically, his death coincided with the opening of Changi Airport MRT station. Where do we go from here? It’s perhaps important that we examine Singapore’s recent history to understand where the government went wrong and where this country is heading. The prosperity and wealth created in the earlier years had made future generations of PAP leaders complacent. The government became blinded by greed and couldn’t see beyond its own desire. The PAP in its electoral invincibility thought it could get away with policies that were detrimental to Singaporean’s wellbeing. It seems that the greed has gotten worse in the past decade as the government began to sell this country out. Relentless immigration, increases in CPF minimum sums, lack of social spending, multi-million dollar salaries for themselves, blatant disregard for worker’s rights and workplace discrimination against Singaporeans, unaffordable housing, overcrowded and unreliable public transport that profits off commuters, the Population White Paper and the overall sense that the PAP doesn’t seem to care about Singaporeans anymore. The PAP of today is no longer the PAP of our parent’s and grandparent’s generation. We no longer have Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye or Ong Teng Cheong to represent us in the party. It’s time we Singaporeans took ownership of our future. In the end the PAP will not drag this country down to the abyss by their own blindness; it would also have been because of our own quiet consent.
Ariffin Sha
*The author blogs at http://ariffin-sha.com