Renovating the house that Lee built
Renovating the house that Lee built
Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, The Jakarta Post, Singapore
Either in awe or envy, many agree Singapore is a model of
effective administration.
Despite being just a single island about the size of Jakarta,
it has overcome its dearth of natural resources with competent
leadership that has engineered a conditioned but affluent
society.
The house that Lee built -- in reference to Senior Minister
Lee Kuan Yew, the architect who led the city-state in its
formative decades -- has evolved into a corporate state that
efficiently provides for its citizens.
Aside from establishing a sound economy, the question of
leadership has never been left to chance.
Where Soeharto and Golkar failed in Indonesia, Lee and the
People's Action Party (PAP) succeeded in Singapore, ensuring the
smooth succession of effective leadership.
Indonesianists cite 1992 as the year Soeharto should have
honorably stepped down. In 1990, Lee stepped aside for Prime
Minister Goh Chok Tong, paving the way for the linear passage of
authority.
The question of succession is again transpiring. But, more
than before, it is coming at a critical juncture, as Singapore's
export-oriented economy reels amid global recession.
Deputy prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, son of the senior Lee,
in a meeting with visiting Indonesian journalists over the
weekend, highlighted the necessity to overcome the generational
gap if Singapore is to excel.
Conscious of his role as heir apparent, the younger Lee seems
undaunted by the mantle he will assume.
Already cultivating the best of the best for the transition
ahead, his vision is clear: Yesterday's leaders cannot be
tomorrow's vanguard.
"If the population becomes younger while the leaders become
older, we'll have a big problem," he said, fully aware that those
who grew up in post-independence Singapore will soon become the
majority.
"With that comes a political transition because a new
generation of people means a new generation of leaders. We need
leaders of that generation who can identify with them, speak
their language and represent them."
After the last general election in November, new younger faces
were ushered in. Some 27 new MPs came in. The average age was 41.
Lee, who himself is 49, maintains this is still "too old...We
would have been happier if the average age was about 37, 38".
"Because we're planning a transition and Prime Minister Goh
said he would step down by the next election in 2007, we want to
have the strongest possible team by 2007."
With this in mind, Lee claims the government also "took a
risk" by introducing six of the new candidates as State
Ministers.
But, in a state where the opposition has been obliterated and
political activism tightly monitored, is political pluralism
still an issue PAP has to contend with?
Lee suggests that while Singaporeans may not follow policy
details, neither are they fools.
"If we did not pursue the right policies, the opposition would
very quickly win many seats," he argues.
"They voted for us (PAP) because they thought we were able to
help take Singapore out of recession and provide jobs."
Lee was also careful to point out that Singapore has and will
continue to be a government for the people.
Government can facilitate and guide, Lee said, but ultimately
"Singaporeans will have to create the Singapore that they want to
live in".
In the heyday of Indonesia's New Order era economic comfort
bred political apathy, especially in a regimented society where
political deviation was frowned upon.
Lee, in his remarks, suggests many Singaporeans feel a similar
indifference to active politics as an upshot of economic
stability and contentment.
"If it is a time of revolution, they may be inspired to join
the revolution. But this is not a time of revolution, so life
carries on as normal."
"So we have to go out and work very hard to meet people and
identify the ones who are promising, and encourage them to come
in."
Few political storm clouds loom if Lee, who first served as an
MP in 1984, with his proven track record, once again leads
Singapore out of its economic downturn.
With no sign of arrogance, the retired Brigadier-General, even
seems to relish the impending challenge.
"Being a minister is different from being Prime Minister...You
can prepare for it but you only know whether you can succeed when
you are on the job," he says modestly.
He is clear on what he has to be as a leader: Not necessarily
the most intelligent person, but one who can inspire confidence
and trust.
While economics remain the highest priority, the significance
of the political environment was not lost on Lee as his biggest
challenge ahead.
"You need the right political preconditions in order to
implement economic policies," said Lee, who also holds the
portfolio of finance minister.
"It's not hard to identify what economic policies are
required...But to implement the right policy, you need the
political support."
And what of the two most prominent figures in Singapore
politics today?
"Mr Goh has said that he would like to continue to be in
public life after 2007. From my point of view, it would be a
great pity if he did not remain in public life," Lee said.
Lee also insisted that his father was no longer an active
player, downplaying the Senior Minister's role as "a mascot, a
coach".
"I don't see anyone giving instructions from behind," Lee said
in reply to a suggestion that SM, as the senior Lee is popularly
known, remains a backseat driver.
"If we were still depending on the SM to do it at 78 years
old, we would have a serious problem."
Meeting him, one cannot help but admire Lee's panache and
aptitude. There is little doubt the Cambridge University graduate
will serve well as CEO of Singapore Inc. envisioning a Singapore
replete with the pragmatic vocabulary of "enterprise", "growth"
and "jobs".
But a nation is not a corporation, and its people not simply
professional citizens.
Hopefully, tucked away behind the businesslike approach is
also the soulful cry of a commoner concerned with social and
political rights.