<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>No wonder the govt is the world's most expensive and yet most fark up at the same time!
Net cast wider for youth leaders
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>New foundation to go beyond top schools to nurture youth to lead voluntary sector </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Goh Chin Lian
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Addressing student and grassroots leaders at the Marine Parade Leadership Foundation launch were (from left) MPs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Fatimah Lateef, Goh Chok Tong, Matthias Yao, Seah Kian Peng and Lim Biow Chuan. -- PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->In a country whose political leaders prepare painstakingly for succession, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong worries that the voluntary sector is not doing enough to groom new helmsmen.
He believes the way to do so is to identify and develop youth leaders with an interest in community service, and cast the net beyond the top schools to include the neighbourhood schools.
Mr Goh, an MP for Marine Parade GRC, launched the Marine Parade Leadership Foundation yesterday for that purpose.
With the $3million raised so far, the foundation will fund scholarships and leadership programmes for the youth and young working adults, with an eye to nurturing them as future chiefs of grassroots and voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs).
At a dialogue with 180 student and grassroots leaders at Marine Parade Community Club, Mr Goh stressed the importance of competent, honest and dedicated leadership, and succession planning.
'Each time after an election at the national level, we look for people all over Singapore...to get the younger ones to come forward and serve the community and the country.
'We identify those who can make it to ministerial positions, and then get them to serve in that capacity and find the potential prime minister among them.'
This same kind of planning takes place to groom future school principals and chief executive officers of many companies, he added.
'For the voluntary sector, one of my concerns is that we do not adequately plan for succession and that's because we depend on volunteers,' he said, referring to grassroots organisations and VWOs.
On including neighbourhood schools, one target of the foundation, Mr Goh said their students may not be able to compete for national leadership awards and scholarships, but can become majors, captains and warrant officers who form an important middle tier of leaders. Some may even become 'generals'.
'It is wrong to believe that only top schools can produce leaders. Neighbourhood schools also have leaders among them.'
The foundation, whose board chairman is MacPherson MP Matthias Yao, will suss out potential leaders in such schools. Its priority now will be those in Marine Parade and MacPherson.
How these leaders will be identified was also an issue among the dozen questions directed at Mr Goh, Mr Yao, and four other MPs for Marine Parade GRC.
Polytechnic student Diane Lee, 19, felt that in Secondary5, she and her classmates were passed over for leadership training in favour of those with better academic results. Others felt quiet people with leadership potential may be overlooked.
The MPs assured them that leaders need not ace examinations nor be extroverts, citing themselves as examples.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan, a lawyer, scored only four O-level passes, while Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, a university lecturer, went to a neighbourhood school.
Dr Faishal and Mr Goh also professed to be quiet by nature, but noted their friends still chose them for leadership positions in their younger days.
The youth also expressed concern that they lack time for leadership activities. Dr Fatimah Lateef, whom Mr Goh praised as a multi-tasker with tremendous energy, advised them to manage their time.
Addressing a question raised about conflict among leaders, Mr Goh said one source was having different objectives. For example, in politics, capitalists and socialists disagree on how wealth should be distributed.
Singapore's strength lies in its leaders' unity of objectives, as the People's Action Party fought and settled that battle of ideology decades ago.
But he warned: 'There is no guarantee that somebody else will not come up and say, 'This is no good, the elite are getting all the goodies and the people in the neighbourhood schools are getting nothing.''
This is also why the President's approval is needed to unlock the national reserves, he said.
'Otherwise, you can get a rabble rouser, a populist at election who will say 'I promise you if I get elected, I will give you $50,000 each because we are in a recession.''
Mr Goh added: 'I say this man, he has not earned the money, he just promised. Don't vote for him.' [email protected]
Net cast wider for youth leaders
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>New foundation to go beyond top schools to nurture youth to lead voluntary sector </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Goh Chin Lian
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Addressing student and grassroots leaders at the Marine Parade Leadership Foundation launch were (from left) MPs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Fatimah Lateef, Goh Chok Tong, Matthias Yao, Seah Kian Peng and Lim Biow Chuan. -- PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->In a country whose political leaders prepare painstakingly for succession, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong worries that the voluntary sector is not doing enough to groom new helmsmen.
He believes the way to do so is to identify and develop youth leaders with an interest in community service, and cast the net beyond the top schools to include the neighbourhood schools.
Mr Goh, an MP for Marine Parade GRC, launched the Marine Parade Leadership Foundation yesterday for that purpose.
With the $3million raised so far, the foundation will fund scholarships and leadership programmes for the youth and young working adults, with an eye to nurturing them as future chiefs of grassroots and voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs).
At a dialogue with 180 student and grassroots leaders at Marine Parade Community Club, Mr Goh stressed the importance of competent, honest and dedicated leadership, and succession planning.
'Each time after an election at the national level, we look for people all over Singapore...to get the younger ones to come forward and serve the community and the country.
'We identify those who can make it to ministerial positions, and then get them to serve in that capacity and find the potential prime minister among them.'
This same kind of planning takes place to groom future school principals and chief executive officers of many companies, he added.
'For the voluntary sector, one of my concerns is that we do not adequately plan for succession and that's because we depend on volunteers,' he said, referring to grassroots organisations and VWOs.
On including neighbourhood schools, one target of the foundation, Mr Goh said their students may not be able to compete for national leadership awards and scholarships, but can become majors, captains and warrant officers who form an important middle tier of leaders. Some may even become 'generals'.
'It is wrong to believe that only top schools can produce leaders. Neighbourhood schools also have leaders among them.'
The foundation, whose board chairman is MacPherson MP Matthias Yao, will suss out potential leaders in such schools. Its priority now will be those in Marine Parade and MacPherson.
How these leaders will be identified was also an issue among the dozen questions directed at Mr Goh, Mr Yao, and four other MPs for Marine Parade GRC.
Polytechnic student Diane Lee, 19, felt that in Secondary5, she and her classmates were passed over for leadership training in favour of those with better academic results. Others felt quiet people with leadership potential may be overlooked.
The MPs assured them that leaders need not ace examinations nor be extroverts, citing themselves as examples.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan, a lawyer, scored only four O-level passes, while Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, a university lecturer, went to a neighbourhood school.
Dr Faishal and Mr Goh also professed to be quiet by nature, but noted their friends still chose them for leadership positions in their younger days.
The youth also expressed concern that they lack time for leadership activities. Dr Fatimah Lateef, whom Mr Goh praised as a multi-tasker with tremendous energy, advised them to manage their time.
Addressing a question raised about conflict among leaders, Mr Goh said one source was having different objectives. For example, in politics, capitalists and socialists disagree on how wealth should be distributed.
Singapore's strength lies in its leaders' unity of objectives, as the People's Action Party fought and settled that battle of ideology decades ago.
But he warned: 'There is no guarantee that somebody else will not come up and say, 'This is no good, the elite are getting all the goodies and the people in the neighbourhood schools are getting nothing.''
This is also why the President's approval is needed to unlock the national reserves, he said.
'Otherwise, you can get a rabble rouser, a populist at election who will say 'I promise you if I get elected, I will give you $50,000 each because we are in a recession.''
Mr Goh added: 'I say this man, he has not earned the money, he just promised. Don't vote for him.' [email protected]
