SINGAPORE \u2013 Across Lee Hsien Loong\u2019s two-decade premiership<\/span><\/a>, Singapore became a wealthier country with a stronger and more diversified economy, despite having to weather several major crises.<\/p>\n Yet, his defining achievement may well be how the city state built a more comprehensive social safety net between 2004 and 2024, according to the editors of a new book launched on Sept 8 on Lee\u2019s tenure as Singapore\u2019s third prime minister.<\/p>\n Titled Lee Hsien Loong And Singapore, the 440-page publication brings together 23 essays from Singapore\u2019s leading thinkers and policy practitioners.<\/p>\n The book from the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) is edited by IPS senior research fellow Gillian Koh, former Opinion editor of The Straits Times Chua Mui Hoong, and Nominated MP Terence Ho, who is also executive director and associate professor (practice) at the Institute for Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences.<\/p>\n Contributors include former Monetary Authority of Singapore managing director Ravi Menon, Professor Tommy Koh, Professor Chan Heng Chee and Manu Bhaskaran, an economist and expert on regional politics and geopolitics.<\/p>\n Copies of Lee Hsien Loong And Singapore on display during the book\u2019s launch on Sept 8.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: JASEL POH<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Chua said the biggest change in Singapore by 2024 was how people felt about dealing with the vicissitudes of life compared with in 2004, when the Republic\u2019s social safety net covered largely only the very old or sick.<\/p>\n This was a direct result of changes in social policy brought about by Lee and his government, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile costs of living remain a perennial concern, the broadening of the social support structure means families are better able to access quality pre-school, healthcare and eldercare without feeling crippled financially,\u201d she said, adding that this extended beyond family finances to shape people\u2019s sense of safety and of home.<\/p>\n Ho noted that new levers such as the Workfare Income Supplement, Silver Support, the GST Voucher scheme, universal health and long-term care insurance, and the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme<\/span><\/a> meant Singapore\u2019s social support system was no longer the minimalist, residual model it was when Lee took over in 2004.<\/p>\n Adaptive leadership \u2013 the willingness to find new ways of doing things when circumstances change \u2013 was another key theme across the various policy areas covered in the book, said lead editor Koh.<\/p>\n That adaptability showed up in the SkillsFuture movement and the Progressive Wage Model<\/span><\/a> to keep Singaporeans employable, new laws addressing the risks of social media, and expanded powers for Non-Constituency MPs to preserve diversity of views in Parliament, noted the book\u2019s editors.<\/p>\n Koh also highlighted Lee\u2019s resolution of longstanding bilateral issues with Indonesia and Malaysia as one of his major policy successes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMr Lee\u2019s approach was not for Singapore to state a position and then to stick to its guns no matter what. Instead, there was negotiation, even reference to international law and adjudication, but in the end, he and his Malaysian and Indonesian counterparts were able to achieve win-win outcomes,\u201d she said, adding that this opened new areas of cooperation between Singapore and its closest neighbours.<\/p>\n Most of the book\u2019s contributors acknowledged Lee\u2019s significant achievements across economic management, foreign policy and diplomacy, and environmental and social policy, the editors said.<\/p>\n Singapore\u2019s persistently low total fertility rate<\/span><\/a> was flagged as one of Lee\u2019s \u201cunfinished businesses\u201d for his successor, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.<\/p>\n Sociologist Paulin Tay Straughan wrote that this requires \u201ca cultural reimagining of what it means to be a good parent, what constitutes success, and how we value diverse pathways in life\u201d.<\/p>\n Ho said PM Wong will also have to grapple with artificial intelligence\u2019s implications for jobs, fair opportunity and social mobility, and what that means for Singapore\u2019s social compact.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bhaskaran, while pointing to an impressive record of economic growth, highlighted ongoing challenges like Singapore\u2019s high-cost structure, low total factor productivity, heavy reliance on foreign workers, and a weak equity market.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lee Hsien Loong\u2019s defining achievement may well be how the city state built a more comprehensive social safety net between 2004 and 2024, according to the editors of the new book.<\/p>\n PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The editors said that while specific policies from the Lee era may need revision, his government\u2019s instinct to adapt will matter even more in an age of uncertainty, with geopolitics in flux and where strategies for economic development and technological innovation are constantly being tested by factors such as AI.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of all, (the essays) speak of the adaptive governance that Mr Lee, his cohorts of political leaders and civil servants exemplified in those years,\u201d said Koh.<\/p>\n \u201cThat said, fresh thinking by the current administration is needed to address challenges such as online social harms, scams, the low fertility rate, the impact of AI on jobs, wealth inequality, social mobility and more,\u201d Ho said.<\/p>\n The editors hope the book will whet readers\u2019 appetite to learn and research more on the topic.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope that this book sparks discussion, debate and disagreement, and that future scholars and writers will offer other, well-researched, nuanced, and similarly considered, analyses of the Lee Hsien Loong years,\u201d they said. \u201cIt is not the final word by any means on the challenges, impact and legacy of his leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Across Lee Hsien Loong\u2019s two-decade premiership, Singapore became a wealthier country with a stronger and more diversified economy, despite having to weather several…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":83325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/83325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
Unfinished business<\/h2>\n
<\/picture><\/div>
\n
\n
Read Full Article At Source <\/a>
\n