“I make no apology for trying to grab all talent available. Ultimately, whether the PAP stays in power or not depends on which party can attract, nurture and grow that talent pool, and offer that talent pool to the people of Singapore to decide.”
MCYS Minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, 2010, (CNA)
“So far, the People’s Action Party’s tactic is to put all the scholars into the civil service because it believes the way to retain political power forever is to have a monopoly on talent. But in my view, that’s a very short term view. It is the law of nature that all things must atrophy. Unless SM allows serious political challenges to emerge from the alternative elite out there, the incumbent elite will just coast along. At the first sign of a grassroots revolt, they will probably collapse just like the incumbent Progressive Party to the left-wing PAP onslaught in the late 1950s. I think our leaders have to accept that Singapore is larger than the PAP.”
Ngaim Tong Dow, Ex-Civil Service Chief, 2006, Straits Times
What’re your views?
