'Collective will' to fight for beliefs is Singapore’s strongest defence, deterrence: Chan Chun Sing

Key Concepts

• We First Society: Prioritizing collective well-being and responsibility towards one another.
• Value Propositions: Creating unique and indispensable offerings for global partners.
• Indigenous Capabilities: Strengthening internal competencies in various domains.
• Man-Made Competitive Advantages: Investing in education, rule of law, and long-term planning.
• Intergenerational Transfer of Disadvantage: Breaking the cycle of inherited inequalities.
• Governance: Balancing innovation, execution, and financial prudence for sustainable progress.
• SG100: Aspirational goal of continued success and prosperity for Singapore in the long term.

Security

Understanding the World Deeply

• The Need for Deep Understanding: Singapore must deeply understand its own interests and the world's complexities to avoid being manipulated by external influences.
• Avoiding Echo Chambers: Actively seek diverse perspectives and challenge personal biases through critical analysis of information.
• Real-World Examples: The Russian-Ukraine conflict and the Middle East situation illustrate the need to understand diverse perspectives and agendas.
• Travel Beyond the Beaten Path: Students and public service officers traveling overseas should seek fresh perspectives and challenge assumptions by exploring beyond typical tourist routes.
• Nuance between Neutral and Principal: Foreign policy should be based on principles that promote Singapore's long-term survival and success, not on neutrality.

Creating Value Propositions

• Earning the Right to Determine Destiny: Singapore must earn its right to choose its path and not be held hostage by others by remaining a consistent and principled partner.
• Being a Consistent and Principled Partner: Maintain principles that best promote Singapore's long-term survival and success.
• Developing Unique Capabilities: Cultivate the ability to think and execute long term, build trust, and foster cohesion amidst diversity.
• Leveraging National Talent: Tap into the talent and energies of the entire nation, including NSF, NSmen, and pre-enlistees, to generate innovative ideas. Example: PlayStation console-like UAV controller.
• Strategic Investments: Continuously spend wisely on defense capabilities, making judicious decisions on what to buy, build, and co-develop with partners.

Maintaining Cohesion

• Collective Will to Fight: Singapore's strongest defense is the collective will of its people to fight for what they believe in.
• Every Citizen as an Ambassador: Every Singaporean is an ambassador when interacting with the rest of the world, sharing Singapore's values and building trust.

Upholding Principles

• Taking Positions based on Principles: While not taking sides, Singapore must take positions based on principles that best promote its long-term survival and success.
• Neutrality is Dangerous: Neutrality is a dangerous concept for small states as it invites larger powers to put more pressure on them.

Economics

Creating Value Propositions

• Earning Our Keep: Singapore must create its own value propositions because no one deals with Singapore out of charity or sympathy.
• Acupuncture Points: Identify critical points that make it difficult for others to bypass Singapore in the global economy.
• COVID-19 Experience: During the pandemic, having money was not enough; Singapore needed to possess what others required to trade for essentials, leading to the emphasis on being a critical node in global supply chains.
• EDB's Role: The Economic Development Board aims to make Singapore a critical node that cannot be easily bypassed, ensuring access to essential resources during crises.

Diversification and Talent

• Diversification Risks: Diversification comes with risk and requires resources and the ability to attract and work with talent beyond Singapore's own.
• Attracting Global Talent: Singapore needs to network with global talent to complement local talent and achieve critical mass in diverse sectors.

Balancing Integration and Competitiveness

• Balancing Act: Carefully balance the needs of integration with competitiveness; it is not a binary option of zero or one.
• Growing Homegrown Talent: Must continue to grow its homegrown talent so it can remain an attractive partner.
• Opportunity Amidst Crisis: As the world becomes more dangerous, Singapore's attractiveness to talent can reinforce its competitiveness.

Adapting to Global Trade Changes

• Setting up Alternative Networks: When long-standing platforms no longer work, set up alternative networks to uphold a more integrated global trading and investment system.
• Pioneering Trade Agreements: Continue to pioneer comprehensive free trade agreements and digital economy partnership agreements (DEPA).
• Future of Investment and Trade Partnership: Contribute to upholding the global free trade order through initiatives like the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership.
• Plus One Strategy: Position Singapore as a reliable and resilient partner in the "plus one" strategies of other countries.

Doubling Down on Competitive Advantages

• Man-Made Advantages: Singapore's competitive advantages are man-made, including investments in education, rule of law, and stable governance.
• AI for Everyone: Implement programs like "AI for Everyone" to uplift the workforce and enhance productivity, similar to the computerization drive in the past.
• Stable Government and Forward-Looking Public Service: Critical for attracting long-term investments like pharma and semicon.

Every Citizen as Part of EDB and MTI

• Collective Responsibility: Every Singaporean is part of EDB and MTI and contribute to attract good quality investments.

Social

Growing the Overall Pie

• Translating Economic Growth: Economic growth must translate into growing the overall pie for Singaporeans, creating good jobs, and enabling all Singaporeans to improve their lives.
• Responsibility Towards Those Further Behind: Successful individuals must remember their responsibilities towards those who are further behind.

Breaking Intergenerational Transfer of Disadvantage

• Addressing Inequality: The government is committed to breaking the intergenerational transfer of disadvantage through various programs.
• Systematic Approach: The government is systematically combing through the entire life cycle of a person to see how to help everyone who needs the help to break that cycle.

Understanding Singapore's Unique Challenge

• High Global Average: Singapore's challenge is that the gap is the result of the top being even further ahead, rather than the bottom falling way off the chart.
• Never Cap the Top, Keep Lifting the Bottom: Singapore should never cap the top, but must keep lifting the bottom.

Contributions Beyond Government Policies

• Mobilizing Time, Talent, and Treasures: Mobilize the time, talent, and treasures of people to complement what the government and taxation already do.
• Societal Consensus on Who to Help More: Come to a societal consensus about who to help more due to finite resources.

Redefining Success

• Diversity of Talents: Singapore does not have a single yardstick for success and must respect and reward the diversity of strengths.
• Conversations with Children: Start conversations with children focusing on their unique strengths and how they can make a contribution.

Enhancing Interactions

• Getting Out of Comfort Zone: Enhance interactions to get out of comfort zones and find common ground based on mutual respect.

Governance

Continuous Improvement

• Never Complacent: Singapore must never be complacent, and accomplishments are not predictions for future successes.
• Executing Consistently: The average ideas executed consistently will beat that brilliant idea that is a flesh in the pen.

Adapting to Change

• Seizing Opportunities: Countries that once trailed Singapore are now seizing opportunities to build momentum and leapfrog ahead, highlighting the need to adapt.
• Doing Better Things: The public service will endeavor not just to do things better, we also need to do better things with our finite resources.
• Avoid Blind Copying: Be bold enough to look for our own solutions and not copy blindly.
• CPF Evolution: CPF has continuously evolved over the years expanding from retirement savings to meet housing and healthcare needs while providing stronger safety nets for our elderly and vulnerable.

Delivering with the People

• Engaging Before Finalization: The government must be prepared to engage even before all policy details have been finalized internally.
• Consultation and Explanation: Consult widely, but explain to those whose ideas were not chosen why their feedback was not implemented.
• Timeliness Over Perfection: As we evolve our processes and services to achieve at speed to achieve timeliness and relevance, we must also accept that we may not always achieve that perfect or flawless product or policy if there was ever such a thing.

Building New Capabilities

• Attracting Diverse Talent: The public service will continue to remain open and attract diverse talent, including mid-careerists, and provide opportunities for officers to gain exposure to the private and people sector.
• Exposure to International Organizations: Public service officers must be exposed to international organizations to understand how the world is evolving and secure a place at the table where international rules are made.

Balancing Public Finances

• Judicious Spending: The government must be judicious to decide how to spend public funds and be honest about the trade-offs.
• Learning from Forefathers: Forefathers started saving in the 1960s during hard times. Let us not forget that we must also take care of future generations although they are not here to vote for us here and now.

Growing the Economic Pie

• Focus on Economic Growth: Focus on growing the overall economic pie for us to have the options and the luxury to make easier decisions.

Conclusion

The speaker advocates for a "We First" society, emphasizing collective responsibility and unity in Singapore. Success hinges on understanding global dynamics, creating unique value propositions, and fostering strong indigenous capabilities. Investing in education, upholding the rule of law, and maintaining stable governance are crucial man-made competitive advantages. Breaking the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage requires societal consensus, respect for diverse talents, and a focus on enabling future generations to excel. Effective governance involves balancing innovation, execution, and financial prudence while adapting to evolving global landscapes. The ultimate goal is to build a fair, strong, and united Singapore for generations to come, reaching "SG100" and beyond.