- Joined
- Aug 6, 2008
- Messages
- 6,684
- Points
- 113
How to win the perception battle
P N BALJI
editorial director [email protected]
.
IF POLITICS is an art that combines practice and perception, then the Prime Minister and his team have their work cut out.
.
Devoting nearly one-third of his National Day rally speech to what is really an old story — what the Government has done and is doing to help you fight inflation — one could almost notice a sense of exasperation in Mr Lee Hsien Loong’s voice when he thought aloud: How come some Singaporeans don’t appreciate all the goodies that are being given to them?
.
Or, in keeping with the spirit and tone of his three-hour speech on Sunday night: Why money no enough?
.
The PM had some answers. The Government does not make a song and dance of the help dished out. The help is indirect, not as direct as putting cash in your hand. And many don’t connect it with the prices of essential items that are going up atunstoppable speed.
.
These make up only part of the story. The other part is both fundamental and core to the way Singapore is governed.
.
It has to do with the way the goodie box is given out. Most of the goodies have caveats attached to them. To get the Workfare Income Supplement, low-skilled older workers must first contribute to their CPF Medisave accounts. To qualify for the Home Ownership Plus Education scheme, poor families cannot have more than two children, the wife must be 35 years old and under, and there must be no divorce.
.
Underpinning this approach is the belief that the government should not be seen as a Santa Claus. It has worked for Singapore as it bulldozed its way from a sleepy backwater fishing village to amodern metropolis.
.
In the process, the country moved from one that was careful with money to one that began to slowly loosen its purse strings.
.
This year alone, $3 billion was given out. This is no small sum but to the average heartlander trying to keep his head above water, the figure is not something he can grasp, let alone imagine.
.
You can go down to the ground and try and win the perception battle by explaining, like the PM did very patiently and very graphically on Sunday.
.
You might get a few converts but when they come face-to-face with the harshreality of a shrinking dollar, rationality will take a back seat.
.
What also needs to be done is to see how the giving, at least for those who need immediate pain relievers in extraordinary situations like today’s, can be done in a give-now-talk-later fashion. Move away as much as possible from aid that is tied to too many conditions. And don’t pay out in instalments, please. Wherever possible, hand out money in one lump sum.
.
For these to happen, the Government needs to move away from relying on the “What If ...” questions. What if he considers it free cash? What if he spends it allon unnecessary things?
.
Those questions can be asked when times are good, not when what many are looking for is quick and easy relief. That will call for a further tweak to the way Singapore has been governed all these years.
.
In his fifth Rally speech on Sunday, traces of that approach were still evident. The PM talked about getting Singaporeans to meet and, hopefully, get hitched. He also spoke about how Singaporeans should be more gracious.
.
Both bring back memories of years gone by and should really be left in the realm of individual and independentaction.
.
What we also saw on Sunday night was a modern-day PM not just showing his mastery of the nuances of policy making but his display of connectivity with a handphone doubling up as a video camera, live phone chat with our man at the Beijing Olympics, charts ... the works. Even the words he chose — lobang, for instance — showed his willingness in wanting to connect with the ground.
.
The next step is to show how his Government will stamp its mark by getting his ministers, MPs, civil servants and grassroots activists to fight the perception battle and win it.
.
It is not just the Singaporean’s mindset that needs to be changed.
P N BALJI
editorial director [email protected]
.
IF POLITICS is an art that combines practice and perception, then the Prime Minister and his team have their work cut out.
.
Devoting nearly one-third of his National Day rally speech to what is really an old story — what the Government has done and is doing to help you fight inflation — one could almost notice a sense of exasperation in Mr Lee Hsien Loong’s voice when he thought aloud: How come some Singaporeans don’t appreciate all the goodies that are being given to them?
.
Or, in keeping with the spirit and tone of his three-hour speech on Sunday night: Why money no enough?
.
The PM had some answers. The Government does not make a song and dance of the help dished out. The help is indirect, not as direct as putting cash in your hand. And many don’t connect it with the prices of essential items that are going up atunstoppable speed.
.
These make up only part of the story. The other part is both fundamental and core to the way Singapore is governed.
.
It has to do with the way the goodie box is given out. Most of the goodies have caveats attached to them. To get the Workfare Income Supplement, low-skilled older workers must first contribute to their CPF Medisave accounts. To qualify for the Home Ownership Plus Education scheme, poor families cannot have more than two children, the wife must be 35 years old and under, and there must be no divorce.
.
Underpinning this approach is the belief that the government should not be seen as a Santa Claus. It has worked for Singapore as it bulldozed its way from a sleepy backwater fishing village to amodern metropolis.
.
In the process, the country moved from one that was careful with money to one that began to slowly loosen its purse strings.
.
This year alone, $3 billion was given out. This is no small sum but to the average heartlander trying to keep his head above water, the figure is not something he can grasp, let alone imagine.
.
You can go down to the ground and try and win the perception battle by explaining, like the PM did very patiently and very graphically on Sunday.
.
You might get a few converts but when they come face-to-face with the harshreality of a shrinking dollar, rationality will take a back seat.
.
What also needs to be done is to see how the giving, at least for those who need immediate pain relievers in extraordinary situations like today’s, can be done in a give-now-talk-later fashion. Move away as much as possible from aid that is tied to too many conditions. And don’t pay out in instalments, please. Wherever possible, hand out money in one lump sum.
.
For these to happen, the Government needs to move away from relying on the “What If ...” questions. What if he considers it free cash? What if he spends it allon unnecessary things?
.
Those questions can be asked when times are good, not when what many are looking for is quick and easy relief. That will call for a further tweak to the way Singapore has been governed all these years.
.
In his fifth Rally speech on Sunday, traces of that approach were still evident. The PM talked about getting Singaporeans to meet and, hopefully, get hitched. He also spoke about how Singaporeans should be more gracious.
.
Both bring back memories of years gone by and should really be left in the realm of individual and independentaction.
.
What we also saw on Sunday night was a modern-day PM not just showing his mastery of the nuances of policy making but his display of connectivity with a handphone doubling up as a video camera, live phone chat with our man at the Beijing Olympics, charts ... the works. Even the words he chose — lobang, for instance — showed his willingness in wanting to connect with the ground.
.
The next step is to show how his Government will stamp its mark by getting his ministers, MPs, civil servants and grassroots activists to fight the perception battle and win it.
.
It is not just the Singaporean’s mindset that needs to be changed.
