SINGAPORE: Dave Lee, the full-time National Serviceman who died on Monday after suffering from heat injuries, was a “very good boy” who always did his best, his mother Jasmine Yeo told the media on Wednesday (May 2).

“He is really a very good boy. He is always very respectful. He will put in effort to help the family whenever he can,” Mdm Yeo said at a press conference held beside her son’s wake at the void deck of the family’s Ivory Heights condominium in Jurong East.

On what she remembers most about her 19-year-old son, she said it’s the hugs and kisses that he gave whenever he reached home and before he left for camp.

“To a mother, it’s the way we held hands when we go shopping, something that we will never forget”, she said. 

The family made the decision on Friday to donate his organs and said that it’s because “we really want him to contribute his best at his last moments”. The family was able to donate his cornea, and they expressed their hope that the recipient will “continue to see the world with Dave”. 

The family declined to comment on the events that led up to his death, saying that they would like to focus on “settling his send-off” first. 

Pte Lee died on Monday, almost two weeks after he was hospitalised with “signs of heat injury” upon completing an 8km fast march on the morning of Apr 18. 

He was taken to Bedok Camp’s medical centre and later admitted to Changi General Hospital where he was warded in the Intensive Care Unit. However, his condition worsened, said the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) shortly after his death. 

As with all training-related deaths, an independent Committee of Inquiry (COI) will be convened to investigate the incident.

“Should there be training safety violations, the personnel responsible will be held accountable,” said Army Chief of Staff, General Staff, BG Siew Kum Wong on Tuesday.

Lee enlisted in the army on Jan 5 and graduated from Basic Military Training in March, according to photos and videos posted on Facebook by his mother.

He will be accorded a military funeral and posthumous recognition of the rank of Corporal First Class. The funeral will take place on Saturday.

Mdm Yeo said: “(The) military send-off was our wish for Dave because I guess that is what he wanted very much.”

Asked if more could be done, beyond the military promotion and send-off, she said: “I can’t answer your question. What is enough when the boy is not making his way home?”

SINGAPORE: Singtel and Razer on Wednesday (May 2) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on electronic payments, including making their current systems interoperable, as well as e-sports and gaming-related services.

In a press release, both parties said the strategic collaboration covers three areas, with the first being e-payments. Singtel and Razer plan to enable the interoperability of their respective systems to “create a seamlessly integrated regional network”, subject to regulatory approvals.

The local telco had in March announced it intends to connect its Dash mobile wallet with its regional affiliates, starting with Thailand’s AIS from the middle of this year. This, it said, will link more than 50 million registered wallet users with more than a million merchant points across Asia.

As for Razer, it announced last month its intention to acquire MOL Global for S$81 million, with the latter’s online payment gateway used by major companies such as Lazada, Grab and Uniqlo. MOL handled more than US$1.1 billion of digital payments last year, the press release said.  

“The interoperability of both networks will create one of the largest connected e-payment networks in Southeast Asia,” it added. 

This latest move by Razer follows CEO Tan Min-Liang’s offer to roll out a unified e-payments system in Singapore to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last August, and the company’s subsequent proposal to make this a reality a few months later in October.

The press release cited findings by Euromonitor International, which forecasts that mobile payments in Southeast Asia is expected to be worth around US$32 billion by 2021, a tenfold increase from 2013 as smartphone penetration increases. 

BUILDING E-SPORTS CONTENT AND CULTURE

Besides e-payments, the two companies will also partner to “foster a vibrant e-sports ecosystem in Southeast Asia”. They plan to jointly organise activities such as regional invitational events and cultivate e-sports talents in the region, according to the press release.

As for gaming-related digital media and telecommunications services, they said they will look into developing products and services such as broadband plans, mobile services and e-sports content for customers. 

“Digital services from mobile payments to entertainment have become a big part of their lives, especially the millennials,” said Mr Arthur Lang, CEO of Singtel’s International group, in the press release.

“Our collaboration with Razer, which shares our vision on e-payments and e-sports, will help advance our goal to empower customers to spend seamlessly across borders and experience the thrill of e-sports.”

PC and mobile gaming is growing in Southeast Asia, with the number of PC online and mobile gamers projected to rise from 300 million in 2017 to more than 400 million by 2021, according to 2017 findings by market intelligence firm Niko Partners. 

SINGAPORE: A former senior bank executive charged with organising sex tours involving minors told potential customers about child sex in the Philippines, and asked for “young virgin girls” from the country through a contact on Skype, the State Court heard on the first day of his trial.

He also maintained an active account on a website that caters to deviant sexual practices and lifestyles.

Michael Frank Hartung, 47, a Singapore permanent resident from Germany, was “Lord Protector” on this portal. Going undercover with the alias “Darkthrone”, an officer from the Criminal Investigation Department contacted Hartung to request a trip for “young blood”, Deputy Public Prosecutor Marshall Lim said in his opening statement on Wednesday (May 2).

Hartung said he could make the arrangements, then met police officers by the aliases Paul and Frank in a bar in April 2016 in person to discuss the trip. During the meeting, he allegedly promoted child sex in the Philippines, the court heard. He did not get back to the officers after they discussed dates and prices.

This was not the first time Hartung met undercover police officers who had contacted him for the same purpose. 

In September 2015, he met two officers after one of them contacted him through an online messaging service. The officer, who also used an alias, asked for a trip so he could have sex with virgin girls “as young as possible”, the court heard. 

Hartung said he was able to plan such a trip. They met at the Starbucks branch in Raffles City. 

Then, he allegedly got in touch with a contact called “imelda.parado” on Skype to ask for sex from “young virgin girls” from the Philippines on the planned trip dates the next month, the court heard. His contact was not able to meet his requirements, and Hartung did not get back to the officers. 

The officers cannot be named due to a gag order. 

Hartung, who used to be a senior executive at the Deutsche Bank, was arrested in August 2016 after investigators seized obscene and uncensored films from his home at Simei Green condominium. Thirty-seven items were seized from his home, although a similar search at his workplace found nothing incriminating, the court heard. 

According to his LinkedIn profile, he spent more than two decades at Deutsche Bank, starting out as a relationship manager before rising to the post of vice-president of finance. He was charged last year.

If convicted of promoting commercial sex tours involving minors, Hartung could be jailed up to 10 years and fined. His trial will continue for the next two days. 

SINGAPORE: An e-bike rider who whizzed past an elderly pedestrian while beating a red light, then punched him even after he fell to the ground, was on Wednesday (May 2) sentenced to five weeks in jail.

Yue Kim Ming, 63, was riding his e-bike along Hougang Avenue 7 on May 18 last year at around 9.30pm at a speed of 30 to 40kmh, the court heard. The maximum speed for e-bikes by law is 25kmh. 

When Yue beat the red light at a traffic junction, he sounded his horn repeatedly at pedestrians Mr Kei Kwee Siang, 69, and his wife, who were crossing while the light was in their favour. 

Mr Kei was unable to move out of his way in time. While Yue was passing by, Mr Kei raised his hands in reflex in order to prevent the plastic bag he was holding from hitting the rider.

Yue then got off his e-bike and accused Mr Kei of hitting him. He punched Mr Kei on his face and chest, causing him to fall down, then continued hitting him while the elderly man was on the ground. Mr Kei tried to protect himself, and his wife tried to intervene, but Yue did not stop his assault.

Eventually, two passers-by helped Mr Kei. According to medical reports, he suffered injuries on his forehead, near his eye and pain in his upper chest.

The prosecution asked for a jail term of seven weeks, describing Yue’s attack as “persistent and violent”.

In mitigation, Yue’s lawyer said that his client had offered a letter of apology, to pay for medical bills, and also S$1,000 in compensation for the victim’s injuries. He said the compensation was rejected, and that the S$10,000 requested in medical fees were not related to the incident.

Yue could have been jailed up to two years and fined for hurting Mr Kei. He could have also been jailed a maximum of six months and fined up to S$2,500 for committing a rash act.

SINGAPORE: Payments service provider NETS on Wednesday (May 2) launched a new contactless CashCard that will be compatible with the new On-Board Units (OBUs) used for the upcoming satellite-based Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system. 

The new ERP system is expected to be operational by 2020, and the Land Transport Authority has said that the Government will foot the one-time cost for Singapore-registered vehicles to replace their existing second-generation In-Vehicle Units (IUs) with OBUs. 

In a media release, NETS said its new contactless CashCard can be used with existing second-generation IUs. It will also be compatible with the new OBUs when they are launched. 

Motorists can use the card to tap and pay for car park charges, and can also insert the card into their IUs to pay for ERP charges. 

They can also track transactions and sign up to top up their cards automatically with a Contactless CashCard mobile app, NETS added. 

NETS head of products and business development Alvin Seck said the CashCard has been synonymous with car park and ERP charges since it was launched in 1996. 

“We want to ensure that motorists continue to enjoy a seamless and swift payment experience at all car parks, regardless of the type of IU that they are using.” 

The new contactless CashCard retails for S$10, including S$5 in stored value, at all 7-Eleven, Cheers, Caltex and VICOM outlets. It can also be purchased from the NETS FlashPay website.

SINGAPORE: Technology is revolutionising the economy so rapidly that we can no longer predict what the jobs of the future will look like. 

In its 2016 study, The Future of Jobs Report, the World Economic Forum warned that, by 2020, over one-third of desired core skillsets for most occupations will include skills that are not considered crucial today. 

At the recent Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) 2018 Conference, Singapore Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills), Mr Ong Ye Kung, stressed the importance of ensuring that our students are proficient in the latest lingua franca of international commerce – digital literacy. 

This involves having both technical skills such as coding or data analytics, and soft skills like human ingenuity and resilience.

Knowing these demands and expectations, are we doing enough to equip our future workforce with the skills they need to thrive in the Digital Economy?

GETTING THE BALL ROLLING

Educational institutions here have made strides in incorporating technology-centric programmes into the formal curriculum. 

Under the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) Digital Maker Programme, primary and secondary school students are given pocket-sized codable computers for them to create problem-solving inventions. By meshing digital skills with the spirit of innovation, collaboration, and resilience, students learn to seamlessly use technology to solve everyday problems. 

These programmes are complemented by ad-hoc initiatives such as hackathons like the Government Technology Agency’s (GovTech) National Data Viz Video Challenge, which focuses on data analysis and visualisation rather than technology development. 

With the lower barriers to entry, students from non-STEM backgrounds were able to participate and flex their creative problem-solving skills. 

Similarly, future hackathons should look towards expanding the reach of tech-based challenges to attract participants from a more diverse set of backgrounds with different areas of specialties and skills.

While these programmes align with our nation’s push to foster digital literacy in our schools, they will not supply the talent we need to address our current or future tech talent shortage. 

A 2016 survey by the IMDA revealed that we will need a whopping 42,000 infocomm professionals between 2017 to 2019, while the upcoming Punggol Digital District alone will look to generate up to 28,000 digital economy jobs. 

Bearing in mind that our strict foreign manpower rules were not eased at Budget 2018, we will need to drastically multiply our digital education efforts to ensure our workforce has the relevant skills to fulfill our Digital Economy ambitions. 

BIGGER STRIDES NEEDED

We need to face the reality that the future will revolve around technology. Almost every industry will need to incorporate digital technologies to remain relevant.  

Traditional institutions like banks are expanding their FinTech capabilities and calling themselves tech companies. People sectors like Human Resources are relying increasingly on data analytics software to measure organisational productivity. 

To prepare students and our current workforce to meet future requirements, we need to help them acquire skills that are future-proof. 

Cloud has become the new normal, and with the rapid adoption of cloud technologies by almost all types of organizations – be it enterprises, small medium businesses, government agencies, startups, or education institutions – both students and working adults need to go beyond the three basic life skills of reading, writing and arithmetic.  

It is time to add on cloud computing knowledge as the fourth life skill.

Why not take a leaf out of Finland’s book, which takes a phenomenon-based learning approach to education by placing skills before subjects? 

Students are exposed to actual real-world and interdisciplinary topics, such as in application creation, rather than single subjects. By naturally crossing the boundaries between subjects and merging different subjects and themes, Finland has one of the world’s most forward-looking education systems. 

To do our bit, we created the Amazon Web Services Educate programme, which all of Singapore’s public tertiary institutions are part of. Whether it is to get a taste of cloud technology or to take a step towards becoming a full-fledged cloud professional, the programme caters to students from all backgrounds. 

Besides offering a comprehensive suite of online courses, open to anyone including students across all backgrounds, it has a Career Job Board to provide those on the programme with cloud-related job opportunities. 

​​​​​​​

Launched last year, the programme is already seeing promising results. Third-year Electronics and Electrical Engineering student from Singapore Polytechnic, Melvin Ryan, wanted to help his diabetic and non-English-speaking grandmother take her medication on time and avoid consuming the incorrect dosage. 

Using the AWS Educate programme, Melvin created a device that translates and reads aloud medical instructions from English to local dialects by scanning a code on the label. It also notifies caretakers via SMS in the event of an emergency. 

Melvin has transited from a cloud consumer to a builder of cloud applications that will impact the lives of people.

Solutions like these are what we want to see from our youth, as do they. The Deloitte Millennial Survey 2017 showed that millennials want to make an impact on issues they feel strongly for. 

Schools, governments and industry leaders need to collaborate closely to ensure that great ideas from young people like Melvin do not get lost or remain undiscovered. 

These digital natives need an environment that encourages the development of innovations – solutions that could potentially make a positive impact on organisations or communities globally. 

If we do not step up our efforts to nurture the students coming through our schools now, how can we become or even sustain our vision of being a Smart Nation?

Vincent Quah is, APAC business lead for Education, Research & Not-For-Profit, Worldwide Public Sector at Amazon Web Services.

SEOUL: According to rumours, Singapore might play host to the planned summit between Pyongyang and Washington.

While such a role would be significant for the city-state, Singapore and Southeast Asia can make more meaningful contributions to defusing tension on the Korean Peninsula.

These contributions build on current ways the region engages – rather than isolates – North Korea.

While much of the world presents North Korea as a “pariah” standing against the international community, Southeast Asia largely rejects this view of world politics. Governments in the region have long espoused an openness to dialogue without judgment.

This attitude is precisely the one that is needed on North Korea.

READ: A commentary highlighting the need for more than personal chemistry in changing North Korea’s old ways.

THE ASEAN WAY ON NORTH KOREA

Southeast Asia can also make the most of its existing relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). One-fifth of the foreign embassies in Pyongyang are Southeast Asian missions.

For North Korea, three of its top ten trading partners are in the region. Southeast Asia has been a pillar of the country’s international engagement. This pillar can be developed further to lend support to the DPRK’s opening and to the improvement of inter-Korean relations.

Wedged between great powers, Southeast Asian countries know that it is necessary to talk with all parties. Regional governments take the view that diplomacy entails speaking with everyone, not just friends.

Dialogue does not presuppose agreement. ASEAN’s strict adherence to the principle of non-interference in a state’s affairs is a resource when it comes to North Korea, even if the “ASEAN way” may have limits in producing decisive coordinated action from member states on Southeast Asian affairs.

In 2017, in light of Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear bomb tests, Washington sought to suspend North Korea from the ASEAN Regional Forum.

Against Washington’s warning that discussion with North Korea would be tantamount to capitulation, ASEAN insisted that dialogue should be promoted over encouraging isolation and thereby kept open one of the few channels for North Korea’s overseas engagement.

SOUTHEAST ASIA A PLACE FOR INTER-KOREAN COOPERATION

The potential for informal exchange in Southeast Asia among Koreans is also great. In several cities, a “Pyongyang restaurant” chain offers a space where North and South Koreans can interact. South Korean tourists, among others, watch the performances, take photographs, and chat with the women who work there.

In a third country, South Koreans can interact – even if superficially – with North Koreans. Given that many South Koreans grew up thinking about North Korea as an abstract, distant idea, meeting points such as these afford opportunities to see and speak with North Koreans in person.

South Korea’s heightened interest in Southeast Asia might be mobilised to expand these informal exchanges.

In November 2017, the Moon Jae-in administration in Seoul announced a “New Southern Policy” aimed at strengthening ties and economic cooperation in the region. Besides tens of billions of US dollars in annual trade, South Korea has some US$5 billion in foreign direct investment in the region with Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia – the biggest regional targets.

Moon’s New Southern Policy could mean an injection of further public and private funds into the region, which means a bigger budget for Korea-related events.

SOUTHEAST ASIA CAN ASSIST IN THAW ON KOREAN PENINSULA

Here are four ways that Southeast Asia could assist in the continuing thaw on the Korean Peninsula. First, the region could host technical training for North Koreans.

The skills learned in this training would help North Korea engage better with external actors. Singapore and Malaysia could, for example, offer English-language learning opportunities. Studying English in Anglophone countries in Asia rather than in the West could be more palatable to Pyongyang.

The Singapore-based nonprofit group, Chosun Exchange, pioneered training as a way of engaging North Koreans. This creative initiative offers business and management lessons to enterprise managers and other officials from North Korea.

Second, institutes in Southeast Asia could invite North and South Korean officials, educators, and enterprise managers for exchanges. Shared challenges, such as cross-border environmental degradation, would serve as themes for these exchanges. The events could become points for unofficial dialogue between North and South Koreans.

While exchanges that take place on the Korean Peninsula are necessarily formal, these would afford a degree of informality that could complement other initiatives.

With diplomatic representation from Seoul and Pyongyang, many Southeast Asian countries have the practical infrastructure for these exchanges.

CULTURAL EXHIBITIONS AND JOINT LANGUAGE COURSES

Third, Southeast Asia could host Korean cultural exhibitions that involve both parts of the Peninsula. For example, embassies might be encouraged or partly sponsor artist exhibitions or food festivals. These initiatives could bring artists from the North and South into contact.

People attending an exhibition, including South Koreans living in Southeast Asia, would gain exposure to North Korean art and culture.

Fourth, joint local language courses for North and South Koreans could be offered. Universities or language institutes might provide courses specifically for Koreans. For example, a school in Indonesia could offer Bahasa Indonesia for a joint Korean class.

These programmes would help develop skills in Southeast Asian languages, so as to facilitate better mutual understanding and cooperation. The classes would also provide opportunities for Koreans from the territories to rub shoulders.

These are but a few examples of ways that the region might engage the Korean Peninsula. 

Conversation with North Korea is finally growing.

Now is the time for Southeast Asia to take initiative in expanding and deepening North Korea’s international engagement.

Dr Hyejin Kim lectures in global studies at the National University of Singapore. Associate Professor Erik Mobrand teaches East Asian politics at Seoul National University.

SINGAPORE: The 19-year-old full-time national serviceman (NSF) who died after displaying signs of heat injury will be accorded a military funeral, said the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) on Tuesday (May 1) in a Facebook post.

Lee Han Xuan Dave, a Guardsman from the 1st Battalion Singapore Guards, died on Monday after nearly two weeks of displaying signs of heat injury.

He had just completed an 8km fast march on the morning of Apr 18 when he required medical attention. 

A post on Facebook by Army Chief of Staff, General Staff, BG Siew Kum Wong, said Pte Lee will also be awarded the Guards and RECON military tabs, and the Guards beret he was training for. 

“We will give a dignified send-off for our fallen soldier, to honour his memory.

“In recognition of his service, he was accorded posthumous recognition of the rank of Corporal First Class (CFC),” he said. 

BG Siew said as with all training-related deaths, the Armed Forces Council will convene an independent Committee of Inquiry (COI), chaired by a senior civil servant from outside the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) or SAF, to investigate the incident. 

“The COI has full powers and access to information and personnel to investigate the circumstances leading to death, determine the contributory factors, and make recommendations to rectify any lapses or inadequacies uncovered.

“Should there be training safety violations, the personnel responsible will be held accountable,” he added. 

SAF had declared a safety timeout for all training on Monday. Training and safety management plans were reviewed to ensure that all appropriate safety measures were in place, the Army Chief of Staff said.

“The Army is determined to ensure that all our soldiers can train realistically and safely.”

SINGAPORE: Political junkies eagerly awaiting the latest Cabinet line-up, which was announced earlier this week, were left with not much to chew on, as far as reading the tea leaves on who the next Prime Minister could be was concerned.

Majority of the changes involved the less senior political officeholders — with Senior Ministers of State and Parliamentary Secretaries swopping portfolios or getting promoted for example — with all but one government ministry involved in the reshuffle, as the ranks of the fourth-generation leadership were boosted.

PM Lee Hsien Loong, 66, has said he would not wish to be Prime Minister beyond 70 years old. With just four years to go before PM Lee turns 70, there is some public anxiety over the uncertainty of the identity of his successor.

Three frontrunners have emerged: Mr Chan Chun Sing, 48, Mr Heng Swee Keat, 57 and Mr Ong Ye Kung, 48.

READ: A commentary on the race for Singapore’s next Prime Minister narrowing with the Cabinet reshuffle.

Following the Cabinet reshuffle which takes effect on May 1, Mr Chan will leave the labour movement and helm the Ministry of Trade and Industry. He will also become Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service, replacing Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

Mr Ong — who is currently the Education Minister for Higher Education and Skills — will take over the entire education portfolio while Mr Heng will continue leading the Finance Ministry and take up the chairmanship of the National Research Foundation.

Unlike his predecessors, Singapore’s next Prime Minister, who will be the country’s fourth since independence, will have a shorter runway — a point made on several occasions by PM Lee himself.

Political analysts and observers — including past and present People’s Action Party (PAP) Members of Parliament who had a ringside seat to the previous leadership transition when Mr Goh Chok Tong handed over the baton to PM Lee — believe the succession blueprint this time could be different from the beaten path where a minister helms key portfolios such as defence, finance, and trade and industry for several years to get a better feel of the important issues, before ascending to the top post.

For this round, the focus appears to be on something different — in part due to the compressed timeline but also in recognition of the growing policy complexities: Building the breadth and depth of the fourth-generation leadership team, and honing its collective competencies.

While there is no doubt that the Prime Minister will remain the “first among equals”, there is an added emphasis on collective leadership which PM Lee had alluded to earlier, political watchers noted.

READ: A commentary on the new consensus the fourth-generation leadership team needs to forge.

PUBLIC INTEREST AND EXPECTATION

Given the larger-than-life presence and aura of Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew — which were to a large extent carried over by Mr Goh and PM Lee themselves — there is high public interest and expectation surrounding the identity of the next Prime Minister.

For now, the big question on who the next Prime Minister is has been put on the backburner, but observers believe that, on the surface, Mr Chan has the inside track.

Still, Mr Heng and Mr Ong remain very much in the running, they pointed out — especially if the succession pathway this time is different. Any one of the three could become Prime Minister, supported by the other two and the rest of the 4G leadership.

While the current timeline could be too short when viewed through conventional lenses, there is ample time to prepare a team to steer the country forward, led by a Prime Minister who is able to get the best out of it, observers said.

National University of Singapore political scientist Bilveer Singh noted that it is “important but not sufficient” for the next Prime Minister to have led key ministries well:

Even more important is his ability to work with and gain the respect of his peers, and for them to gel together as team,” he said. “This is the PAP’s DNA and political culture … Hence, it does not really matter who is the number one as long as all work for the same team.

PAP cadre Eric Low added:

A strong leader is always necessary to steer the team… in the right direction and implement well-suited policies … A leader who is able to win the respect of his team mates would naturally be treated as a ‘first among equals’ by his teammates.

The 4G collective leadership will “play an important role in the era to come”, said Mr Low, who had previously contested under the PAP banner in the 2001 and 2006 General Elections.

PM Lee said as much himself in January: “Maybe it’s the way that the media and public politics is played in many countries nowadays, it’s personalised as one person. And the face becomes familiar. And you think that everything is done by that person. Actually it’s not … there’s a team.”

Speaking to Singapore reporters at the end of his trip to New Delhi for the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit, he added: “The team works together and they have one, as Mr Lee Kuan Yew said, striker. Now you have to strike from time to time, but you’re really also sometimes spokesman on behalf of the team, bringing together a collective wisdom and giving voice to that. And I think in the next team, that aspect of it will have to be even more important.”

Two weeks ago, PM Lee again stressed that the issue of political succession goes beyond finding the person most suited for the top post. 

Speaking at a conference in Shanghai, he pointed out that many qualities are needed for national leadership and it would be unrealistic and impossible to find a single candidate with the qualities and able to “do it all”. He said:

We need to find a capable team who can work closely together, who can inspire the people’s confidence and bring the nation forward, carve out a new path and make Singaporeans proud.

THE BEATEN PATH

Before he succeeded Mr Lee Kuan Yew in November 1990, Mr Goh, who is now 76, served in the Cabinet for more than 11 years leading the MTI, the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) at various points. He was also Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) for six years.

PM Lee similarly enjoyed a long runway: Before he became Prime Minister, he was in the Cabinet for more than 17 years — handling portfolios in trade and industry, finance and defence. While in the Cabinet, PM Lee also served as Mr Goh’s understudy, as DPM, for more than 13 years.

Political analysts and observers noted that there is no hard-and-fast rule that a Prime Minister for Singapore must check off the right boxes, in terms of having led certain key ministries.

Nevertheless, they agreed that it is important for the next Prime Minister to be exposed to multiple portfolios in order to gain a broad overview of different policy areas.

“This is especially important since political leadership is becoming increasingly coordinative in nature, rather than top-down managerial,” said Nanyang Technological University political scientist Woo Jun Jie.

“This means that the next Prime Minister will need to know a little bit about every portfolio, in order to work with his cabinet colleagues to coordinate their policy efforts. Certainly, with a shorter runway, there will be areas in which the next Prime Minister may not have had time to build up.”

Former Minister of State Teo Ser Luck, who is a Member of Parliament (MP) for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, as well as ex-PAP MP Inderjit Singh likened governance to running a firm.

“The leader needs to know what is happening in the different parts of the organisation if he wants to do a good job. Also, in times of crisis, a minister and his ministry may need more guidance. If the boss does not understand enough, the whole organisation, or the Government in this case, will be weaker,” said Mr Singh.

Both Mr Singh and Mr Teo singled out defence and economic-related portfolios such as finance, or trade and industry, as among the “heavyweight” portfolios that a potential Prime Minister should get his feet wet in. The ideal candidate would also need to have foreign policy acumen, they said.

Institute of Policy Studies deputy director for research Gillian Koh reiterated that the right leader for Singapore must be able to find the balance between domestic and international affairs, as well as social and economic concerns.

For now, the three frontrunners combined have some experience spanning these key areas. Individually, however, there are gaps, the observers pointed out.

WHERE THE FRONTRUNNERS STAND

Mr Chan, a former Chief of Army who attained the rank of Major-General, joined the Cabinet following the 2011 GE as Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports.

He was also Minister of State at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA). About a year later, he relinquished his appointment in MICA and was appointed Senior Minister of State in MINDEF. Following a restructuring of government ministries in November 2012, Mr Chan helmed the Ministry of Social and Family Development as Acting Minister.

He was promoted to full Minister in September 2013, and concurrently served as Second Minister for Defence. In 2015, Mr Chan left his portfolios at the ministries and became labour chief. The latest Cabinet reshuffle will see Mr Chan moving on to lead MTI. He will also look after the Civil Service and continue to serve as deputy chairman of the People’s Association (PA).

While Mr Chan’s appointment as labour chief raised a few eyebrows at the time — given that the labour movement was not seen as a traditional post for political high-fliers — political watchers said that on hindsight, the stint could prove to be particularly important.

Political scientist Lam Peng Er from the NUS East Asian Institute said the experience would have exposed Mr Chan to a wide network of businesses and workers across various sectors. At the same time, Mr Chan will continue to have access to the grassroots in his capacity at the PA, said Singapore Management University Associate Professor Eugene Tan.

Being in charge of the Public Service Division will also “give him another pathway to a significant stakeholder group”, added Assoc Prof Tan.

Apart from domestic portfolios, Mr Chan also leads the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, the third and most recent government-level project between Singapore and China.

Political observers thus believe Mr Chan currently has an edge over the other two frontrunners, as he may have “checked off more boxes”, given the varied portfolios he has taken on since entering politics.

However, Mr Inderjit Singh and Dr Bilveer Singh both felt that education — which is not traditionally seen as a portfolio that a potential Prime Minister has to cut his teeth in — has become another important policy area in today’s circumstances, in light of the critical role it plays in ensuring Singaporeans have the right skills for the future economy.

“Education is the superstructure the society is premised on … It is also a politically-sensitive one as many Singaporeans have a child in (school),” said Dr Bilveer Singh, who noted that both Deputy Prime Ministers Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam had helmed the Ministry of Education (MOE).

In this regard, it would be ideal for Mr Chan to gain some exposure in the MOE — something which Mr Heng and Mr Ong already have.

Mr Heng led the MOE from 2011 to 2015, before becoming Finance Minister. During his tenure as Education Minister, he was credited with several bold moves — such as doing away with rankings for secondary schools — in an effort to shift emphasis away from academic grades. He also scrapped the practice of announcing the top scorers in the Primary School Leaving Examination.

Away from ministerial portfolios, Mr Heng has also been tasked with several high-profile national projects, such as the Our Singapore Conversation initiative. He also oversaw the Republic’s jubilee celebrations in 2015, and currently leads the Future Economy Council tasked to drive the Republic’s economic transformation.

Externally, Mr Heng co-chairs the Sino-Singapore collaboration council in the China’s Jiangsu province.

Assoc Prof Tan said Mr Heng’s leadership of the Monetary Authority of Singapore — where he was managing director before entering politics — during the global financial crisis in 2007 and 2008 was also “testimony to his ability to handle challenges and not crack under pressure”.

In May 2016, Mr Heng suffered a stroke during a Cabinet meeting but he made a remarkable recovery and was back in action three months later.

Dr Lam described Mr Heng — a former high-flying civil servant — as a “technocrat” who could make a “fine Prime Minister in times of normalcy”. However, he felt that Mr Heng may lack the “killer instinct”, which is needed in these uncertain times.

Mr Ong, on the other hand, has been described by people who have worked with him as having fine political acumen and instincts.

Mr Ong, whose father Ong Lian Teng was a Barisan Sosialis politician, had also tasted electoral defeat at the GE, when he was part of the PAP Aljunied GRC team which lost in the 2011 GE. Undeterred by the setback, Mr Ong was elected into Parliament four years later.

Compared to Mr Chan and Mr Heng who have been in the Cabinet for almost seven years, Mr Ong’s later entry into Government meant he has had only 2.5 years of experience under his belt so far.

Mr Ong was appointed Acting Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) and Senior Minister of State for Defence in 2015. Thirteen months later, he was promoted to full Minister in MOE and concurrently held the post of Second Minister for Defence. He was also subsequently tasked to drive innovation in the Public Service.

Following the latest reshuffle, Mr Ong will helm the entire education portfolio. He will relinquish his appointment as Second Minister for Defence and his responsibilities in the Public Service.

Prior to joining politics, Mr Ong was heavily involved in the labour movement, apart from having experience in both the public and private sectors.

His career began in the Civil Service where he rose to become Director of Trade. He was also Principal Private Secretary to PM Lee, when the latter was DPM.

Mr Ong was also the chief executive of the then-Singapore Workforce Development Agency from 2005 to 2008, before joining the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) where he became deputy secretary-general. During his stint with the labour movement, he chaired the Employment and Employability Institute. Mr Ong subsequently left NTUC and joined Keppel Corporation.

Despite his varied stints prior to joining politics, the observers noted that Mr Ong has had limited experience so far in political office.

Nevertheless, Assoc Prof Tan noted that Mr Ong has been put in charge of leading the SkillsFuture Initiative, which is a vital national effort towards lifelong learning and an “economic imperative” for Singapore.

Going forward, given the broad spectrum of the education portfolio, Mr Ong will have the opportunities to build up his networks including among workers across various sectors, said Dr Koh.

In terms of foreign relations, Mr Ong currently co-chairs the Singapore-Guangdong collaboration council.

Assoc Prof Tan said it is tough to pit the three frontrunners against one another. He said:

It’s like comparing apples and oranges and pears.

Dr Bilveer Singh reiterated that all three are still in contention:

There is no law that the next Prime Minister has to clear all the hurdles, but the more you test (the potential candidates) the better.

IN GOOD TIME

Given the different circumstance and the needs of the country, it would seem that the templates for choosing the Prime Minister used for the second- and third-generation leaders “may not be applicable” this time, said Assoc Prof Tan.

“Putting the fourth-generation leaders through the paces is more about deepening and developing specific competencies (for each of them),” he added.

Former PAP MP Irene Ng noted that PM Lee is holding his cards close to his chest to ensure that his successor can “have a smooth transition and enjoy the best chance of success”.

“The political climate can be harsh and unforgiving … However well-planned the succession and transition may be, it will not be an easy ride for the new Prime Minister,” she said.

Noting that Mr Goh and PM Lee gained popularity over the years with their unique leadership styles, she added: “It is understandable that people are keen to identify the new Prime Minister-to-be and pin down a timeline. But the more important thing is to ensure that not only is he the best person to become the Prime Minister, but he has the best chance of success, for the sake of Singapore’s future. For this, the timing of the transition counts.”

Ultimately, it is very much PM Lee’s call as to “whether there is enough or not enough time, and the urgency of (succession)”, Mr Teo Ser Luck pointed out. He said:

A competent fourth-generation team has been emerging slowly … And if PM or the more senior ministers believe they need more time, they will be able to manage this transition.

Most observers also felt that PM Lee’s wish to hand over the reins before he turns 70 should not be seen as a “hard deadline”.

In fact, PM Lee’s stance has not been rigid over the years. During a press conference held at the Istana following the 2011 GE, he told the media that he was aiming to hand over the mantle to the 4G leadership by 2020 (when he would be 68 years old).

Later in 2013, while fielding questions on the Ask the Prime Minister programme on Channel NewsAsia, he said that he did not have a specific date in mind for stepping down, but a successor should “ideally” be well in place before he turns 70.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew handed over the baton to Mr Goh when he was 67, while Mr Goh retired as Prime Minister when he was 63. After stepping down, both had remained in the Cabinet as Senior Ministers.

Provided he remains in good health, there was no reason why Mr Lee cannot lead beyond the age of 70, the observers noted.

“These things are not cast in steel, and changes can take place, and are easily justifiable,” said Dr Bilveer Singh.

Murdoch University Associate Professor Terence Lee, who studies Singapore and Malaysia politics, added: “Singaporeans typically prefer continuity more so than change, so voters are not likely to criticise his decision to stay on as long as they can see progress being made to nurture the next group of leaders, as is being done right now.”

All things considered, the observers said that the public should not base the country’s current leadership transition on past precedents — be it in terms of the timeline or the succession pathway.

“The current political and policy landscape is very different from Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh Chok Tong’s time,” Asst Prof Woo said.

SINGAPORE: Singapore topped the 2017 Global Smart City Performance Index, a study of smart city initiatives for residents in 20 cities including San Francisco, Seoul, London and New York. 

It measured how technology improved the quality of life across four areas namely mobility, health, safety and productivity.

Technology has permeated almost every facet of Singaporeans’ daily life.

“I think people don’t realise that 80 per cent of what a smart city offers … is not going to be anything that looks like an interface,” said Jacqueline Poh, chief executive of the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech).

Ms Poh also explained in a Channel NewsAsia programme that in its ideal form, a smart city delivers value to its citizens in subtle and intuitive ways “because they are so embedded within the fabric of society” – one that is fueled by data ubiquity.

DATA IS UBIQUITOUS IN OUR SMART NATION

Singapore has done well in sharing, interpreting and acting on both new and existing data.

Through sensors, cameras, receptors installed across the island, connected to a Heterogenous Network that gathers streams of data every day, coupled with a growing community of education institutions that teach data analytics in tertiary school curriculum, and an open portal that offers anyone access to data sets from over 70 public agencies, Singapore is well on its way to establishing a culture where data literacy is becoming sine qua non. 

Some of Singapore’s institutions are taking the lead in establishing robust systems for tracking outcomes across their enterprises and drawing useful conclusions about evidence and impact.

In 2017, the country’s National Volunteers and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) embarked on using visual analytics to connect and visualise governed data quickly, combine multiple views of data, gain actionable insights and share secured information with key NVPC staff for data-guided decision making on the go.

One of several areas where data has already made an impact on NVPC is in donor marketing. By embracing analytics for targeted fund-raising efforts, NVPC managed to yield a significant 56 per cent increase in donation amounts on giving.sg between April 2016 and April 2017.

NURTURING ATHLETES

Data has also been instrumental in helping to nurture high-performance athletes in Singapore’s bid to become a sporting nation. 

The Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) uses visual analytics to keep tabs on the performances of over 70 of its athletes across different sports including swimming, badminton and table tennis.

Tracking athletes’ diets, sharing data between athletes and coaches and analysing past performances powered by data analytics surely trumps the old practice of manually keying and analysing data on spreadsheets, which comes with a high degree of variation and inaccuracy.

Similarly, private education institution PSB Academy announced a partnership with sporting devices company VX Sports this year to train students in its School of Life and Physical Sciences to harness data analytics. 

They are able to track the physical conditions of their test subjects, arrive at more precise prognoses, and formulate specific actions that athletes could take to sustain levels of peak performance and benefit more from their training.

MOVING TOWARDS VISUAL ANALYTICS

By moving away from decisions based on opinion and toward decisions based on data, Singapore organisations like these have uncovered new opportunities to offer invaluable insights to help their stakeholders – whether budding sports scientists or volunteers – raise their game and become forces for positive social impact.

On the global stage, the United Nations recently announced an agreement establishing visual analytics platform Tableau Software, as its business intelligence standard across the United Nations system while simplifying the acquisition of analytics capabilities for all its 193-member states and affiliated entities.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres emphasised the growing importance of data analytics, especially for disaster response and in addressing social development issues, when he said:

Accurate data is the lifeblood of good policy and decision-making. Obtaining it, and sharing it across hundreds of organisations, in the middle of a humanitarian emergency, is complicated and time‑consuming, but it is absolutely crucial.

DATA AS A FORCE FOR GOOD

While data has been shown to be a force for good, serious questions have arisen recently about how data can also be manipulated for nefarious ends.

Facebook, a 2.2 billion user platform, admitted to a breach of trust when the personal data of over 87 million users was illegally used by Cambridge Analytica for purposes of targeted political campaigning.

In his book Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Harari commented presciently three years ago that some governments have not been keeping pace with the changing rules of the digital world.

“We need to recognise that our current democratic structures simply cannot collect and process the relevant data fast enough, and most voters don’t understand biology and cybernetics well enough to form any pertinent opinions,” he said.

Yuval concluded that regulators have thus fallen behind in spite of being able to collect more data than ever. He said: 

It’s like a poker player who knows what cards his opponents hold, yet somehow still manages to lose round after round.

While Facebook’s massive breach reveals the inadequacy of regulatory frameworks in safeguarding data privacy, what is just as concerning is if there is a lack of interest people have over how their personal data are mined, shared and used by these third parties before this disaster was uncovered.

One observer explains: “Likes and preferences are a currency open to be used by Facebook by default. This scandal goes to show how few people realise the tacit agreement in the digital exchange of data for services (let alone read the terms and conditions that enable this transaction).”

Days after Facebook’s testimony at Singapore’s Parliamentary Select Committee for Deliberate Online Falsehoods (DOFs), we saw a surge of commentators calling for more regulation in how data is being handled by social media platforms.

But a strident focus on greater regulation alone presents the broader public with a false dichotomy, that all data should either be left open but vulnerable to exploitation or kept closed but safeguarded.

A NEW DAY FOR DATA​​​​​​​

Yes, there will always be the need for greater data governance to keep pace with the velocity of data use and production. But I would argue that retreating completely into walled gardens cannot be the way forward.

In fact, given how pervasive data already is in virtually every aspect of our lives, we must double-down on our efforts to empower more people to be both interested in their data and in acquiring skillsets to see and understand data for themselves, so that they are able to securely benefit from Singapore’s thriving open data environment.

We should recognise that as much as Singapore is already benefiting from the invisible hand of technology, we have also ushered a new day for data.

Whereas previously data analytics used to be reserved for a band of “high priests” in an enterprise who had to be trained in programing and coding to access, analyse and draw data reports for various lines-of-business, today everyone should be able to see and understand data with the availability of self-service analytics platforms.

In spite of the great strides that we have made in Singapore’s Smart Nation movement, there is still much left to do for this same movement to be compelling for everybody else and inspire more people to see data as a force for good.

Marcus Loh is director, Asia Pacific Communication at visual analytics company Tableau Software.