Wanted: Singapore’s Fourth PM.
The hunt is on. The hounds are braying. But can the prized hare be caught?
Right now, he is probably boarding the corporate jet, one wife, two kids and 4As in tow, winging his way to a plum posting in Shanghai, New York, or London.
Or he is poring over policy papers, or medical research books, or legal briefs, secluded in an office with a big window. Politics is far from his mind.
Wherever he is, it will not be an easy search for Singapore's fourth prime minister.
The weight of the search falls on the shoulders of Dr Ng Eng Hen.
He is coordinating the ruling People's Action Party's (PAP) recruitment efforts for the next General Election, due to be held by 2011.
While his task is not to find the next PM per se, he has to put together a team of new MPs. From past precedent, the number will be in the 20-25 range.
From that group will have to emerge future ministers, who will then have to 'decide among themselves who is primus inter pares - first among equals', as Dr Ng puts it.
This political manhunt is 'the top-most priority' for the PAP, he adds.
The party's recruitment process thus far has relied on its network of contacts. The net is cast wide, covering the civil service, the corporate sector, and professions such as law, banking and medicine.
The promising ones are then put through tea sessions, interviews, and even psychological tests.
Election after election, this process has unearthed hundreds of MPs, some of whom have become top ministers.
What makes the latest search different is the need to find someone who can become PM after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong retires. Incumbent ministers are mostly around the same age as PM Lee or even older.
Another factor is the rapidly changing nature of the electorate. As MP Indranee Rajah puts it, the next PM must be 'a man of his time', attuned to a generation that is better educated, more well-travelled, more demanding.
So will the PAP's recruitment process have to be refined? What assumptions might have to be re-examined?
Key attributes
Some fundamentals are set in stone. Any PAP candidate, says Dr Ng, will have to be 'trustworthy, capable and caring'.
'These are non-negotiable,' he says. 'If you don't have these, you're not on the slate.'
Another attribute critical for the next PM: He will need to be a 'global citizen'.
Whether it is about inflation, the price of rice or free-trade agreements, Singapore is so 'globally linked that its leaders need to be internationally exposed and globally aware', says Dr Ng, who is the Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence. 'That will become increasingly important.'
The next generation of voters
That generation and those leaders from within that generation are going to be substantially different from previous generations. If I take someone born in 1970, he wouldn't have experienced the angst of founding Singapore. His mental images are not of Bukit Ho Swee, Singapore Improvement Trust flats, the Green Bus company, the Chinese Middle School riots.
He will belong to the digital age, an age of globalisation and climate change. In terms of educational qualities alone, almost half currently get a university degree. In 20 years' time, it may be 60, even 70 per cent.
Whether we like it or not, the electorate does give a premium to its leaders being intellectually able. It doesn't mean that somebody without academic qualifications cannot rise. But it does mean that intellectually, he has to command respect. That's just an observation, not a value judgment.
Whether the party is looking outside its traditional fishing grounds - beyond the SAF, the civil service and the usual professions - for candidates
Our aim is to be comprehensive. We know what we are looking for and we want to cast our nets very wide. We are not so concerned which pond the person is swimming in.
How do we know that we are not missing somebody who could add value to the Government as a minister or as an MP? Obviously, if you are a quiet worker who doesn't attract any attention, then yes, we might miss you. But Singapore is not very big. I think those people who have enough substance to be noticed do get recommended.
Why the focus is on those in their 30s and early 40s
Self-renewal is vital. You need to constantly refresh not only the MPs but also, from the MPs, the Cabinet.
You also need a lot of energy to lead. You can have a crisis, so energy is important.
You need to strike a balance (between the old and the young).
I don't think you want to choose by formula. But neither do you want a situation where you don't have younger blood in the Cabinet.
The PM's remark that 'these are not revolutionary times' and so people are not stepping out to enter politics
We ought to celebrate the fact that in Singapore, we don't have mass policies to correct, we don't have failed education systems, we don't have brown-outs, we don't have natural calamities that we have to respond to ever so often.
If your question is, do I wish for these to be revolutionary times, I say well, thank goodness, I don't. That's my first reaction.
My second reaction is that really, Singaporeans are also being very sensible. They are not campaigning vigorously against certain things because, as the PM says, they feel it's safe enough to leave it to somebody else to run the country.
If there is corruption, incompetence or negligence, I believe there are Singaporeans who will rise to the challenge and say, well, I'm going to take over.
So it's not political apathy. It is really (them) saying, well, I can contribute to the economic good, and I'm also helping out in many, many groups.
For these, we sometimes prevail upon them and say, look, we think that there need to be leaders and if you don't do it, somebody else could be doing it but he may not be as capable as you are.
So far, I think we have been able to maintain our standard of governance.
Will there come a time when Singaporeans just don't care? My sense is not.
I don't think it's quite true that Singaporeans are non-activists. If you remember the last tsunami off Aceh, many Singaporeans went on their own even before the Government did.
Whether the Government becoming more open politically will encourage Singaporeans to be more engaged in political affairs
We are open. You can form political parties. Political parties exist. You can go on the Net, say whatever you want to say; of course, within the constraints in terms of racial aspects and other aspects.
I know of many who faithfully and diligently help out in social groups, charities, school boards, etc. They spend many hours toiling with passion. But the press does not always highlight their efforts, perhaps because they think they are not newsworthy. But are they politically apathetic?
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