Looking for a leader with a (smart) personality<\/p>\n
Ivy Susanti, Journalist, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
ivy@thejakartapost.com<\/p>\n
When Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong announced in August
\nthat his deputy, Lee Hsien Loong, would take over the top job
\nbefore the next general election in 2007, a likely question from
\nnon-Singaporeans who are keen on tracking regional affairs, might
\nbe \"Why Lee?\"<\/p>\n
Lee Hsien Loong, 51, is a somewhat unfamiliar figure in this
\nregion, unless he is linked with his father, Lee Kuan Yew,
\nSingapore's founding father and now Senior Minister.<\/p>\n
Browsing through his profile, one can easily pinpoint Lee
\nHsien Loong's expertise in economic affairs, courtesy of his vast
\nexperience as an economic advisor to the government, the chairman
\nof the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Minister of
\nFinance.<\/p>\n
It is a bit too early to describe the style of the new leader,
\nsince we might agree with PM Goh that Lee would need some time to
\ndevelop his leadership style, which hopefully would not like his
\nor his father's.<\/p>\n
However, while time will tell whether the PM-in-waiting can
\nshake off the shadow of his legendary father, let us find out
\nwhich individual -- not who -- matters in Singapore's
\nrelationships with its neighboring countries.<\/p>\n
The situation this day is in stark contrast to those
\nexperienced by the founding fathers of Southeast Asian countries.<\/p>\n
The mid-20th century saw them struggling to free the nations
\nfrom colonialism, and to live independent lives. Several nations
\nstrived to become one nation, living side by side in a state.<\/p>\n
During the Cold War era, some of them agreed that they faced
\none and only one enemy called communism, and set up a regional
\ngrouping to prevent it from spreading, through -- among other
\nthings -- poverty reduction schemes.<\/p>\n
In the 1980s, following the successful East Asia economic
\ngrowth pattern, the ASEAN founders -- Singapore, Thailand,
\nMalaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia -- reached the peak of
\ntheir growth. Singapore, for example, once achieved a spectacular
\n8 percent annual growth in 1997. That was before another crisis
\ncame: the global economic downturn.<\/p>\n
The post-independence period saw the rise of \"strong leaders\",
\nincluding Lee Kuan Yew, who had emerged from the rubble of the
\nsecond world war to take his countries to the same level -- and
\nstatus -- as First World countries.<\/p>\n
Now, does Singapore need another strong leader in this new
\nmillennium? Before the answer comes, let us examine a challenge
\nthat lies ahead.<\/p>\n
A Southeast Asian expert, the late Prof. Michael Leifer, had
\npointed out Singapore's sense of vulnerability, which has also
\ncontributed to the formulation of its foreign policy.<\/p>\n
There are some reasons why this realist view stays true until
\ntoday. There is strong sentiment among some Singaporeans that
\ntheir state is sandwiched between Malaysia and Indonesia, which
\nhave different cultures, political systems and economic progress.
\nTo date, Singapore's relationship with Malaysia is still strained
\nby the water issue.<\/p>\n
Singapore is currently facing slow economic growth. The
\neconomic slowdown has been explained as an impact of the world
\nwar on terrorism, or at the regional level, the SARS outbreak.
\nHowever, all these matter are only half the battle.<\/p>\n
For them, the real challenge is globalization. Why,
\nglobalization allows transnational movement of people, and
\nideologies, from democracy to religious fundamentalism.
\nGlobalization spreads new culture and technology, and may uproot
\ntraditions. And globalization brings such issues like human
\nrights.<\/p>\n
In short, globalization can pose a threat to state's
\nsovereignty. But our bet is to live with it, since we could not
\nnegate the process, couldn't we?<\/p>\n
Thus in the near future, we could expect from Singapore a
\nleader with a strong personality who does not necessarily rule
\nwith iron fist, since younger Singaporeans are more educated and
\nshould be more critical than their parents.<\/p>\n
A leader with a strong personality can influence or even
\ndominate a decision making process. But most importantly, he or
\nshe is trustworthy, thus able to encourage people to participate
\nin politics.<\/p>\n
There is no question of Singaporean leaders' credibility and
\nintegrity, but for certain reasons such as home security, leaders
\nhave limited political participation.<\/p>\n
When Goh was elected PM, his immediate task was to find a new
\nimage. And he managed to put across an image of a
\nstraightforward, father-to-children style of ruling to becoming a
\ncommunicative and sympathetic leader.<\/p>\n
He influenced the decision making process but in such a way
\nthat the government was able to control the aversion without
\nresorting to coercion.<\/p>\n
For example, the government has managed to subside the issue
\nof religious differences and the conflicts it may cause, and drum
\nup support for a socially cohesive society, at the time when
\nMuslims in other countries are cornered by terrorism issues.<\/p>\n
Given the aforementioned constraints, Singapore seems to
\nunderstand that it can not prevent the globalization process by
\nits own effort. One strategy is to cooperate with any countries,
\nincluding powerful ones like China or the U.S.<\/p>\n
Lee Hsien Loong, in an interview with PBS media corporation of
\nthe U.S. in 2001, said that the U.S. \"balances the power
\nbalance\", indicating that Singapore welcomes America's presence
\nin the region. But Lee also notes that for Singaporeans,
\nAmerica's presence was in the form of Multinational Corporations,
\nand not necessarily military bases.<\/p>\n
Singapore's diplomatic relationship with the U.S. was strained
\nin the 1990s because of the \"chewing gum affair\", and was revived
\nthrough the recent free trade agreement.<\/p>\n
Eventually, the closer allies will be the Southeast Asian
\nneighbors. Now that Lee Hsien Loong has received the green light
\nto move up, it is perhaps time for him to introduce himself to
\nhis regional counterparts.<\/p>",
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