Balance

 

You could call it a series of coincidences. My Facebook feed was abuzz with friends sharing the news of Loh Kean Yew being crowned badminton world champion:

 

 It was really good news. It’s been something on a disappointing year for Singapore sports. The Tokyo Olympics was a let down after the celebration of our first ever gold medal in the Rio Games in 2016. We had another controversy over a boy who had been selected for the English Premier League not being allowed to play and then, well, we were beaten by Thailand in the AFC Suzuki Cup (though admittedly there is still someway to go). So, if you consider this background, Mr. Loh’s victory was that much sweeter.

By sheet coincidence, someone shared an article on my Linkedin about a speech given by our Minister for Manpower, Mr. Tan See Leng, who was talking about how he was going to roll out measures to build a “more resilient migrant workforce.” The article can be found at:

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/mom-to-embark-on-multi-year-road-map-to-build-more-resilient-migrant-workforce-tan-see-leng

 

 I hate to sound cynical but the most interesting thing about the article was the choice of words or specifically the word “resilient” What exactly did the minister mean about making our migrant workforce more resilient? Whilst the treatment of migrant workers only became a national issue when outbreak of Covid-19 cases in the dormitories last year, the truth is, we’ve always known that the migrant workers were badly treated and many of us took comfort in the fact that “it’s better than where they’re coming from.” Mr. Tan’s predecessor as Minister of Manpower had the unenviable task of admitting that the government which takes pride in doing the “right” thing was in fact in the hands of the construction industry. Ms. Teo admitted that migrant worker living conditions were generally substandard but the government had shied away from doing anything about it because the construction industry would inevitably complain about rising cost.

Whilst these events might seem unconnected on the surface, they are in fact part of the “gospel” of Singapore’s economic belief system. Since the 1960s, we have competed on the world stage by doing things cheaper than the West, including Japan but better than our competitors in the rest of Asia. Our currency follows the same pattern. The Singapore dollar is strategically more expensive than most Asian currencies (the countries we buy from) but cheaper than the Western ones (the countries we sell to).

If you follow any discussion of manpower issues, you will find that our ministers genuinely find it hard to understand that ordinary Singaporeans can excel at anything in particular or even to create anything that the rest of the world will recognize. Lee Kuan Yew, the original LKY, used to make the point that we were a small nation and we would never have the economies of scale to do much on the world stage. Hence, the best that Singapore and Singaporeans could ever hope to do would be to work for the government or for Western multinationals as middle management at best.

It’s hard to dispute that Singapore hasn’t done well. However, the often-repeated point is that what worked in the 1960s does not necessarily work in 2021. Unfortunately, the 1960s playbook has become more like a gospel rather than a set of guidelines to be adapted.

The answers to most of our pressing issues are based on this “gospel.” Why do you need so many foreign professionals? The answer, because we need people to lead Singaporean enterprises and create jobs for Singaporeans. Why do we need so many foreigners doing menial jobs? Because it’s the only way we can ensure Singaporeans have housing they can afford and so on and so on.

There was a great example in sports. In the early 2000’s the government spent millions on “foreign” talent and paid one of the best rates in the world for winning medals. What we got was a few silver medals in table tennis because China’s “B” team of table tennis players realized they could make way more coming in second for Singapore than they could winning the gold for China. Which is precisely what happened – they got the silver, took the money and went back to China to live very comfortable lives.

You can’t blame the Chinese for doing this just as you can’t blame Western expats for doing to where they’d be revered for being Western. Why wouldn’t you go to a place that pays you well?

It was only in 2016 when Joseph Schooling won our first ever gold that we realized that there were native born Singaporeans who could excel and they could do it without the government propping them up. As has been pointed out, Mr. Schooling won the gold for Singapore but the years of preparation for that single moment of glory had to be done elsewhere. As was pointed out, the biggest challenge was not so much financial but having to fight the case for him to get exemption from National Service.

Suddenly we noticed that Singaporeans could do things if you allowed them to. Singaporeans like Mr. Schooling as a swimmer and Mr. Sim Wong Hoo of Creative Technology had to go out of Singapore to excel and get recognized on the world stage. The only contribution of the government was to make them so comfortable after their initial success that they lost the drive to be world beaters.

In a way, Mr. Schooling and Mr. Sim’s success in their respective field is problematic for the government. It shows ordinary people that if they are willing to break away from the government’s embrace they can succeed in the wider world.

Interestingly enough, Mr. Loh’s life story could be a guideline in our talent management policies. Mr. Loh moved to Singapore from Malaysia when he was a small boy. He won a scholarship to the Singapore Sports School and funnily enough the government actually showed the flexibility it cabe provide when it wants to. Mr. Loh did serve National Service but also managed to play for the armed forces.

Here is the case of the government providing the necessary infrastructure to allow Mr. Loh to develop as a player but not trying to dictate terms. The government, as in the case of Mr. Loh, has shown that it knows that there is a balance to its role. If only it would show such wisdom in everything else that it does.