<![CDATA[Singapore's next challenge is to defy the odds of history: 4G leaders]>

Two of Singapore's fourth-generation leaders on Monday rallied Singaporeans to defy the odds of history, sketching their visions for a future of progress by ensuring differences did not tear the country apart.

Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said his vision was for Singapore to endure as a nation, adding that he and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat shared a wish for Singaporeans to build the Singapore they want " that the country cannot just depend on "a few of us".

In an impassioned end to his dialogue session at a conference on politics, Chan, 50, said: "What's my vision for Singapore? Defy the odds of history, show the world how a small city state without natural resources, without a common ancestry can come together, add value to the world, contribute to the world and bring forth people with a common set of values and visions."

Heng, 58, who spoke earlier in the day, said leaders from the ruling People's Action Party would "make every effort to build a future of progress for Singaporeans in the coming decades" and urged the country to remain united against the backdrop of other nations seeing their political consensus fracture.

"The key imperative for our politics should be to manage our differences, expand our common purpose to engender a greater sense of 'we', and ensure that society can progress as one " together," Heng said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat. Photo: Jacky Ho for the IPS alt=Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat. Photo: Jacky Ho for the IPS

Chan said it was important to think beyond the current generation. "[It] is also about our stewardship to leave behind something better for the next generation just as the previous generation has left us with what we have today. That every generation of Singaporeans will not fear because they will start from a higher platform to scale a higher peak, that every generation will lend our shoulders to the next to stand taller and see further," he said to applause from the audience of 1,120, made up of policymakers, academics, business leaders, students and civil society.

Both men form the core of Singapore's 4G leaders, with Heng expected to become the next prime minister. The men were speaking at state-funded research centre the Institute of Policy Studies' annual conference. On the theme of politics, the event comes as Singapore awaits a defining election that will herald a transition from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to the next generation of leaders. The poll is expected to be called as early as April this year and not later than April 2021.

Yet, even as the ruling People's Action Party has been in power for 61 years, making it the world's longest-serving ruling party in non communist countries, panellists at the conference discussed if its dominance would hold.

Singapore: heading for an election. Photo: Shutterstock alt=Singapore: heading for an election. Photo: Shutterstock

The founding fathers of the PAP had set a template for good governance in Singapore with the country embracing values of meritocracy, non-corruptibility, multiculturalism and ethnic equality, said Lam Peng Er, senior research fellow at the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore. But whether the party remains in power depends on factors including: whether its control of political narratives and facts is effective, how it manages employment and inequality, and if the party leadership remains united after Prime Minister Lee steps down.

"Can PAP afford a team B without tearing itself apart?" he said. "Can the PAP's governance evolve from a small elite circle to greater political participation and transparency in governance?"

The South China Morning Post's deputy executive editor Zuraidah Ibrahim, who recently wrote a book tracing the development of the political opposition in Singapore, said the opposition did not see itself as a government in waiting but as a check on the PAP " a fact voters in Singapore accept.

"We have seen the opposition make surges that spark speculation about whether we are on track to a 1.5-party system; only to have the electorate course correct and vote more conservatively in the following election," she said. "Clearly, the electorate wants some opposition. But either too much or too little makes the public nervous."

In 2011, the PAP scored its worst showing since independence in 1965 when citizens were unhappy about immigration, housing and transport issues. The 60.1 per cent vote share saw Lee apologising to the electorate and policies that later shifted towards the left. In 2015, the vote share increased to 69.9 per cent.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Photo: AFP alt=Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Photo: AFP

Lam attributed the positive swing to 2015 being Singapore's jubilee year and also when founding father Lee Kuan Yew died. "It brought the nation together, that's not going to be repeated in 2020," he said.

Former diplomat Bilahari Kausikan, who is also chairman of the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore, said the PAP's dominance had let it address long-term issues. For example, Lee had in August said the government would spend S$100 billion over 100 years to combat climate change. Calling that an audacious announcement, Bilahari said: "It is only because we have a fairly stable political system that we can boldly say we're going to spend S$100 billion over the next 100 years."

Comparisons to Hong Kong, roiled by anti government protests for more than six months, also came up during the dialogue sessions at the conference. Experts said while both were British colonies with Chinese forming the majority of the population, there was one key difference: the ability to vote.

"Hongkongers do not have the prerogative of Singaporeans. In Singapore, if you're really alienated, if you're really angry you can throw out the PAP team, which was the case previously in Aljunied," said Lam, referring to the 2011 election when PAP lost six seats to an opposition party.

Pointing out that a "perfect storm of interlocking factors" had fuelled the protests, Zuraidah said Singaporeans would be "underselling a basic competency of our system if we think such a scenario could pan out here".

"I disagree with people who say that if Hong Kong style protests happened in Singapore, Singapore would fail. I think if Hong Kong style protests happened in Singapore, it is the result of Singapore's failure, not the cause."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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