Going beyond consultations: Heng wants to cultivate leaders in every corner of society

SINGAPORE — To move Singapore forward as its people become better-educated and globally exposed, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat hopes to go beyond consultations — which have become a hallmark of his style — to involve able leaders in every part of society to take charge and resolve issues.

Mr Heng was appointed Deputy Prime Minister on May 1 and is expected to succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong if the ruling People’s Action Party prevails at the next General Election, which is due by April 2021.

Speaking in his first media interview last Friday (May 3) as second-in-command, Mr Heng said that Singapore should build leaders in "all parts of society and enable them to do what they feel passionate about”.

This will create a society where those who are “willing and able can say, well, ‘look, there is this… issue that I care about greatly and I would like to do my part to build this, to either resolve this problem or tackle this opportunity’”, noted Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister.

He added that this is already happening in places such as charities and business chambers.

Mr Heng was responding to a question on how he would continue to build consensus in society to take Singapore into the future.

He noted that founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew poured enormous effort into forming a multiracial and cohesive society, and tackled many of Singapore’s existential challenges.

Singapore made much progress as a result, said Mr Heng, who was the late Mr Lee’s principal private secretary from 1997 to 2000.

Singapore’s second PM, Mr Goh Chok Tong, adopted a “more open, consultative” approach, and many Singaporeans liked this after Mr Lee’s stricter demeanour and style, said Mr Heng.

The current PM Lee Hsien Loong continued the open, consultative approach, Mr Heng added.

Mr Heng is known for his consultative leadership style, having led the Our Singapore Conversation project in 2012 and 2013. The national consultation exercise canvassed views from nearly 50,000 people on housing, healthcare, transport, education and other issues.

With Singaporeans becoming better-educated and more exposed to global complexities, Mr Heng said that the basic issues of any society have to be managed with as much “joint partnership” as possible.

For example, when the Government set up the Community Networks for Seniors initiative, which helps elderly Singaporeans, Mr Heng said many volunteers and families told him that it “takes a village” to care for seniors.

“It’s extremely true that if each of us does our little part, I think we’ll have a more caring and more cohesive society,” he said.

Mr Heng was asked to define his leadership style, compared with PM Lee and past Prime Ministers.

He replied that his dedication to Singapore, as the past and present PMs have also demonstrated, would not change.

“I hope that dedication, not just of me but of my colleagues and all Singaporeans, to the Singapore cause will not change,” he added.

In taking difficult decisions, Mr Heng said that Singapore must continue to focus not only on the short term.

“Having a view of where we want to go in future is just as important. And being able to take hard decisions that this shortcut may be easier in the short run, but it leads you nowhere, and it’s better for us to take the harder but the better path,” said Mr Heng.

Societies around the world are fragmenting, and Mr Heng noted that many have failed to arrive at a political consensus to do the right thing or to take painful measures that are necessary for the long term.

He pledged that Singapore’s fourth-generation leaders will continue to keep politics constructive, and the country cohesive and united.

“We must be prepared to face realities even if they are harsh… and say now look,  how do we go about resolving this and how do we create a better life despite these constraints,” he said.

“I hope that in Singapore, we can do it well and keep this consensus that we’ve had for so many years.”

DEALING WITH THE YOUNG’S DESIRE FOR GREATER OPPOSITION

As society transforms, Mr Heng was asked how the fourth-generation leaders will deal with the desire among the young for a greater opposition, more alternative views and a bigger role for those in civil society.

The Deputy Prime Minister said he understood why young Singaporeans exposed to articles and magazines from the West believe that a democracy should be a two-party system, and that it is “not a good thing” for a dominant party to hold power for many years.

But he urged them to look at the evidence and what has happened to democracies around the world.

For instance, the British parliament and society have seen very contentious debates over the country’s departure from the European Union this year, he said.

The key for Singapore is to find ways to include the views of as many Singaporeans as possible in the governance process, he said.

“It is not a given that having an opposition party (in government) and multiple parties will result in the best outcomes,” said Mr Heng.

He noted that in many democracies, politics was almost akin to an “auction”, with parties making promises of a better life to win votes.

He said that such behaviour was rather irresponsible if politicians cannot deliver on these promises when they are in power.

“It’s very important for us not to fall for that… We’ve built our society to be so vibrant, successful and cohesive over these years because we’re prepared to do difficult things,” he added.

“We’re prepared to take hard decisions and many Singaporeans know that… it’s the outcomes that matter.”  

Rather than spend time scoring political points and debating for the sake of it, Mr Heng said the key is to find ways to bring everyone together constructively to take Singapore forward.

“The world is moving very quickly and it is important for us to understand the pace of change,” he said.

“We have to mobilise our people… at the end of it, this will give us a better life.”

Mr Heng said that, in the next few months, he would announce details of how the Government will engage Singaporeans across different segments to better understand their concerns and aspirations.

"As I said, our society is becoming more diverse. It is important for us to understand this diversity better and for us to mobilise the different groups and to look at what we can do together," he said.

"And it is important for us to ensure that that diversity is a strength and does not become divisive. So this is a very important piece of work that we hope to carry forward in the coming months and years."