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SINGAPORE GOVERNMENT PRESS RELEASE

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!C/Fllf,.Y/23/78 (Foreir;n 1',ffairsl

SPEECII BY Mil A lli'JIIM ISHL.K, sr:rrron !lffi·TISTgn 01!1 STAT:C FOTI FOIIBIGrJ AFFAillS, !1T THE OPENING CEREMONY OF

PRE-U SEMINJ,.R ON "LEADERSHIP I N THE FUTURE" ON 29 l.ViiW 78 AT 2.45 PM J~T JUHONG TOWN Hf.LL

Motivation i G u.n importc1t1t ole~e~t in l eadership. It i s no l oss important in charact er building. Indeed, it should be an ole~ent in the nental mnk:e..JU.p of every Singaporean. Without motivation we will be working aimlessly 9nd without a purpose. While.in our separate vocations, studies, oc9upat ions and professions, we might have differing and diverse obj ectives, it is , i~portant for Singaporenns to constantly have uppermos t in their rainds, the ultimate motive in their lives as Singaporonns . It i s only when men have set in their minds clear obj ectives that they are abl e to str:j.ve to r ealise their ambitions. Wh.::i,t i s it then thQ,t we Singaporeans want, granted that we know our physicnl circumst ances, physical limit c.tions , l a ck. of nntural resources and our strategic position in Southeast Asia.

Singapore i s a developing country. The main problem confronting goverrn:10nts and peoples in Southeast li.sia is how' to bring about develop-ment. How development will be achi eved will rest solely on the type of positive nnd effective l eade rship which we are able to throw up. Next, we must be abl e to i dentify our problems. Loaders in most devel9ping countries know what tl;loir problems aroe fut for v2,rious reasons, including deeP-;-Soated, never-changing a:". t i tudes of certain s ectors of tho population, l eaders arc inhibited ,r immobilised in effecting the best solutions to bring about development. Leadership in developing countries should mean lending young people i:l.Ild guiding their thoughts and actions towards achieving a b (;)tter life. In s ome developing countries, young pe ople find that corruption, poverty and economtc disparities have not boon eradicated aft er one or two decades of independence. They look around them and see that oocial conflicts and injustice s springs not from foreign rule but from the indigenous authorities themse lves. The solution to this sense of dispair amongs t young people today is to

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build a leadership which they ~tlll have. faith and trust in and respond to. 'Ibo post-independence gener;;,ti.on of young pooplo expect to see a leadership which can be rolied upon to develop the economy and bring about 'increasing prosperity.

In developing countries and certainly in Singapore whi9h historically never aspired to bo a separate independent nation, it is difficult for masses of people to conceive of i1the n2,tion" whic;:h is often as abstract as it is . big. Therefore individual citizens, particularly the young, must be cultivated to possess pride of country or patriotism by direct po.rticip.::,tion and involvement in tho ·affairs of the stntc. They must have common purposes in national affairs and be involved not only in their achievement~ of every aspc9t of society but also 1$:now that their own contribution, however small, does matter •. r.Ilhorefore ·, the cumuldi vo effects of this kind of approach are the growth of national consciousness and an awareness of the need of nation building and national development.

In implementing development there i~ tho nood for leadership at various .other levels, besides the politi9al, for example, in commerce and industry, social and cultural fields; thG civil ~ervice and the trade unions. without effective leadership which cnn help to fulfil nation.....,,J. objectives, programnes for development would prove futile or oven costly •. It is therefore imperative for governments to see ~hat conscious attempts are made to recruit leaders with the right calibre, aspirations and character which are rare qualities in men and women. Tho resources n.nd factors which ·go towards the making of loaders are readily available. What is clearly needed are steps to n'l}.rture young people who show signs of hnviNg innate leadership qualities, along -!;he riiht path and who .would finally emerge as leadors in their respective spheres and professions and contribute their talents and e~pP1'tise ·bowards national development.

'l'he theme of this year's Pre-U Seminar which is "Leadership in the Future" is . not only apt but tir.1oly. It speo.ks well of tho present

-l0adership that you arc encouraged to di scuss tho subject of leadership in the future because by so doing you will bo able to chart better your course for the years ahead. Today's lo~dcrs began to tackla the probleos they were faced with 20 years ago. · 'Ihe social and economic conditions during that time were different. vlha-J; we see in the Singapore of today are rcnlly the fruits of the planning, policies and .actions which were implemented over this 20-ycar period. The present leadership must give

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way to n9w l eader s.not only in th~ politica l fiQld but a l~o in

bus ines s , commerce , civil service, trade unions I the arts I etc.

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l;,eaders of tho future Singapore will generally be better

oducnt od, multi-lingual as the people of Singapore become increasingly

pilingual. They will be the products of tho ed~cation system initiated

in tho 1960s to produce t echnocrats, economis t s , accountants,

engineers to fit into an increasingly industrialised economy. This

new breed of better educated ci tizons would have had better f9rmal

education c)Jld tho b enefits from an exposure to tho mnss medin,

t e l evi s ion, audio-visual aids. They would share a broader perspective

of tho problems o.nd 11aeil:8 r e l a t ed to development. Loaders of tho

future are a lso mo'r e fortunate because of affluent condi i;ions they . would have boon a ccustomed to. They would have acquired more

experi ence by boing more widely trnvoll ed. Many ,·rould have boon

educated in fore i gn ins titutions of higher lea rning and having boen

expocrnd t o, modern forei gn envi ronment s in J;,'uroiJo1 the United Sta t es

of ~merica , Canada and J apan . For example, tho urban development

progr amme we soc a round us is a reflection of the efforts of some of

tho new l oade r s who h ad t aken over control of problems r e l a ted to

Sin6apore' :::i urban development. A look a t th e decision makers in the

URA (Urban Renewa l Authority) l;lill show tha t c;l,l mos t all of them h ad

their training in architecture, city planning, urban sociology, etc

in instituti ons of highe r lea rning abroad. Others in tho civil

service have gone through the advanced management courses in Harvard

University.

Yet, while thi s trend ho.s beon sot successfully, the problem '

li es with the now or future l 0ador s in tho politica l field. Tho pr esent

net in the 3_,oli ti cal leadership omorgcd in tho l ate 40s and oarly 50s.

They were thrown into tho frny of the politics of anti-colonia lism

a nd indo;_)ondenco. They possessed hi..g~1 ideals. They were self-made and

possossod natural inclinE'.tion to involve themselves in the strugglo for

inde·)endonce. In thi s sense anti-colonialism was their motivation.

Thay were inspired by tho spirit of nationalism mc'.l!lifested in other

colonial territories. They were a t the same time imbibed with cert ain

political philosophies which he l ped to prope l the n~tionalist ap~ronch.

In tho movement towo.rds indei,cndence it CM be said that they dealt

with colonia lisrp and communism by trial and error a s they pi oneered

into the future, some risk i ng their careers and others their lives.

They h2.d to l earn thinf.S tho hnrd way~ In addition to thoir self-appointed • .. :. .. , • .. '

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ambition of wanting to lead was the equally important factor of tho seriousness and sense of purpose they possessed., .

By contra.st the now .leaders of tomorrow· to be found in our nidst were offered opportunities to be groomed and to be exposed to the test of public· office. This is clearl~ a more gentle process. The .new 1Gad0rs of the future are even shown tho possible claneors a.head of them in order that they can .av.oid tho figurative booby traps and clap traps which might be hidden in their path. They are in many wa;rs like. officer cadets in a political acade;imy boine trained in both tho th~ory and pr actice of political warfnre, a training thG! old hiaders had to provide for themselves. Tho que:stion is whether the now leaders will bo able to s tand up ~dth the test of mooting not only tho probl ems of. development but also tho trials and t~ibula tions of fightine t onncious adversaries who arc inspired by an ideology which teaches them that victory is 'inevitable. Will the future l oaders of Singapore be ablo to possess tho stamina of . tho v0ry leaders who have · succeoded in defoati.r.1{{ those adversaries in the series of battles t .hoy have fought. Tho tenacity and stamina. of the old leaders can perhc.1.1)s be best se9n in the f ac"j; that they helped to build the Sineapore of today - modern, dynamic, politically stable and economically successful.

The now generation of leaders will inherit all what tho present l eadership hns achieved in Singa:;;:>ore in the h.st 20 years ('and their achievements everybody knows i s considerable)~ Those will bo identified o..s Sing2.pcro 's nchievor.1onts. In turn ns proud Sine;,.poroo.ns we i~lentify th~m as our own achievements. The present government has become, among us, synofl~ou::t with Si!lf,e.pore. · This is understandnble n.nd inevitable

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because the governr.ient has b8en in office for almost 20 .yoarse ,Howovor, had the present l eo..dership W3sted thc ,yen~s they were in office, as happened in many developine countries, they would either have been vot ed out of office or if this wns not possible they would have been forcibly thrown out of 01'fice.

Singapore's success story has to a largo part been attributed to our economic achi evements. However, we do not live in isolation

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from tho rest of the world and our continued economic gro¥th will be de~cndent on external changes and conditions. Oil prices, ~rrency

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fluctuations and growing protectionism are important f ~ctors and could pose as possible impediment s to furth er erowth and development. Equally vital is the international political order. As students and l eaders of tomorrow you must understand int ernational politics and internatiom1l economics and how they affect our policies. In the region it~elf , conflict situations such a.a th~t between C.::nbodia and Vi etnam, and, China and Vietnam could l ead to instability. Further afield the Sino-Soviet rivalry would have repercussions on smaller countries such as Singapore. The funerican role in this region which has experienced a transformation would also determine r egional security and peace.

The challenge to .our new loaders is whether they are prepnred not only to defend the heritage of economic achievement and ·success from the generation of old leaders but to pursue whore the l att er have left. This co.lls for aa keen sense of commitment to Singapore. While our educational facilities and economic development have gener ally, provided for bett er living conditions nnd employment opportunities, it must be le:fft'- to tMo new ·l eaders to provi de for themselves the innate quo.li ties· and strength of char act er to t ake up the challenge . There can be: no justificati9n for quitt ers - those who f ee l that with their money .:ind their degree~, they could migrate t o what they think are safer places.

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