[h=2]Lawrence Wong: Meritocracy is not flawed[/h]
October 20th, 2012 |
Author: Editorial
Lawrence Wong
During a dialogue with a group of young Singaporeans about social change on Thu (18 Oct), the new incoming Acting Minister for the new Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) Lawrence Wong pointed out that meritocracy isn’t flawed.
Mr Wong said, “Not that meritocracy is flawed, but it’s about having a broader sense of what merit means. Merit is not just about academic abilities. But merit is about excellence in doing whatever we want to do, whatever we’re passionate about.”
He said Singapore needs a broader sense of what “merit” means in “meritocracy”.
“So I think if we take that broader sense of what meritocracy means, and we embrace different definitions of success in society, but we still try to provide as many opportunities as possible to individuals – to every individual whatever their station in life. Then I hope we can be a better society for it.”
However, Mr Wong may have forgotten about giving another important piece of advice to the young Singaporeans at the dialogue. And that is:
Take, for example, the case of PAP grassroots leader of Eunos, Sear Hock Rong, who sits in multiple grassroots committees in Eunos community. As capable and talented he may be, would his company R2E Concepts which offers leadership training and team building workshops for youth leaders be able to clinch training contracts from Eunos Citizens’ Consultative Committee, Eunos Zone ‘1′ Residents’ Committee, Eunos Zone ‘3′ Residents’ Committee and Eunos Zone ‘5′ Residents’ Committee, if he did not join PAP grassroots to begin with? [Link]
Obviously, joining PAP grassroots does give Mr Sear the added advantage because he can then leverage on his “network” to help his company too, apart, of course, from helping the community.
Please take note that we are not saying there is any wrongdoing here. Indeed, Mr Sear’s fellow compatriot Edgar Khieu, also a PAP member, has already explained very clearly to the public, “There are proper protocols involving conflict of interests. In the event of a committee member’s personal interests are involved, the member in question must sit out a vote on the decision. PA also requires a declaration of conflict of interests and also there are audit procedures to ensure there are no irregularities in the process.”
The point is, to supplement Lawrence Wong’s assertion that Singapore needs a broader sense of what “merit” means in “meritocracy”, he should also remind our youth on the need to “network”. In this regard, perhaps Mr Wong can think about inviting Mr Sear to talk about his “networking” experience for similar dialogue with the youth in future.
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During a dialogue with a group of young Singaporeans about social change on Thu (18 Oct), the new incoming Acting Minister for the new Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) Lawrence Wong pointed out that meritocracy isn’t flawed.
Mr Wong said, “Not that meritocracy is flawed, but it’s about having a broader sense of what merit means. Merit is not just about academic abilities. But merit is about excellence in doing whatever we want to do, whatever we’re passionate about.”
He said Singapore needs a broader sense of what “merit” means in “meritocracy”.
“So I think if we take that broader sense of what meritocracy means, and we embrace different definitions of success in society, but we still try to provide as many opportunities as possible to individuals – to every individual whatever their station in life. Then I hope we can be a better society for it.”
However, Mr Wong may have forgotten about giving another important piece of advice to the young Singaporeans at the dialogue. And that is:
“It’s not what you know. It’s who you know”
That is to say, the need for “networking” and to “rub shoulder” too. It’s a fact of life that to be “successful”, one needs more than just having good abilities and talents. Very often, it also depends on who you know. Hence, many people try to develop their “network” through, for example, joining some groups or organizations in the society.
Take, for example, the case of PAP grassroots leader of Eunos, Sear Hock Rong, who sits in multiple grassroots committees in Eunos community. As capable and talented he may be, would his company R2E Concepts which offers leadership training and team building workshops for youth leaders be able to clinch training contracts from Eunos Citizens’ Consultative Committee, Eunos Zone ‘1′ Residents’ Committee, Eunos Zone ‘3′ Residents’ Committee and Eunos Zone ‘5′ Residents’ Committee, if he did not join PAP grassroots to begin with? [Link]
Obviously, joining PAP grassroots does give Mr Sear the added advantage because he can then leverage on his “network” to help his company too, apart, of course, from helping the community.
Please take note that we are not saying there is any wrongdoing here. Indeed, Mr Sear’s fellow compatriot Edgar Khieu, also a PAP member, has already explained very clearly to the public, “There are proper protocols involving conflict of interests. In the event of a committee member’s personal interests are involved, the member in question must sit out a vote on the decision. PA also requires a declaration of conflict of interests and also there are audit procedures to ensure there are no irregularities in the process.”
The point is, to supplement Lawrence Wong’s assertion that Singapore needs a broader sense of what “merit” means in “meritocracy”, he should also remind our youth on the need to “network”. In this regard, perhaps Mr Wong can think about inviting Mr Sear to talk about his “networking” experience for similar dialogue with the youth in future.
.
Join our TRE facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/TREmeritus
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