If the election gap is reduced, the government will not have much political space to do the right thing; neglecting short -term considerations in decision -making will become more difficult.
When I attended the annual awards ceremony in 2020, it was said that the civil servant team must cooperate with political leadership to provide Singapore's need for good governance.This theme is still important when we experience this interchange.Therefore, I want to share ideas, that is, how the two sides need to continue to work together to promote the country's forward development.
What does it need to govern the country?
Since the turbulent years in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Singapore has gone through a long way.Over the past 60 years, we have been steadily advancing and the economy has been completely transformed.Singapore has become an important regional hub and global nodes, and income increase allows everyone to enjoy higher quality of life -better education, better medical care, better housing, and better work.As a country, we jointly overcome the major crisis: serious economic recession, regional turbulence, and crown disease; in the process, we have become a more close and united nation.Because we have done things right in China, we can stand up internationally internationally.
All of this is because Singapore has been good for many years.A fundamental question is: What does it need to manage Singapore?In my opinion, there are three key factors: first, good policies and good politics; second, good civil servants team and good political leadership; and the correct relationship between civil servants and political leadership.Let me explain it.
High -quality civil servant team is crucial
The civil service team is mainly responsible for formulating and implementing policies.It is important to formulate a correct policy, because only good policies can turn dreams and desires into reality.As a civil servant, it is very difficult for you to make the policy.First of all, you need to determine the correct goal to solve specific problems.Then you need to formulate perfect plans and measures to achieve your goals.You need to understand the problem thoroughly, put forward imaginative ideas, formulate coherence and effective plans, foresee difficulties, and make planning in advance.After determining the policy, you must implement, track the implementation, and respond to the policy.Then you must modify and improve the policy to ensure that the policy continues to serve Singaporeans.This is a very high task.It requires knowledge, experience, creativity, practical consciousness and organizational ability.But unless this difficult work is completed and done well, all our goals and ambitions will still be the slogan of empty, and the government will not be able to deliver results to Singaporeans.This is why it has a capable, professional, and high -quality civil servant team.
Public services must stay away from politics, civil servants cannot be involved in political debate or party politics, and must be neutral.However, public services cannot formulate policies in vacuum technical bureaucratic environment.To operate effectively, you must understand the political environment of the government when operating: the external strategic environment we are in, the national challenges we face, the people's hope and concerns, and the overall national goals we are working hard.
As far as it is concerned, the political leadership focuses on political aspects.The ministers must set the overall direction for the country, and keep in mind the best interests of Singapore and Singaporeans.They responded to the country's strategic needs and deep expectations of the people.They make political choices for how the country should move forward.They must adhere to their position in political competition, win public debate by persuading people who are opposed, refuting their mistakes, and adopting useful ideas.They do their best to win the support of the government and political parties.If the minister effectively govern the country at the end of his term, they can once again get voters' commission and continue to effectively serve the country.
Minister must also be proficient in policies
But the minister cannot be limited to politics narrowly.The ministers who presided over the ceremony in their department alone set up grand goals, and then left the tribes of completing the task to the ministers of the civil servants without any appreciation.To perform their duties effective, the minister must also be proficient in policies.Only then can they give officials with clear guidance and direction, and work closely with public services to formulate policies, and they can also make correct political decisions on the way forward, and weighing the weighing of the government.Only in this way, when they sell their policies to the public can they be convinced, because they personally participate in policy formulation and understand why things must be completed in one way rather than another.This is our expectations of the Minister of Singapore.Over the years, we have adhered to this standard.This is an important reason why we can put forward and implement a good policy for the country.
As a civil servant, you already know: To do your job, you need to serve under the leadership of excellent ministers.Civil servants exchanged their opinions with each other, and everyone was more willing to work for the ministers who were famous for their decisive instructions and proficient in their briefing.You also know that some people claim that it is easy to be a minister in Singapore because we already have such a capable civil servant team, but this statement is unreasonable.On the contrary, the stronger the public service, the more political leaders need to be stronger.In this way, the minister can obtain the respect of officials, lead them effectively, and promote the team's best performance.
As important as having an excellent minister and a good civil servant team, the correct relationship between the two parties is established.Each party has their own roles and must be done well.The respective responsibilities must be clear, and the boundaries are clearly divided, so that the system can operate normally, and at the same time, we must also work closely with mutual trust and mutual respect and understanding to realize the ideal combination of policies and politics and bring results to the country.
It is in this way that we can maintain political stability and provide good governance in Singapore, and continue to do this through many government.This is the most notable.Few countries can do this.Don't misunderstand me: other countries do not lack talents or ideas.Their civil servants have their due diligence as us; they have political leaders who understand the country's issues and know what they need to do.Nevertheless, they often cannot do this.The problem has not been resolved or even worse. The country is in trouble and cannot move forward.Why can't they let things go smoothly?Former Prime Minister Luxembourg and later EU Council Chairman Jean Claude Juncker explained very well: "Everyone knows how to do it, but we don't know how to re -election after doing so." In other words, in those countries, the government, the government, the government, the governmentIt is not feasible to discover that doing the right thing in politics, and then the political leaders of each party faction default populism or short -termism to maintain the power.
Fortunately, Singapore has always been an exception of this rule.Taking public finance as an example, in many countries, politicians are very willing to promise higher subsidies or increase social expenditure, but providing funds for these expenses is completely different.Therefore, deficits appear in these countries, and over time, deficits have continued to increase until the eventual situation becomes out of control.It is not to say that Singapore has not faced greater pressure on increasing expenses or reducing taxes, but the ministers of the past know that avoiding problems and deficits are irresponsible, because it will only pass the burden to the future generations.On the contrary, we did exactly the opposite thing.We are cautious in expenditure, saving a little every year, and through wisely investing in these savings, we gradually establish reserves.We also formulate strict guarantee measures to protect the reserves -to ensure that we only spend money when we really need it.These reserves have given us toughness and confidence, so that we can survive the difficult period -whether it is a major financial crisis or the recent crown disease.
We have always been able to maintain the financial sustainability, while providing high -quality public services at the same time, just because we manageIt is strict.We maintain a streamlined and efficient government.Government tax and charging account for only about 15%of the GDP (GDP), far lower than many developed countries.15%of GDP is about expenditures for France and Italy for only national pensions (about 14%and 15%, respectively).However, to streamline and efficiency, the discipline of political leaders is needed -only spent on what really needs, including a good and full social security network, but do not overdo it.It requires a first -class public service department, can be able to propose policies and implement these policies well, and to bring good results to the people in this process.It also needs political mind and courage.Because we need to ensure that the income continues to keep up with as our expenditure demand increases.This means that when we need it, make difficult political decisions to increase taxes.
Take the consumption tax as an example.Our consumption tax system is clean, efficient and basic.It is an important source of income -after the company's income tax, it is not only personal income tax until this year.We already know that consumption taxes need to be raised at some point, especially to fund more medical services to support our fast aging population.We carefully study this issue with officials.Political leadership systematically prepares for this long -term preparation.
Honest and consistent public information is important
In the 2011 election event, we said that we do not need to increase consumption tax now.In the 2015 election event, we can still stick to it, and say that there is no need to raise consumption tax immediately, but it is foreseeable that there will be this need in the future.After that election, the Ministry of Finance studied prediction again and was believed that tax increases could not be avoided within 10 years.The minister decided to do this after the next election.The Minister of Finance announced this in the 2018 budget.In order to ensure that everyone receives information, I reiterated this at the 2019 People's Action Party Conference.This is a political decision, we know that this will cause the ruling party to lose some votes.But we strongly believe that we must be responsible and frank to voters.It is important that voters are about to increase their consumption tax before voting, so as to maintain their trust and support.This is very important.Of course, we also make political decisions, do our best to help Singaporeans, and ensure that they will be able to cope with the improvement of consumption tax.We formulate and announce a comprehensive offset of supporting measures to relieve impact, especially for low -income families.The Minister of Finance published detailed information in the 2020 budget, and even before the election, it was far earlier than the tax increase itself.
The 2020 election encountered a crown disease epidemic. After the epidemic subsided, we still need to continue to increase the consumption tax, but the problem is how to implement it.Then we made another political decision to divide the tax increase into two steps: increased from 7%in 2023 to 8%, and then increased from 8%in 2024 to 9%.I don't think that public services itself tends to adjust this two -step adjustment.This means two times the overhead of administrative management, two system updates, and scores twice to communicate with the public with the public.However, the implementation of two steps to respond to the public's concerns about the increase in taxation.This shows that the government recognizes that the conditions have not fully returned to normal, and they are doing their best to give people more time to adapt to more gradual tax increases.
Today, the consumption tax has increased to 9%, and assistance measures have been implemented.I can touch my conscience and say that the government has done the right thing to minimize pain and accept changes to the greatest extent.
It is not easy to improve taxes -see if other countries know.But in Singapore, the minister cooperates closely with the public service department.The minister does political work, persuades the grassroots level, formulates assistance facilities, shows political leadership, and allows public services to focus on work and avoid political pressure.Public service departments provide suggestions to the ministers, implement tax increases, design and implement assistance supporting facilities; no one can independently complete the work.We have taken difficult measures together, so that our finances have a good foundation in the long -term future and provide guarantee for the best interests of Singapore's long -term long -term. For this reason, we can be proud.
Political leadership and public service departments must work closely on other similar strategic issues. Whether it is public transportation, immigration, or income unequivation, everyone must do their best.In this way, the political leadership and public service departments can jointly formulate good policies, persuade Singaporeans to support these policies, and make these policies success.As long as we can do it, we must do our best to let our government operate in this way.
What depends on this?At the national level, we need to maintain and update high -quality political leadership, continue to attract outstanding talents from politics, update the trust and confidence between political leaders and the public for generations, and ensure a good political system.This will enable the public service department to make full contributions.
As far as it is concerned, the public service department plays an important role in maintaining Singapore's excellence.We put forward high demands on civil servants, especially this group -our public service leaders.You must set the tone and direction in your respective organizations, and show your colleagues and subordinates to colleagues and subordinates through personal examples.Although you can expect a good career in the public service department, I believe you also understand that this is not just a job or a career.Unlike working in private sector or business organizations, public services are a mission: you do this to serve Singapore and Singaporeans.Public services must always adhere to this mission and drive.What does that mean?This means that you must continue to maintain a high -level professional spirit and excellent performance in your work.You must maintain the spirit of public service, and understand why you do this, and why this is worth it.You must also understand the overall situation: the country's strategic and political reality, as well as the deepest concerns and desires of Singaporeans.You must cooperate closely with the political leadership to provide results for Singapore.
Our founding leader understands this from the beginning.In 1959, a few months after obtaining autonomy in Singapore, Mr. Li Guangyao and his team set up a civil servant political research center -let the public sector and political leadership be consistent to understand the political urgency of solving problems;Many urgent issues.Our founding leader knows that they only have one chance to do things well.If they fail, not only will the new government fall, but the democratic system in Singapore will also collapse, just like many post -colonial countries.As Mr. Li Guangyao said at the opening of the Political Research Center: "We, as a candidate minister, must work with you and put our plans and policies into practice. You should do your best to serve our people ... The proof is in the prove that it is inUnder the system of 'one person, one vote', a honest and efficient government can work through the efficient administrative department and work for the interests of the people, which is in line with our interests.
The efforts of the educational generation civil servants have been successful. These officials are devoted to this task and closely cooperated with the political leadership to face challenges.They complete their mission and create everything we have today.
Let our system continue to run
Since 1959, Singapore has made great progress.Today, our status is much stronger than before.Our economic scale is larger and developed better.The Singapore armed forces and internal affairs teams did not relax to prevent the threat of the country and ensure the safety of our family.Our housing, education, medical care, transportation, and social infrastructure are among the best in the world.The lives of Singaporeans have been greatly improved.After many years of steady improvement, our public services are also in a stronger position.Whether we are the organizations and institutions that we formulate our mission and solve today's problems, or the quality of our civil servants -their ability, development, experience and enthusiasm.But in the next few years, Singapore is facing difficult challenges.From the outside, we live in a more turbulent world. The game of great powers, de -globalization and climate change intensify.This will greatly affect an open economy dependent on trade like us.in the country, we also face severe challenges -economic transformation, peopleOld aging, incorporate immigration and work permit holders, and prepare for net zero emissions.
Prime Minister Huang Xuncai has outlined his plan through the "Singapore Jobs" campaign and the recent National Day Mass Conference.In the next few years, we have a complete agenda -to improve our economy, maintain our correlation on the international stage, care for the elderly population, and consolidate our racial harmony and social cohesion.The task of preparing for the future is endless, but we must do everything possible.Remember Juncker's motto: All governments know what they need to do, but no government knows how to be re -elected after doing it.So far, Singapore has always been an anti -example.But we are by no means an exception.We are also subject to the same political pressure and incentives as other countries.The expectations and desires of Singaporeans are getting higher and higher, and their requirements for the government are getting higher and higher.As growth becomes more and more difficult to achieve, our political competition has become more and more intense, and for us, things will become worse.If the election gap is reduced, the government will not have much political space to do the right thing; neglecting short -term considerations in decision -making will become more difficult.The political situation will be very different. Singaporeans must understand the risks this brings, and public services must also understand this.
Conclusion
I issued this warning because the outside world has changed.With the changes in the world and the times, we must do our best to update our system — to ensure that it continues to serve us. Even if things change, good policies and good politics will continue to be the key.At the same time: We must have a civil servant team driven by the correct values and spiritual driving, with the ability and operation of the correct policies to design and implement the correct policies, and continuously improve and innovate.In close cooperation with the political leadership, the political leadership has political courage, beliefs and skills, persuading and encouraging the people, winning their support, and providing very rare things in the world.Singaporeans have stated that we can do good government and stable progress.Therefore, let's convey the belief and mission of serving Singapore to the new generation, and update the relationship between the civil servants and the political leadership.You can trust the minister to do their work.I believe that as the leader of a civil servant, you will do his best and cooperate with the ministers to allow Singapore to move forward under the leadership of the new generation.
The author is a state -owned state -owned government. This article is his speech on September 17 at the annual ceremony of public service leaders in 2024.Translation of speech group
