Governance System in Singapore

It is agreeable to a certain extent that having visionary leadership is the most important criteria for good governance. As for the government to be forward-looking is of high importance but without the other principles of good governance, the country would not be able to maintain stability and flourish.

The visionary leadership is crucial for the nation survival in the world; the principle of “Anticipate change and stay relevant” highlights the visionary leadership. Under this principle, it helps to ensure that the decisions made by the governance are forward-looking. For example, the Singaporean government helps to ensure self-sufficiency in the aspect of water supply by introducing NEWater and by desalination of seawater. This would help Singapore to be self-sufficient when the water agreements with Malaysia end in 2011 and 2061. Moreover, the government decided to construct two integrated resorts as the tourism sector is faced with much competition from potential rivals from developing countries like China and India. Therefore, having a forward-looking attitude will allow Singapore to be brought to a much higher level of development. Therefore, this shows that visionary leadership is an important criterion for good governance.

However, other than visionary leadership, other factors including “leadership is key” as a form of governance has also played a significant role in contributing to the good governance system of Singapore today. “Leadership is Key” chooses honest and capable leader to achieve stability in the government and making the right decisions for the country. These leaders must have moral courage and integrity to do what is right and not popular with the people. Potential leaders are specially selected and groomed. These leaders are also selected based on talent, ability and good character. This allows us to maintain high valued quality such as honesty among leaders of Singapore and leaders will be incorruptible so as to maintain confidence and respect of the common folks. Therefore, having this mindset also allows good governance in Singapore.

In addition, there is also the guiding principle of “Reward for Work” and “Work for Reward”. Meritocracy is being practiced that rewards hard work and talent. People are encouraged to do well and they are rewarded based on their abilities and hard work. For example, students are rewarded the “Edusave Scholarship” for doing well in their studies and Co-Curricular Activities (CCA). Meritocracy gives everybody in the society an equal opportunity to achieve their best and be rewarded for their best performance regardless of race, religion and socio-economic background. Furthermore, surplus from Singapore’s growth has also been shared among all Singaporeans as a form of reward for hard work through the progress package. This shows that “Reward for Work” and “Work for Reward” is also an important criterion to gain support and respect from the people and thus improving governance in Singapore.

Having a stake for everyone, opportunities for all is also an important criterion for governance as well. This includes having a say in decision-making develops in people a greater sense of belonging to the country. More opportunities have been created to involve the people in decision-making. For example, in 2004, the government consulted the people on the issue of having a casino as part of the Integrated Resort. During the feedback sessions, many people voiced their support and concerns about the governments’ proposals.

Policy decisions are made to serve people the needs of the nation. These decisions may change to suit the needs of the people and the nation over time. Thus by giving the citizens a chance to speak and express their ideas, the policies could be made to benefit the people to the fullest, increasing its efficiency.

Thus it is agreeable to a certain extent that having visionary leadership is the most important criteria for Singapore. In fact all the above mentioned criterions are equally important in ensuring governance is efficient for Singapore, and all these principles must be implemented concurrently for Singapore’s government to be perfect.