• At a dialogue, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong spoke to some 900 students who queued up in droves to ask him questions.
• These questions ranged from the composition of the workforce to political contestation and housing subsidy policies.
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• In response to a student’s question about life advice, Wong talked about making mistakes and that he sometimes “cringe” when he looks back at his old public speeches.
• Another student asked how people can stop comparing themselves to others when the environment at work and school tends to pit people against each other.
• Wong responded that comparisons become less important once people focus on what they believe is meaningful and satisfying.
SINGAPORE — In his first youth engagement since taking over as prime minister, Lawrence Wong got a glimpse of what was most important to students at several tertiary institutions here.
Queuing up behind the microphones for her turn, she was asked questions ranging from career advice to social mobility, and even whether it was permissible for members of parliament to hold a second job.
Around 900 students attended the dialogue session held at Singapore Management University (SMU) on Tuesday evening.
The session was co-organised by SMU, the Institute of Policy Studies and Varsity Voices, a student-led inter-university political awareness group. It was run in accordance with Chatham House rules to increase the openness of the debate.
Under Chatham House rules, participants may disclose information that arises during a discussion, but not the identity of the person providing the information.
TODAY selected five pertinent questions posed by students and Wong’s responses. They have been edited for clarity.
On the workforce and politics
Q: Public discourse on foreign labour has become increasingly polarised. Most people can agree that we need foreigners, but Singaporeans are also concerned that more foreigners will mean reduced job opportunities and a dilution of Singapore’s identity. How can we balance the benefits and drawbacks of a larger foreign workforce and protect the interests of Singaporeans?
Wong: When companies invest here, they will want to hire people from around the world to service their operations in Singapore.
When companies set up operations here, they are not just doing so for the Singapore market, but also setting up regional or even global operations. So when they do that, they will obviously want to have access to regional and global talent.
We need to stay open, because that is the only way to attract investment and create jobs for Singaporeans.
How can we find balance? We do so by controlling the entry of foreigners, with a system of taxes, quotas and all kinds of safeguards.
We will also soon be implementing new workplace equity legislation to prohibit discrimination based on race, national origin or age.
Hopefully, all this will contribute to creating a fairer and more competitive working environment.
At the same time, we are doing even more to invest in Singaporeans.
We give you an added advantage by investing in your skills, investing in training programs for you, and investing in opportunities for you to work abroad.
Q: Given the increasing competition in our political arena under your tenure as Prime Minister, how will your government strategize and communicate with Singaporeans to implement unpopular but necessary economic policies, despite the growing support for more opposition voices among younger Singaporeans?
Wong: If we get the mandate in the next election, we will continue with the same approach, which is to reject populism but do the right things that are in the best interest of Singapore and Singaporeans.
Some of these measures will be popular: if I offer another round of CDC vouchers, everyone will be very happy. But there will also be policies that are necessary and not so popular.
Because whatever the Government does, we need to make sure that our budget is balanced, that we pay for the measures we introduce, and that we keep Singapore on the right track.
And if these are difficult but still important measures to implement, we will explain to Singaporeans why they are necessary and do our best to persuade them to understand and support these policies.
Q: In your inaugural address, you mentioned that there are many career alternatives now. For example, starting a business. But it seems that some policies, such as the Housing and Development Board (HDB) HDB Flat Eligibility Letter, are not up to date to support such Singaporeans. As students, we can apply for deferred income assessment. But this option is not open to graduates who are starting businesses and do not assign themselves a salary. What can be done to support young Singaporeans who want to settle down and start a family, but also pursue their dreams?
(To apply for an HDB flat, couples will first need to obtain an HDB Flat Eligibility Letter. This letter will inform flat buyers in advance of their eligibility for an HDB Home Loan – the amount they are eligible to borrow from HDB to purchase the flat. HDB assesses this amount based on the couple’s average gross monthly income to ensure they do not borrow beyond their means. For couples who have completed their full-time studies 12 months prior to applying for the letter, they can defer this income assessment to a date that is closer to their key collection appointment for the HDB flat. The student who raised this question highlighted that recent graduates who choose to start a business after graduation will not be eligible for a home loan if they do not provide proof of the income required to repay the loan, especially if they do not pay themselves a salary to run the business.)
Wong: I think we will be prepared to be flexible. It is very difficult to do so across the board.
In cases where there is an entrepreneur who does not have a good salary but has a very promising business and therefore potentially has the ability to repay the loan (for the house), I think HDB can be persuaded to be more flexible (in granting the loan). But each case will have to be analysed individually.
The last thing HDB wants to do is provide a loan, and then the entrepreneur finds that the business is not successful and ends up saddled with a heavy debt.
But your point is valid because we want many more young people like you to settle down (and get married) quickly.
Life lessons
Q: You talked about many developments affecting our lives today, such as artificial intelligence and the Covid-19 pandemic. In light of these developments, if you could go back in time to 2011 and give one piece of advice to the newly elected Lawrence Wong (MP for the West Coast Group Representation Constituency), what would it be?
Wong: The only thing I would say is to expect the unexpected. You have to keep learning, improving and growing. Because everyone in life will have ups and downs, mistakes and setbacks.
Sometimes I look back at some of the speeches I gave in 2011 and cringe because I think, “God, I was really bad.”
But that’s the point, isn’t it? We’re allowed to make mistakes, we’re allowed to fall, and sometimes we learn the most from setbacks.
We learn a lot more when we are forced to push ourselves to the limit, when we leave our comfort zone. And then we begin to realize that we can be much, much better.
Q: You mentioned that we should stop comparing ourselves to other people and start looking inward. But… in the public service, we are constantly being compared to one another for our grades, for promotion, etc. It also starts with education, when we are younger: we have aggregate scores, we have distribution levels, we have the best schools, the worst schools. Will there be more changes in the workplace? What would be your plan to undo this mentality in the system?
Wong: I don’t have an easy answer, to be honest, because the challenge will always be there.
In a competitive economy, companies and organizations will have to consider promoting certain individuals. All organizations operate on the basis of having a command structure.
But I think what we can do in Singapore is to encourage and promote a more egalitarian culture, where we are all equal.
We may have different roles – not everyone can be the CEO, the department head or the division head – but everyone should feel respected. There is no need to bow and curtsy to your superiors.
Refocus on your strengths and do your job well. Over time, you will have a chance to prosper. I say this from personal experience.
When I started working in 1997, I joined the civil service. There were different promotion routes: the fast track and the normal route. I was not on the fast track. The financial sector paid well and (my colleagues in that sector) all earned more than me.
Because of those pressures, I once considered leaving public service, but over time I met mentors who encouraged me to focus on my work and think about the impact of my work on public service. Ultimately, I remained in public service for 15 years before entering politics.
I found that to be meaningful and fulfilling and a calling. After that, I didn’t feel the need to compare myself to others, because once you focus and concentrate on what you think is meaningful and fulfilling, I think comparisons become less important.
Pressures will exist, I admit. It is impossible to eliminate them completely.
But try to find meaning and purpose in what you do. You will feel less pressure from society at large and we will all be able to thrive and develop in our own way.
That is the only goal I hope we can all achieve together. — TODAY
