Re: TR: why singaporeans do not owe goh keng swee or other pap leaders debt of gratit
Why Singaporeans do not owe Goh Keng Swee or other PAP leaders a “debt” of gratitude
May 19th, 2010 |
Author:
Your Correspondent
The demise of one of the so-called founding fathers of Singapore and PAP stalwart Goh Keng Swee expectedly brought about a wave of PAP propaganda in the state media to remind Singaporeans of the contributions of Goh and his fellow PAP colleagues.
In an interview with Channel News Asia on 14 May 2010, Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said every child in school, every soldier serving in the armed forces, and every worker with a job in Singapore owes the late Dr Goh Keng Swee a huge debt of gratitude.
While nobody can deny the fact that Goh had contributed tremendously to Singapore, questions must be raised if Singaporeans really owe him and the PAP a “debt” of gratitude.
It is only human to err and no leader is perfect. In assessing the political career of Goh, we should not ignore his shortcomings as well. For all his worth, Goh had made some mistakes, most notably his controversial streaming in primary school which was reversed years later. By then, irreversible damage has been done against many generations of Singapore students who are “late bloomers” and might have succeeded in life under a less stressful education system.
A former PAP minister Othman Wok described the late Dr Goh as the architect of the Singapore economy. As a matter of fact, the accolades should belong to Albert Winsemius, a Dutch economist seconded to the fledging PAP government by the United Nations. It was Winseminus who convinced Goh to develop Singapore’s export economy and to invite MNCs to set up their regional headquarters here.
Goh just happened to be the right leader at the right place and time. He was fortunate that Singaporeans are a bunch of thrifty, hardworking and most importantly docile people who ensured that his ideas and policies were successfully implemented on the ground. Had Goh been put in a more volatile environment like Vietnam, Indonesia and even Malaysia, it is doubtful if he is able to replicate his success there.
Though Goh is a pioneer of modern Singapore and is a key figure in its growth and prosperity, past achievements do not guarantee future success. The fact that Goh is a visionary leader doesn’t automatically mean that the present batch of PAP leaders have inherited his legacy. In fact, the current leaders should learn from Goh who was able to serve the nation tirelessly for so many years despite being paid “peanuts”.
History has taught us that no leader is indispensable to a nation, no matter how great he/she is. What is more important is to have an open, transparent and liberal political system which allows for a peaceful transition from one generation of leaders to the next and from one party to another.
Both the United States and United Kingdom have their fair share of competent and charismatic leaders. Even China has long stepped out of the shadow of its “Great Helmsman” Mao Zedong. It is time Singapore get rid of its burden of “gratitude” to the PAP and move forward as a confident and proud nation belong to all the people.
