Limits in copying S'pore's experience

CHINA too has its version of the Meet-the-People session – something that its officials picked up from Singapore.

But unlike Singapore, where the Prime Minister himself meets his constituents to know their problems first hand, only lower- ranked cadres in China have to meet the people and report to the leaders.

This is because of the sheer size of the country, said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, citing this example yesterday to show the limits that China officials face in trying to implement Singapore's policies and practices back home.

The two key constraints are the country's size and its culture, said MM Lee, speaking during a dialogue marking the second anniversary of networking group Business China.

What they can do is to extract the essence of what they pick up here and adapt them for the Chinese system, he added.

Dialogue moderator Robin Hu, senior executive vice-president of Chinese newspapers and newspaper services at Singapore Press Holdings, had asked him if Singapore's bilingual education policy and political system are some of the areas that China would be keen to emulate.

Mr Lee said that the Chinese have been studying Singapore for several years, sending many teams of officials, at different levels of government, to attend courses at, for example, the National University of Singapore, the Nanyang Technological University, and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

To illustrate one lesson the Chinese learnt, he said: "They discover that the People's Action Party (PAP) has only a small office in Bedok. But everywhere they go, they see the PAP – in the RCs (residents' committees), CCCs (citizens' consultative committees), and the CCs (community clubs)."

China's culture is another factor making it difficult for them to adopt the Singapore way. For example, Singapore ministers drive their own cars. But China's political leaders could lose the respect of the people if they follow suit, said Mr Lee.

Also, in Singapore, "you can throw acid at Seng Han Thong", but in China, "you won't even be able to get close" to the politician. Mr Seng, MP for Yio Chu Kang, was attacked by a mentally ill resident in January.

Singapore's culture of ensuring that politicians are accessible to the people "is a risk we take", he said, but it also means "we have connection with the people, which is a very big plus".

"It's not just making speeches and giving everyone a home or a good job, it's the constant relationship that you maintain."

As for Singapore's bilingual policy, he said China would find it hard to replicate it. Getting the entire Chinese population to learn English, the way Singapore got its ethnic Chinese population to learn Mandarin, would be difficult. "They don't have the environment, we have it," he said.

Courtesy of The Straits Times, 30 December 2009