Speaking at a roundtable organised by Lee Kuan Yew’s Centre for Innovative Cities, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung regurgitated the secondary school text book telling Singaporeans to “do more with less”. However the Education Minister who is unable to helm the full education ministry portfolio used illogically-worded terms to express his view:
“Singapore’s manpower growth was bound by its small size, challenging demographic trends and need to preserve a sense of identity. We are on an irreversible journey to pursue growth based on productivity and innovation. The report will go deeper into the algorithms and mechanisms of (resource) allocation, achieving quantum leaps in optimisation.In other words, we are answering the question: How do we do more with less?”
The Education Minister who has never set up a business himself or worked a day in the private sector, called for Singaporeans to change their views on “failures, success and decide who to honour”:
“While the Government can foster an environment that facilitates enterprise, society needs to play an even bigger role in the way it views failures, celebrates successes, and decides who it shall honour. Today, our culture is to honour scholars who have good academic grades, who can rise in organisations and bureaucracies. We need to put on the same pedestal the entrepreneurs who have tried, who have failed but have succeeded. We need to honour them.”