Behind that well oiled machinery

It is election season again. Four years just came and went and now we are all off to the polls.

Four years ago I supported the Opposition’s vision for a First World Parliament. Though I didn’t have the chance to vote in a ward contested by the WP, I was ready to give my vote to them if they came by.

Four years on, something has changed. While I still want Mr Low and his team in Parliament for the difference they have brought to politics and a more humanised version of town council, I don’t think I am ready to accept PAP losing more ground in this election.

Here is why I say so.

1. PM Lee and DPM Tharman – despite what people say about the PAP MPs, I fully support these two because I know they have worked hard and they care. I have never met PM Lee in person before but I have read his emails which shows his personal values and his understanding of the ground. I have never worked with DPM Tharman but I have heard his speeches and testimony of the long hours he put in for Singapore. So many people complain about the high ministers pay and what not but seriously if you total up the cost and even distribute it out to fund social policies, I cannot imagine how much more one can do with that money.

2. Something PM Lee said that struck a chord. Something about needing people to build up his core team of the fourth generation leaders. I agree that we need a strong succession plan. PM Lee is getting old and we need to train up our new generation of leaders before it is too late. I don’t know why opposition party members cannot be cabinet ministers but if PM Lee needs the numbers to make his succession plan work then I will help him with that.

3. Since this year I have had the chance to meet many ministers and MPs in the course of my work and somehow meeting and talking to them in person made me realise that everything said about PAP MPs being arrogant and all isn’t quite what it is made out to be.

In fact I am beginning to wonder if the issues we have with our policies is the result of the civil service instead. Truthfully the ones who come up with the policies, who tells the bosses what’s happening and represents the face of the government to the people is really the public sector.

I am not bashing the civil service. At the end of the day, without an efficient team, it would have been impossible to execute many of the policies that the cabinet come up with. But I think what needs to improve is to infuse the civil service with more passion, more flexibility and more groundedness.

Sometimes I think we are in the grip of too much fear leading to conservatism in the way we do things at a micro level. I do hope that our fourth generation leaders would, as part of their agenda, take a look at revamping this. Like what I told my boss the other day over new IT and procurement rules, ‘these are things that will cause (passionate) people to quit.’

GE results are streaming in as I write this. Seems like the PAP got the strong mandate they wanted. Well PM Lee this is my birthday wish for you – Please deliver on your promise and build us a strong fourth generation leader who have heart so that my children can have a better future.