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Bringing ideas to reality will keep Singapore ahead: Heng

SINGAPORE — The Republic may be at the cusp of a “major structural transformation” with disruptions coming much faster, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat told the House today (Jan 29), on the final day of the debate on the President’s Address.

Mr Heng noted that successive leaders after Mr Lee Kuan Yew have had very different styles of leadership and that the trend has been towards increasing openness and participation. Photo: Koh Mui Fong/TODAY

Mr Heng noted that successive leaders after Mr Lee Kuan Yew have had very different styles of leadership and that the trend has been towards increasing openness and participation. Photo: Koh Mui Fong/TODAY

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SINGAPORE — The Republic may be at the cusp of a “major structural transformation” with disruptions coming much faster, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat told the House today (Jan 29), on the final day of the debate on the President’s Address. 

For the nation to succeed, it must remain at the forefront — not just in terms of having new ideas but more importantly, “to have the capacity to turn ideas into useful products, services, or business models”, said Mr Heng during the fifth and final day of the debate on the President’s Address.

Mr Heng, who chairs The Future Economy Committee, stressed that Singapore can be a place where good ideas for the world can be realised, where people can come together to create value and make an impact. “If we can be a place to help solve a fraction of the world’s challenges, we will create value — we will have our place in the world,” he said. 

And he was optimistic that Singapore can rise to the challenge out of necessity and the fact that there is no lack of support, given the country’s investments in research and development, knowledge creation, and in connecting with the world. 

“We have to solve many of our own pressing challenges,” he said, recalling how, for example, the Republic created its own technology to overcome the scarcity of water. 

He added: “There is a great deal of energy around how Singapore can serve as a base for good ideas from around the world … especially in Asia, to uplift lives.”

He noted that Singaporeans are a people “with a habit of innovation, and a habit of applying innovation in every aspect of our life”. “We may not realise this,” he pointed out. But the fact is that Singapore’s social policy innovations in housing, healthcare and the Central Provident Fund, among others, are studied around the world. 

The Future Economy Committee will be looking at the subject of innovation in detail, and Mr Heng noted that innovation is seen in many areas of life. He cited the “inspiring example” of the Chinatown public library, which has no staff and is manned entirely by a team of volunteers. 

“Best of all, of all libraries in Singapore, it has one of the highest user satisfaction rates. It just shows how a simple idea of reshaping the relationship with library visitors not only saves manpower, but enhances their experience,” Mr Heng said. 

While Singapore has the necessary conditions for good ideas to be realised, he noted that ideas and creating value alone are not enough. “If we want to move forward together, we must share value, in a fair and inclusive way,” he said.

It is critical for the Republic to continue creating opportunities for current and future generations, said Mr Heng, who stressed the importance of education. Changes are underway in schools to ensure that students can learn through multiple pathways and in multiple domains, and to help them connect learning to real world needs, said Mr Heng. He held up the SkillsFuture initiative as a “significant innovation” in this regard. 

Mr Heng reiterated the need to foster the conditions “for all of us to create opportunities for ourselves”. He said: “While it is easy, and tempting, to redistribute what we have today, it is much harder to think of how we can create opportunities, not only for today, but for the future, and for future generations. But this is critical if we want Singapore to succeed.” 

In all, 62 Members of Parliament spoke during the five-day debate. Apart from Mr Heng, five MPs rose to speak today, touching on a range of issues, such as the proposed changes to the Non-Constituency MP and Elected Presidency schemes, nurturing a “future ready” workforce, and Government funding of the arts.

Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Christopher de Souza, who had moved the motion of thanks on the President’s Address to initiate the proceedings, rounded up the debate and noted the key themes that were raised over the past week: Safety and security, the economy, fostering a more caring society, transforming the urban landscape, and good politics and leadership. 

Referring to the changes to the political system, Mr de Souza said he agreed to many of the proposals on the caveat that “any change needs to be closely accompanied by a deliberate retention of the existing culture of mentorship and the passing down of experiences”. 

Citing various examples of lessons imparted by senior leaders — including former President S R Nathan, the late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong — Mr de Souza stressed the importance of mentorship and teaching for younger office holders and other elected MPs. 

“The value of mentorship ... the imparting of values, and the training of reflex actions to make important decisions in crisis situations must never be sidelined,” he said. “This is especially important for a young nation, which is storing up its own precedents of experiences to learn from and to rely on in future.”

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