CNA's Fabian Koh lays out Singapore's journey towards what experts describe as a "gentler, softer" stewardship – and what to expect from the incoming PM.
CNA's Fabian Koh lays out Singapore's journey towards what experts describe as a"gentler, softer" stewardship – and what to expect from the incoming PM.
“That said, the common thread throughout was the focus on economic pragmatism, which is expected to continue,” said Ms Nydia Ngiow, managing director of BowerGroupAsia in Singapore.The impending leadership transition will be the third for Singapore, which gained independence in 1965. Due to the circumstances, the former Minister Mentor was “more assertive and meant business, and more focused solely on getting things done”, he added.
“In that environment, the leadership style was to capture total control at home," said Assoc Prof Singh."So that the leaders can run the country politically and economically.”“But I don’t blame him, because he spent his time fighting the communists and the communalists and that required a different type of knuckle dusters.”
Professor Terence Lee from the Sheridan Institute of Higher Education in Perth said Mr Lee's leadership style was “rather unrelenting”. “We had this whole massive boom across everything. Property values and wages probably doubled in that period of time,” said Prof Lee. However,"that unraveled very quickly with the Catherine Lim saga where he decided that he needed to show a bit of an authoritarian streak in him”, Prof Lee noted.
With this heightened political sense, PM Lee has been clear in communicating his policies to the people, both on domestic and foreign policy issues, Assoc Prof Singh added. “He knows he is dealing with a very different society, and that those who are Gen Z or millennials are talking about very different things altogether,” said Assoc Prof Singh.
In the past, citizens had to attend Meet-The-People Sessions to speak with their Members of Parliament. To achieve this, PM Lee has avoided direct welfare provision in the manner of the"Europeans with their heavy burden of social spending"; instead advocating and sculpting a uniquely Singaporean approach that
In 2013, PM Lee himself acknowledged that"the tasks have become more complicated and more intense" – hence the need to adapt his administration's structure and to build up the ranks of political leadership. Singapore Prime Minister and People's Action Party secretary-general Lee Hsien Loong arrives at the PAP awards and convention on Nov 5, 2023. Mr Wong will take the reins against this backdrop – and early signs show an intention to focus on the"common ground" and on"hearing a diverse range of perspectives and views and staying open to different ideas”, in his own words.
Lee Kuan Yew Goh Chok Tong Lee Hsien Loong Lawrence Wong Leadership Singapore Politics PM Handover
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