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Feb 18, 2010
INCORRUPTIBILITY NOT ENOUGH
Good govt must allow political vibrancy
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DR YIK Keng Yeong's letter ('...As long as PAP remains incorruptible', Feb 9) alluded to the negative ramifications of political competitiveness and the positive prognosis of firm and decisive leadership.
Political leadership dictates that a government's overriding mandate is the welfare of the nation and the people it governs. And a corrupted government almost certainly leads to a decline in the nation's welfare.
However, incorruptibility alone is not enough. A government can be incorruptible but not infallible, simply because no human being is.
Fallibility cannot be eliminated, but the risks associated with it can be mitigated. As no one can predict the future with certainty, a government can rely on only four types of wisdom: its own, the people's, that of other governments, and that of people in other nations.
A government that listens only to itself will not hear the people's needs. A government that listens only to itself and its people cannot make informed decisions internationally.
A government that does not listen to the people of other nations may not appreciate the destiny humanity crafts as it progresses.
A government can fulfil the duties predicated by its mandate only if it is guided by all forms of wisdom, constructive or destructive, conventional or radical.
The burden lies not in the correctness of the decision, but in the rightness on which the decision is based. Ultimately, the decision is a government's, but not before it has rigorously weighed the alternatives. It is only fair to the people that their government makes a decision that is exhaustively informed and conscientiously wise.
As such, differences - competition and opposition - should be actively engaged, if not sought, not for a government to make the right decision, but to allow it to make a decision that is right.
The only resistance to be eliminated is one that threatens a government's overriding mandate: the nation's welfare.
Ultimately, political leadership is a burden, not a reward. A government that upholds the nation's welfare will receive its people's loyalty.
A government that shoulders the nation's welfare, and survives the challenges of contrarians, will gain the world's admiration.
David Tan
INCORRUPTIBILITY NOT ENOUGH
Good govt must allow political vibrancy
<!-- by line --><!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
DR YIK Keng Yeong's letter ('...As long as PAP remains incorruptible', Feb 9) alluded to the negative ramifications of political competitiveness and the positive prognosis of firm and decisive leadership.
Political leadership dictates that a government's overriding mandate is the welfare of the nation and the people it governs. And a corrupted government almost certainly leads to a decline in the nation's welfare.
However, incorruptibility alone is not enough. A government can be incorruptible but not infallible, simply because no human being is.
Fallibility cannot be eliminated, but the risks associated with it can be mitigated. As no one can predict the future with certainty, a government can rely on only four types of wisdom: its own, the people's, that of other governments, and that of people in other nations.
A government that listens only to itself will not hear the people's needs. A government that listens only to itself and its people cannot make informed decisions internationally.
A government that does not listen to the people of other nations may not appreciate the destiny humanity crafts as it progresses.
A government can fulfil the duties predicated by its mandate only if it is guided by all forms of wisdom, constructive or destructive, conventional or radical.
The burden lies not in the correctness of the decision, but in the rightness on which the decision is based. Ultimately, the decision is a government's, but not before it has rigorously weighed the alternatives. It is only fair to the people that their government makes a decision that is exhaustively informed and conscientiously wise.
As such, differences - competition and opposition - should be actively engaged, if not sought, not for a government to make the right decision, but to allow it to make a decision that is right.
The only resistance to be eliminated is one that threatens a government's overriding mandate: the nation's welfare.
Ultimately, political leadership is a burden, not a reward. A government that upholds the nation's welfare will receive its people's loyalty.
A government that shoulders the nation's welfare, and survives the challenges of contrarians, will gain the world's admiration.
David Tan
