By Asia Samachar| Singapore |
Failure to identify the future prime minister (PM) is a ‘big setback’ for Singapore, says a former lawmaker as the nation prepares to celebrate its National Day.
“I feel the failure to identify the future PM is a big setback for Singapore and for the PAP. This is unlike the PAP of the past. I worry that after 2 years, we will still not have a clear leader and that’s will be too close to the next general election,” Inderjit Singh tells Asia Samachar.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who took office in 2004, was supposed to handover the premiership to deputy PM Heng Swee Keat. However, in April 2021, not long after the national polls, Heng announced that he was stepping aside as the leader of the fourth-generation (4G) team, throwing wide open the planned succession for ruling People Action Party (PAP).
The National Day of Singapore is celebrated every year on August 9, in commemoration of Singapore’s independence from Malaysia in 1965. This year’s National Day Parade (NDP) was postponed to Aug 21, after the scheduled end of the Covid-19 pandemic’s phase 2 (heightened alert). On Aug 9, a ceremonial parade will be held instead.
In an interview in conjunction with the national day, Inderjit, a former four-term member of parliament, also identified two key challenges facing the nation.
Starting off as a product engineer for Texas Instruments in 1985, Inderjit went to become founder/CEOs for Solstar International (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Infiniti Solution Pte Ltd, and executive chairman at Tri Star Electronics Pte Ltd. He also chairs the Coordinating Council of Sikh Institutions (Singapore).
Below is the full email interview.
When you look back over the years, what are the things you appreciate about Singapore?
One of the biggest values in Singapore is the racial harmony that has created stability and peace in Singapore and the safety and security that we enjoy. Singapore is one of the least corrupt countries in the world and we continue to enjoy good economic growth as a result.
When you look at the Sikh community, what are the things that they can truly cherish about Singapore?
The Sikh community as always punched above our weight. Today, numbering around 15,000, the Sikh community’s contribution to Singapore development has been significant in many areas of politics, military, the armed forces and in many professions. The government of Singapore values the Sikh community and has always been very supportive and accommodating of our needs and requests although we are minority of minorities. The government recognized Punjabi as a mother tongue language some 20 years ago and today all Sikh children have an opportunity to learn Punjabi, with government funding.
What are the key challenges facing the nation at this juncture?
There are 2 main challenges we face today. First, the leadership transition to the 4G leadership. This has hit a road bump. One of our strengths has been a smooth and trouble-free transition of political and national leaders from one generation to the next. We currently face a minor crisis of sorts as we are still not clear of who will become the future Prime Minister. It may take 2 more years for us to have clarity. The second challenge is the cost of living and quality of life in Singapore. With stagnating wages, competition of lower cost labour and skyrocketing property prices, we risk the future generations of Singapore finding it uncomfortable in Singapore. Singapore has become a safe haven for investors and high net worth individuals from all around the world and this has caused property prices to shoot up and generally increased the cost of living for the man on the street. We risk our young losing hope and feel they lack opportunities in their own country.
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit hard the nation as well as the rest of the world, How has it impacted Singapore and its competitiveness?
Another significant challenge Singapore faces is, how we will grow our future economy, Singapore has always enjoyed a hub status for many industries. With the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, we have to find a new place in the world to remain competitive and relevant. On the positive side, the way Singapore has handled the pandemic has given foreign investors confidence to want to come to invest in Singapore. However, the cost of doing business in Singapore will come back and hit us soon.
What are the immediate lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic?
The pandemic has caused great disruption of the global supply chains. The world was over reliant on China for manufacturing. At the same time, the change in geopolitics in the region will also cause great realignment of the world order and the global supply chains. Singapore needs to find a role in the new world order. In the area of economy, I believe Singapore can become the prototyping factory of the world and be the centre for technology development and transfer to mass production. In the area of geopolitics, we must remain a trusted friend that can help find the competing forces, especially China and USA find their balance. Our strength is that the world trusts us, we should use this to find the right balance for the region, if not the world in the area of geopolitics and the global supply chains.
In General Elections 2020 held on July 10, long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) once again secured a firm footing in the nation’s politics with a resounding victory. One year down the road, how do you view the outcome of the elections?
While the PAP continues to have the support and confidence of Singaporeans, the level of support is eroding. So far, the government has handled the pandemic well if we compare with most countries in the world and once things settle down and if the government can handle the economic growth and tackle the income inequality and cost of living issues successfully, I think the PAP will continue enjoy majority support. However, the 4G leadership should not take this support for granted. I see an erosion of trust over the last 2 years that the PAP needs to rebuild with Singaporeans. If people feel happier at the end of this term, I think the PAP will have many more years of support but if life gets worse for many, the level of trust and support will erode further. The 4G leadership therefore can make or break the PAP’s great support of Singaporeans. They have to settle on their leadership issue and tackle the challenges we are facing quickly.
The change of guards seems to be on hold for now, with Lee Hsien Loong staying on as PM. How should the nation’s political leadership move forward on that front?
I feel the failure to identify the future PM is a big setback for Singapore and for the PAP. This is unlike the PAP of the past. I worry that after 2 years, we will still not have a clear leader and that’s will be too close to the next general election. It is important that the players of the 4G leadership put their difference aside and choose they leadership team fast. They have to work closely as a team if we want to continue to have the same success we have been able to have in the past. PM Lee has been forced to stay on longer than he desired because the 4G leaders have not been able to decide who they chose as their leader.
What is your wish for the nation as it celebrates the National Day
My wish for Singapore is for our racial harmony to be strengthened. The fabric of the Singapore society has been shaken a little with the significant influx of new citizens and PRs. We all need to work on re-identifying the Singapore identity based on our commonalities.
RELATED STORY:
Timing the Singapore general elections (Asia Samachar, 1 April 2020)
MP Inderjit to call it quits (Asia Samachar, 25 July 2015)
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