Why bother with a surname?

Article: Looking for Singapore’s Next Leader
Category: Political Issues
Source: WeekendToday, May 5-6, 2007; http://www.todayonline.com/articles/186820.asp

Summary: Since our nation’s independence in 1965, Singapore has seen a total of three powerful and influential figureheads leading our nation’s government. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Mr Goh Chok Tong and Mr Lee Hsien Loong, our present Prime Minister, have no doubt done well in transforming Singapore from the fishing village of the past to the flourishing nation state we are today. The question now is, who will the baton be passed on to in the decades to come, when Mr Lee Hsien Loong steps down as Prime Minister?

The question we have to ask ourselves is, “What do we want in a leader?”

We first have to consider whether the person is able to lead our nation to greater heights, whether economically, politically or otherwise. A prime example would be Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who (in his 31 year reign as Prime Minister) had almost single-handedly brought Singapore to where we are today. Yet many people fail to recognise this, and instead critique Mr Lee’s methods of leadership. Mr Lee may seem somewhat elitist, and he does go all out to get rid of any opposition, but does that make him any less the influential leader that he is?

In my opinion, that is Singapore’s biggest problem when it comes to politics. Instead of looking at the big picture, many tend to nit-pick on minor issues. So what if Mr Lee made Chee Soon Juan bankrupt? So what if the PAP refuses to fund the development of Potong Pasir? Yes, these controversial methods are questionable, but the important thing is, we continue to have a strong government that strives to ensure our nation’s stability. Ask any Singaporean whether he would trust an opposition party to take over what the PAP has done for us in the past 40 years, and he would probably find it very hard to say yes, even if strongly anti-PAP in his views.

After PAP’s hegemony for the past decades, many Singaporeans have become apathetic to the politics of our country, bored with what we term an "uninteresting" one-party system. Well look at Taiwan's politics. Definitely interesting, but are they nearly half as stable as Singapore? I strongly believe that we as Singaporeans should learn to move away from PAP or Anti-PAP points-of-view, looking at figureheads like Mr Lee as the Prime Minister rather than the leader of PAP. Yes, PAP does have controversial methods of achieving political dominance, but we can never deny that what the PAP has done for Singapore can never be erased from the annals of our history. Thus, I believe that we should learn to accept the PAP for who they are, and look at politics from a more objective point-of-view.

As I am still young and have not received much exposure to politics, I may not be able to fully understand all the issues regarding the governing of a nation. Yet, I believe that when our next Prime Minister is sworn in, we should look at more important factors like whether he is capable of helping our country flourish or whether he is concerned for the needs of his people. Mr Goh and both Mr Lees have all had their different ways of government, and we as Singaporean citizens should not nit-pick on minor issues, but rather respect and acknowledge their contributions towards the development of our nation.

As long as the leader in 10 years to come is capable of building a better Singapore for everyone, why should we even bother with his surname or the party he is from?

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