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.