PM Lee on nepotism

[TangoElite]

PM Lee on nepotism

 

VETERAN television journalist Charlie Rose had an exchange with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong over the way the Singapore leadership dealt with insinuations of nepotism.

 

He also asked Mr Lee about the legacy of his father, and the biggest lesson the Minister Mentor has taught him.

 

Excerpts from the interview:

 

 

Your father is enormously respected around the world. You are his son. Your wife is important in Singapore as a business person, correct?

 

I'm not sure you'll call her a business person. She's an employee, but you can call her what you want.

 

 

You seem to be sensitive to the issue of what's called nepotism.

 

We are very sensitive.

 

 

Tell me about this sensitivity.

 

The whole of our system is founded on a basic concept of meritocracy. You are where you are because you are the best man for the job, and not because of your connections or your parents or your relatives.

 

And if anybody doubts that I as Prime Minister am here not because I'm the best man for the job but because my father fixed it, or that my wife runs Temasek because I put her there and not because she's the best woman for the job, then my entire credibility and moral authority is destroyed because I'm not fit to be where I am.

 

And it is a fundamental issue of fitness to govern.

 

First, you must have the moral right, then you can make the right decisions. It's a basic Confucian precept.

 

Only when you have the moral right then can you govern and make the country right. In Singapore, people expect that. And if there's any doubt that this is so, and people believe that I'm there because my father fixed it, or the whole system is just make-believe, then the system would come down.

 

It's not tenable. If it's true, it'd better be proven and it better be kicked out. If it's not true, it'd better also be proven to be not true and the matter put to rest.

 

 

So if some journalist writes about nepotism and you think it's not true...

 

Well, then we sue him, as we did recently.

 

 

Why?

 

Well, we raised the matter with the International Herald Tribune, and they paid damages and apologised and didn't go to court. They could have gone to court.

 

 

But you thought what was written in the IHT would somehow attack the moral fibre of your trust with the people you govern.

 

Yes of course. They compare... They put us in the same list as Kim Jong Il.

 

 

Because he inherited his power from his father.

 

Yes indeed. And in a similar way.

 

 

And you say we won't stand for that because it goes to the essence of our moral authority to govern.

 

Yes, and in this case, in fact, the same journalist and the same newspaper had made the same allegations and apologised and paid damages, and promised never to do it again. And they did it again.

 

 

Are you also anxious to send a signal that 'You don't dare write about nepotism in Singapore because the Singaporeans would sue you'?

 

No. The signal we want to send is that if you want to make an allegation, make sure it is true, and be prepared to prove it.

 

We were prepared, when we sued them, to go to court, give evidence, enter the witness box and be cross-examined under oath.

 

And they can bring their lawyers and demolish us and prove that what they said is true. What more can you ask?

 

 

What's the legacy of your dad?

 

He made a state where there was none, a country which would become a nation, which nobody believed could succeed. And he made a system which can run without him and will endure beyond him.

 

 

What's the most important lesson he's taught you?

 

Never say die, however desperate the situation. If you think hard enough, you will find the resource and you will find a way out of it. And don't forget where you came from. It could all be very different.

 

 

 

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_515237.html

[TangoElite]

have they ever went to court with other parties before and proved that there indeed wasnt any nepotism?

[Tonyhawk]

court? do singapore courts count?

[Hub_n_mona]

court? do singapore courts count?

 

these are the only courts that count

[Kingcopa]

yawn yawn.

[Darryn]

The concept of nepotism and success is a very touchy one across the world, with every industry and every family and in every country.

 

What I see as a problem, is that all too often it is hard to separate nepotism from the advantages that are naturally occuring from growing up in a talented, powerful and connected family.

 

As an example. If my father is a highly successful businessman, naturally as I am growing up I am going to be surrounded by, exposed to and interacting with his circle of friends. They are going to know me, some of them may well mentor me, tutor me or offer me tips for my school projects etc (this happens in EVERY family, didn't you tap on your parent's circle of friends when you were young?). Becuase of the quality of these people, I am quite naturally going to be "better" than the "kampung boy" that doesn't get access to these sorts of resources. This is natural and there is NOTHING you can (or should) do to stop it.

 

Now let's say I graduate and decide to go into politics - I already have a network that I can tap on for advice, introductions, help, or whatever. My "family friends" can open doors for me - as all family friends can do. Of course my personality, integrity and intellect must still stand up to their scrutiny.

 

The advantage that I have though is in getting subjected to this scrutiny in the first place - there may well be (and actually probably is) another person my age, equally talented, hard working, forward thinking that will never get the opportunity to be scrutinised - simply because he doesn't know the right people, or have the right introductions made. This is not nepotism, it is simply the result of natural family networking - its just that the "network" I have access to has that sort of power.

 

Now if you take this sort of situation and apply it to PM Lee, is it nepotism? His rise is due to his own talent and skills - I have no doubt about that. I also have no doubt that part of his success is due to the network that he had access to, the ideas and people that he was exposed to when he was young and having the 'advantage" of getting in front of the right people to have his talents scrutinised.

 

Paraphrasing a few different people "If you want to succeed, surround yourself with successful people". Well since he was a youngster, Lee Hsien Loong has been surrouinded by powerful, successful and important people. is there anything wrong with this? NO. Should we pretend that it was definitely an advantage he had that others didn't? Also NO. perhaps the nearest analogy that springs to my mind would be the Kennedy dynasty....

[Ronnchee]

Court Mega Store counts ?

[Kingcopa]

PM Lee on nepotism

 

 

 

Tell me about this sensitivity.

 

The whole of our system is founded on a basic concept of meritocracy. You are where you are because you are the best man for the job, and not because of your connections or your parents or your relatives.

 

And if anybody doubts that I as Prime Minister am here not because I'm the best man for the job but because my father fixed it, or that my wife runs Temasek because I put her there and not because she's the best woman for the job, then my entire credibility and moral authority is destroyed because I'm not fit to be where I am.

And it is a fundamental issue of fitness to govern.

 

 

 

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_515237.html

 

 

 

Singapore so pathetic huh? only so few competent people

[Zyrofillica]

i dun care about nepotism. just dun let everyone else suffer can already. our STI shoot above 3000, growth 11%? anyone wanna guess 2010 payrise for our ministars who has saved us all? BOOMZ i tell u.

[Kelpie]

Some people are "naturally" more successful than others simply because of the family background. Some people who have such benefits/ privilege often like to deny that their success have nothing to do with their background .

 

I mean if you are indeed luckier then just admit so. Just do a better job than your boss (father). Most of the time, some simply can't measure up to their predecessors in whatever they do.

 

Regards,

[Blackyv]

i dun care about nepotism. just dun let everyone else suffer can already. our STI shoot above 3000, growth 11%? anyone wanna guess 2010 payrise for our ministars who has saved us all? BOOMZ i tell u.

 

that's what i told my wife the other day... expecting their pay rise this year with all those "wow" news recently ...........

 

[The_Bear]

Paris Hilton, anyone?

[Pufferfish1]

erection coming

[Acemundo]

makes me remember weeks back, when someone speculated that the young chap driving the mercs SLK must have a rich dad, someone got too sensitive and start blasting the someone for being biased etc. to me, that is a reasonable, educated guess, so there's no need to label someone biased just because he made an educated guess

 

whenever reference (however remote) is made to our own situation, humans tend to get overly sensitive and react.

[Tigerwoods]

Go to www.yeocheowtong.com and see the connections of all the important people at the top of the biggest companies , and GOV offices of Singapore

If anyone is smart enough to plot the flowchart, they are all there. But then again,..

There is no such thing as Nepotism in Singapore. Everyone there are the best men for the job.

one has the SADIM touch !

[Beehive3783]

all wayang talk.. next please..

[Ahtong]

While I don't disagree with your analysis, I want to point out that the concept of family business runs very strong in Asian societies. It is expected, even among outsiders, for the eldest son to take over his father's enterprise.

 

So while LHL is a very capable person in his own right and definately senior management material, there is a question of whether his peers within Team Thunder had been influenced (or pressured) by family business expectations into pushing him as far as he went. There is also the question of whether the son is truly doing the job where his heart is. Sad to say, our leader is quite lacking in charisma. While he might be very brainy, he is not someone I would follow in a bayonet charge.

 

 

[Seaweed]

I think we are more or less able to be certain that should Situation "A" did not happened...Situation "B" would most likely not occur...I saying most likely not but not impossible....so the link is obvious...as to best man fitted for the job...unless I have the chance to try then I can tell....But seem that it is a scenario that all "best" people are link in some ways. It is like a eggs all in one basket kind of situation....

 

Or is it like what someone say...I don't know exactly what he say...but it is like dragon produce dragon...pheonix produce pheonix...."chicken produce chicken" theory....I am not really into this theory....

 

Some people are not really cannot make it lar....but we got to give them some hint once in while so that they don't keep thinking we cannot survive without them....