PM Lee: A-team leaders needed to ensure Singapore's future - 05Apr2011

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says Singapore must develop the strongest possible team, with depth and resilience, to ensure its long term future.

An "A team" like this would have to include both competent ministers and younger ones, so as to enable Singapore to compete in the international league of nations.

Mr Lee was speaking to university students at the Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum entitled "Leadership Renewal: The 4th Generation and Beyond" at the University Cultural Centre on Tuesday.

Mr Lee said that assembling an outstanding team is not an easy task because in every election, his ruling People's Action Party (PAP) finds only three new MPs, on average, who can become Ministers.

He is confident he has put together an "A team", but he said he cannot assemble a second team and questioned how the opposition can find it easier to do so.

Mr Lee said a two-party system is not workable in Singapore because there is simply not enough talent to form two "A teams".

He emphasised that Singapore, more than any other country, needs capable leadership to tackle difficult challenges and maximise opportunities for the nation.

With a mediocre government, Singapore will fail, warned Mr Lee.

He said a two-party system will also throw up other problems, such as a division in society based on class or racial lines and groups pushing different policies.

And because there is a lack of talent, Mr Lee said he also disagrees with Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong's recent opinion that future ministers may end up serving only two terms.

Mr Lee said that is not possible because of the lack of numbers.

Mr Lee said Singapore has achieved this much today because of the various policies and systems the PAP government has put in place.

These include introducing policies to give all citizens a stake in the country's success and adapting a political system that will not be divisive for Singapore, such as creating the elected Presidency.

Today, Mr Lee said, Singapore's success is widely recognized.

He said the PAP accepts that some people will want to join the opposition and propound alternative policies.

But he added that as long as the government is competent and doing a good job for Singaporeans, Mr Lee hopes that the citizens will share the same cause with the PAP team to ensure that things remain on the right path.

Mr Lee called on Singaporeans to help this leadership renewal succeed, which he said will help the government develop good policies that will continue to bring prosperity and progress to Singapore.

"They (PAP team) need the voters' full support, not just to get elected but to deliver results for you....This is the way to safeguard our future - not to weaken the A team in the hope of buying insurance but to strengthen the A team to give it the best chance of succeeding," said Mr Lee.

"Over next 40 years, you will be building your careers and families. For you to do this in a secure, stable and prosperous Singa­pore, we must maintain the same high quality of government that we have enjoyed," he told the students.

"That is why leadership succession is a major issue in this election. We have to press hard on leadership renewal now, so that by 2020....we will have a younger team ready, able not only to maintain the present high standard of government, but to build on that and take Singa­pore even higher and do even better."

Prime Minister Lee also spoke of how the young PAP candidates introduced so far can relate to the older generation. Citing the example of 27-year-old business consultant Tin Pei Ling, he said she is bilingual and able to connect well with people of different ages.

Ms Tin had drawn flake on the Internet for being too young and immature to become a Member of Parliament. But Mr Lee defended the party's choice to field her.

"As far as the Web is concerned, all the flaming, that's the way it is but unfortunately in Singapore, people get carried away. Vitriol....doesn't add anything, no credit to debate, to people doing that or raise quality of debate," he said.

"As for Tin Pei Ling, we first noticed her in this (NUS) hall in 2007 when we had a party convention. She was one of the speakers and she impressed the audience. We made the right decision. It looks like she's going to MacPherson and she'll be a good MP in due course."

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