Looking for a leader with a (smart) personality

Ivy Susanti, Journalist, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
ivy@thejakartapost.com

When Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong announced in August that his deputy, Lee Hsien Loong, would take over the top job before the next general election in 2007, a likely question from non-Singaporeans who are keen on tracking regional affairs, might be "Why Lee?"

Lee Hsien Loong, 51, is a somewhat unfamiliar figure in this region, unless he is linked with his father, Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding father and now Senior Minister.

Browsing through his profile, one can easily pinpoint Lee Hsien Loong's expertise in economic affairs, courtesy of his vast experience as an economic advisor to the government, the chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Minister of Finance.

It is a bit too early to describe the style of the new leader, since we might agree with PM Goh that Lee would need some time to develop his leadership style, which hopefully would not like his or his father's.

However, while time will tell whether the PM-in-waiting can shake off the shadow of his legendary father, let us find out which individual -- not who -- matters in Singapore's relationships with its neighboring countries.

The situation this day is in stark contrast to those experienced by the founding fathers of Southeast Asian countries.

The mid-20th century saw them struggling to free the nations from colonialism, and to live independent lives. Several nations strived to become one nation, living side by side in a state.

During the Cold War era, some of them agreed that they faced one and only one enemy called communism, and set up a regional grouping to prevent it from spreading, through -- among other things -- poverty reduction schemes.

In the 1980s, following the successful East Asia economic growth pattern, the ASEAN founders -- Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia -- reached the peak of their growth. Singapore, for example, once achieved a spectacular 8 percent annual growth in 1997. That was before another crisis came: the global economic downturn.

The post-independence period saw the rise of "strong leaders", including Lee Kuan Yew, who had emerged from the rubble of the second world war to take his countries to the same level -- and status -- as First World countries.

Now, does Singapore need another strong leader in this new millennium? Before the answer comes, let us examine a challenge that lies ahead.

A Southeast Asian expert, the late Prof. Michael Leifer, had pointed out Singapore's sense of vulnerability, which has also contributed to the formulation of its foreign policy.

There are some reasons why this realist view stays true until today. There is strong sentiment among some Singaporeans that their state is sandwiched between Malaysia and Indonesia, which have different cultures, political systems and economic progress. To date, Singapore's relationship with Malaysia is still strained by the water issue.

Singapore is currently facing slow economic growth. The economic slowdown has been explained as an impact of the world war on terrorism, or at the regional level, the SARS outbreak. However, all these matter are only half the battle.

For them, the real challenge is globalization. Why, globalization allows transnational movement of people, and ideologies, from democracy to religious fundamentalism. Globalization spreads new culture and technology, and may uproot traditions. And globalization brings such issues like human rights.

In short, globalization can pose a threat to state's sovereignty. But our bet is to live with it, since we could not negate the process, couldn't we?

Thus in the near future, we could expect from Singapore a leader with a strong personality who does not necessarily rule with iron fist, since younger Singaporeans are more educated and should be more critical than their parents.

A leader with a strong personality can influence or even dominate a decision making process. But most importantly, he or she is trustworthy, thus able to encourage people to participate in politics.

There is no question of Singaporean leaders' credibility and integrity, but for certain reasons such as home security, leaders have limited political participation.

When Goh was elected PM, his immediate task was to find a new image. And he managed to put across an image of a straightforward, father-to-children style of ruling to becoming a communicative and sympathetic leader.

He influenced the decision making process but in such a way that the government was able to control the aversion without resorting to coercion.

For example, the government has managed to subside the issue of religious differences and the conflicts it may cause, and drum up support for a socially cohesive society, at the time when Muslims in other countries are cornered by terrorism issues.

Given the aforementioned constraints, Singapore seems to understand that it can not prevent the globalization process by its own effort. One strategy is to cooperate with any countries, including powerful ones like China or the U.S.

Lee Hsien Loong, in an interview with PBS media corporation of the U.S. in 2001, said that the U.S. "balances the power balance", indicating that Singapore welcomes America's presence in the region. But Lee also notes that for Singaporeans, America's presence was in the form of Multinational Corporations, and not necessarily military bases.

Singapore's diplomatic relationship with the U.S. was strained in the 1990s because of the "chewing gum affair", and was revived through the recent free trade agreement.

Eventually, the closer allies will be the Southeast Asian neighbors. Now that Lee Hsien Loong has received the green light to move up, it is perhaps time for him to introduce himself to his regional counterparts.