The final day of the Singapore Perspectives 2021: Reset conference was held on 25 January. It was a hybrid event with around 250 participants at the Marina Bay Sands Grand Ballroom, with safe management measures implemented to ensure the safety of our attendees. The in-person plenary sessions were also broadcast to an online audience of close to 2000 viewers at the same time.

In his opening remarks, IPS Director Mr Janadas Devan outlined three stages of public perception during crises such as wars or pandemics.

First, society “rallies around the flag”.

Second, we see shortcomings or vulnerabilities surface in society. In Singapore, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed vulnerabilities like society’s treatment of essential workers (e.g., migrant workers, nurses, truck drivers). Mr Janadas paused to question if we are “treating them well, fairly, justly?” Another vulnerability he highlighted was the least in society who had suffered the most due to the pandemic, particularly low-income and low-skilled individuals as well as their children.

If society has the gumption to face their vulnerabilities, Mr Janadas concluded, the final stage is hope. He believed that Singapore will emerge stronger after the COVID-19 crisis, and encouraged participants to keep looking towards the future.

The way forward for businesses post-pandemic

Business leaders featured on the first panel of the conference outlined a way forward in a post-COVID-19 world. This include encouraging Singapore businesses to seek opportunities beyond local borders, evaluating the treatment of migrant workers and upskilling the workforce.

Panellist Mr Ang Yuit, Founder & Chief Executive Officer at The Adventus Consultants pushed for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to venture overseas, citing that businesses are “too comfortable in Singapore”. Should engineering businesses be more regional or global, “the game [will become] more interesting” as new partnerships between SMEs as well as with government-linked companies could be formed, he said.

Mr Ang, who is also Vice President (Strategies, Development & Digitalisation) at the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises was on the panel with Ms Aw Kah Peng, Chairman of Shell Companies in Singapore and Mr Louis Lim, Chief Operating Officer at Keppel Land Limited. The session was moderated by IPS Senior Research Fellow and Head of Governance and Economy, Mr Christopher Gee.

On the issue of foreign labour, Mr Ang said that since 2011, there has been a decrease in work pass holders. However, Mr Lim argued that it might be difficult to reduce Singapore’s reliance on foreign labour much further, as there are many jobs that Singaporeans would not do but foreign workers will.

Mr Lim added that COVID-19 has highlighted  some of the difficult conditions of migrant workers in Singapore. Ms Aw added that now is the time for Singapore to evaluate the approach of hiring and caring for migrant workers. This process would have to be co-led by the government and businesses with a clear agenda on what has to be done to improve the treatment of these workers.

Responding to a question from a participant on upskilling the workforce, Mr Ang highlighted that a challenge faced by SMEs is the “regimented and siloed” way that agencies such as SkillsFuture approach skills-upgrading. The strict procedures mean that companies would have to find ways to fit the criteria for upgrading and training, instead of the other way round. Mr Ang concluded that this impedes the full potential that SkillsFuture could have.

Is Singapore ready for a non-Chinese Prime Minister?

The second panel at the conference discussed the future of politics in Singapore. Among the issues discussed was Singaporeans readiness for a non-Chinese Prime Minister and the probability of a multi-party system.

Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information and Health felt that ultimately, it is up to Singaporeans to decide if the country can have a non-Chinese PM.

He also hoped that when people talk about a non-Chinese PM, it is “not about having an icon of resetting or an icon of reimagining, but on the person’s ability to do the job”.

Dr Puthucheary, who is also Chairman of the youth wing of the People’s Action Party (PAP), was one of the three politicians represented at the panel, along with The Workers’ Party (WP) Mr Gerald Giam, who is a Member of Parliament (Aljunied GRC) and Ms Hazel Poa, Non-constituency Member of Parliament and CEC Member of Progress Singapore Party (PSP). The session was moderated by Dr Gillian Koh, Deputy Director (Research) and Senior Research Fellow at IPS.

In contrast, Ms Poa felt that Singapore is in fact ready for a non-Chinese PM, but the “only reason we are not ready is that the PAP is not ready”.

Mr Giam pointed out that in Singapore’s parliamentary system, the PM is not elected by the people but by party members. Therefore, it is “the decision of the individual parties whether they want to field a non-Chinese as secretary-general”, he said.

Mr Giam said that in conversations with constituents, he has not come across any views expressing that Singaporeans are not ready for someone who is “capable, honest, and is able to be a good leader” to be Prime Minister, regardless of race. Mr Giam concluded that for the WP, race has not played a factor in deciding leadership positions within their party.

Responding to questions from the audience on the possibility of a multi-party system, the panellists felt that this would depend on the electorate. Dr Puthucheary said their duty is to “make the best possible offering and to discharge their duties — the outcome is decided by the people”.

As for whether a multi-party system will lead to more divisiveness, Mr Giam said that each political party and candidate has to “make a conscious effort to act responsibly and in the best interest of the country”.

Ms Poa added that while there is more representation in Singapore’s parliament, there has not been an increase in divisiveness. And while she felt that a one-party system was more efficient in the past as it allowed for faster decision-making, it is too risky now when the way forward is uncertain.

Panellists also discussed the limits of meritocracy. Mr Giam felt that Singapore should not be content with just providing equal opportunities for everyone. This is because not every citizen can seize these opportunities as “there may be complex factors working against them”, he said.

He added that it is necessary to track the outcomes of these opportunities. And, he asked, if the results show that certain groups of people are falling short, what can be done to clear the hurdles for them?

Dr Puthucheary agreed and said meritocracy is not a perfect tool, and acknowledged that there is a need to refine the process going forward.

Three ‘resets’ that should take place

The final session of the conference featured a dialogue with Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Finance. The dialogue was chaired by Mr Warren Fernandez, Editor-in-Chief of The Straits Times.

In his remarks, Mr Wong expounded on three resets that should take place in society. The first is a reset of Singapore’s social compact to ensure a fairer and more equal society. Mr Wong said that reducing inequality and ensuring a meritocratic system has always been at the top of the government’s agenda.

During the pandemic, the government put in place temporary measures to save jobs and tide over those who were hit hardest. While these measures will taper down in 2021 as the economy improves, the pandemic has nevertheless created an “impetus to strengthen our social and economic support system”.

The second reset is a push for a greener Singapore, especially as climate change is the “existential emergency of our time”, said Mr Wong. He listed a slew of measures to achieve greener growth and mindsets, including deploying more renewable energy like solar power and making sustainable living a key feature in all HDB estates.

The final reset is that COVID-19 presents an opportunity for Singapore to strengthen our sense of solidarity.

Mr Wong said that while the digital age has made it easier for everyone to access information, we are now living in a “golden age of ignorance” where individuals believe more in falsehoods and conspiracy theories than facts, and expert knowledge is downplayed and even portrayed as a “conspiracy by the elites to perpetuate their dominance”.

This ignorance could lead to difficulty in finding consensus, thus allowing extreme views to gain ground and making societies hard to govern, he said.

However, he is confident that Singapore will “emerge stronger from this crucible”, as he has seen the “best of Singaporeans” step up in the face of adversity.

He added that as Singapore continues to build a better society together, the government is also intentionally creating more opportunities for citizens to be part of the decision-making process, through avenues such as the Emerging Stronger Conversations and the SG Youth Action Plan.

COVID-19 could last four to five years

Mr Wong said that it could take four to five years before we “see the end of the pandemic, and the start of a post-pandemic normal”. He added that “we live in a shared world, and no one is safe until everyone is safe”.

He also cautioned that despite Singapore securing vaccines for the entire population, many things could go wrong, such as an unexpected disruption in vaccine supply.

There is also a possibility that Singaporeans may have to get vaccinated against COVID-19 annually, given the uncertainties on how the virus could mutate. Research has also suggested that the vaccine may not be so effective against the South African mutant strain of the virus, he said.

Mr Wong is confident that if Singapore responds well to the pandemic, the country will continue to remain the top choice among international investors who want to have a presence in Asia.

He said this in response to a question posed by Mr Fernandez, who wondered if the trend of remote work could affect Singapore’s hub status.

Mr Wong added that human beings are fundamentally social animals, and we are “not going into a world where it’s all machines with no face to face interactions”.

When asked by Mr Fernandez what made him so sure that Singapore would emerge stronger post-pandemic, Mr Wong said he had front-row seats on how people responded to the “crisis of a generation”.

He acknowledged the contributions of a few groups of people for truly making a difference. For instance, when the outbreak in the migrant worker dormitories happened, the public and private sector came together to build the community care facilities within a short period of time, he said. He noted that this not only prevented the hospitals from being overwhelmed, but also mitigated the number of fatalities.

Other issues that were discussed during the dialogue included his priorities as education minister.

To this, Mr Wong said that he is only “six months into MOE and thus a little careful when talking about his priorities”. Rather, he said that the focus should be on what educators want, and that is to uplift every child and ensure that they are able to achieve their full potential.

To find out more about the Singapore Perspectives 2021 “Reset”, click here.