SINGAPORE - Singapore has to decide, going forward, whether it aims to be a "Jurong Island" or a "Shenton Way", said retired top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow at a forum yesterday.
Pitting the two models against each other and as metaphors of "wealth creators" and "wealth managers", Mr Ngiam expressed concern that Singapore might be nurturing more of the latter, at the expense of the former.
"I believe that, while many Singaporeans are competent in our jobs, few
among us are brilliant," said Mr Ngiam, the former Ministry of Finance
permanent secretary, who is now Pro-Chancellor at the National
University of Singapore.
What would differentiate the
wealth creator from a wealth manager, he felt, would include attributes
such as tremendous reserves of energy, the ability to think out of the
box and "seeing possibilities where others can only see rocks".
Speaking to a group of around 250 engineering students, academics
and industry representatives at NUS Engineering Auditorium, Mr Ngiam was
asked during the one-hour dialogue why Singapore could not possess both
wealth creators and wealth managers. He replied that a job in the
technology sector has got more multiplier effects than one in the
services sector.
"Even if you take banking and wealth
management, there's no reason why people should come to Singapore to
manage their funds. It can be in the middle of the Indian Ocean with a
computer. The barriers to entry are very low," said Mr Ngiam.
Lauding the late Dr Goh Keng Swee's contribution to the wealth
creation of Singapore, Mr Ngiam noted how Dr Goh, who was Defence
Minister, had established Sheng-Li Holdings to build up Singapore's
defence technology. Sheng-Li was later renamed Singapore Technologies
(ST) Holdings.
Under Dr Goh, Mr Ngiam said that ST
engineers refurbished fighter aircraft and built battle tanks, which
were comparable to others internationally.
"After Dr Goh
retired from the Government in 1986, there is no one to replace him as
our wealth creator," he added. "The Government of Singapore Investment
Corporation and Temasek (Holdings) are sovereign wealth managers for our
national savings and reserves. They are not wealth creators."
Temasek in particular, Mr Ngiam felt, is supposed to be a wealth creator, but are just being "fund managers".
Going forward, Mr Ngiam said the direction Singapore takes will
have an impact on its political, economic, educational and labour
policies.
Asked what Singapore can do now to nurture
wealth creation, Nr Ngiam said: "The engineering faculty should be given
more resources." Later, he suggested that the Government could provide
funding for university final year students of any discipline to start
their business aspirations.
"At the end of the day, if 10 per cent succeed out of 100, there will be 10 future companies," said Mr Ngiam.
-- TODAY