Yes, Singapore Minister

Yesterday, 12 Malaysian youths met up with Mr. George Yeo, the Foreign Minister of Singapore, on his request. I was one of the fortunate 12, in the Young Peoples Club.

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It was a surreal experience. Being there at Rumah Temasek on Jalan Tun Razak, (currently the official residence of the Singapore High Commissioner) which used to be the official home of the Lee Kuan Yew, the Prime Minister of Singapore, when Singapore was still part of Malaysia, gave me a sense of nostalgia and historical significance.

It was here that the issues surrounding the Malaysia-Singapore split was discussed back in 1965, by political leaders from both sides. Tunku Abdul Rahman used to come over and play a few rounds of golf and "have a few drinks" with Lee Kuan Yew, at that time, where they discussed national issues.

It was here that the talks failed and the separation between Malaysia and Singapore happened. It was here that Dr. Goh Keng Swee, the chief architect of Singapore, drew up a list of pros and cons on a piece of paper, regarding the separation.

It was here that the Tunku, faltering under political pressure from within his own party, denied the Singaporeans the continued union and Tun Tan Siew Sin, then the Malaysian Finance Minister, denied Singapore the "common market" provisions - despite Tunku not objecting to it.

Very few realize that the basis of this decision was never racial - in fact, it was about the Chinese factions in each country, protecting their own business interest.

With that separation, we artificially divided people who came from the same roots and localities, into 2 different countries. Although, perhaps, this was necessary, to defuse the tension surrounding some of the issues regarding "Malaysian Malaysia" that Lee Kuan Yew and the People's Action Party (PAP) had raised.

Singapore went away, taking away 2 million people and 40% of Malaysia's purchasing power and some of the best brains in Universiti Malaya, then a premier university in Asia. But the situation was severe - their unemployment rate was 14% and they had no natural resources.

Forced to survive, Singapore was forced to look to the outside world for guidance and I would argue, became one of the first nations in the world that embraced open competition, in a globalized environment - way before the onset of globalization. They have done so much, with so little.

Their economic insecurities - the one that was shaped by the separation - forced them to adapt, survive and to always a keep a few steps ahead, of their neighbouring countries.

"The Little Red Dot" in Southeast Asia (as President Habibie of Indonesia called it)has done well - all things considered. Good economic governance since Lee Kuan Yew' time and talent management amongst the young, (the average age of staff in Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) is less than 32 years old) has ensured that Singapore remains ahead of the curve.

Some may argue that it is easier to run a city-state of 3-4 million people than it is to run a country of 25 million people, like Malaysia. The argument is true, up to a certain extent - Singapore has no agricultural hinterland, to provide for.

But this both a blessing and a curse. It can achieve the status of a developed country much faster and the national proceeds are spent for development, on much fewer people. But on the other hand, they are dependent on other countries for all things and in a situation of a war, Singapore may not be self-sufficient.

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Yes, there used to be a time when liberals ran this country. Inside Rumah Temasek, you will find a unique photo on the pillar area in the living area, which showed the 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia, the late Tun Abdul Razak, doing the joget with Mrs. Lee Kuan Yew.

And another of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Lee Kuan Yew (yes, Lee Kuan Yew knew how to do the joget - it was not just a Malay thing) and a few other dignitaries, doing the joget on a stage.

Yes, there was a time when Malaysian Ministers were not shy to display their Malay dance culture in public. And in comparison, the joget is proper - there is generally, no touching involved between the different genders - unlike the hip-attached-to-bum grinding that goes on nowadays.

Nowadays, we shun from having Malay leaders displaying Malay culture, in public. And we are poorer for it. The current young generation only knows how to appreciate Western music, dance and culture - or Malay music or culture that has been aping the West.

And now Ministers and political leaders only dance in private parties which they or others of their ilk, organize. But the Malay joget is long dead.

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Back to the Singapore Foreign Minister, George Yeo.

I've been reading about George Yeo, since my days in London. His political views are usually quite liberal - very un-Singaporean, one might say. I've always thought that he was Prime Minister material. A Double First graduate of Cambridge University (where he was trained in Engineering) and a Masters graduate from Harvard - they don't come academically brighter, than George Yeo.

And he is popularly known as a leading Singapore intellectual, although I've been told that this often alienates him from the common run-of-the-mill Singaporean. But meeting the man up close and personal, I found him to be very down to earth and open to discussing issues of concern.

And during the dinner, we discovered that the Minister has a penchant for history. I was impressed with his detailed knowledge of the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, the current political split between the Sunnis and Shi'ites in the Middle East and tacit support for Osama Ben Laden, as a come-uppance against American arrogance. For a non-Muslim, he knew much about the Muslim world - at least, the political intricacies and the historical background.

Some of his biases were obvious. He was visibly American-centric in relation to Iraq and refused to give a straight answer, on the issue of Israel/Palestine. But to give him due credit, he was more balanced on his views, than any non-Muslim Southeast Asian leader I've heard so far. Before every reply, he contemplated on the answer and the words were carefully chosen. But he was nothing less than direct, behind closed doors.

And there was something about his approach that was familiar. He tended to approach things from a historical background, pays attention to small details and seems to come to his conclusions in a very pragmatic clinical fashion - it was very Mahathiristic.

Perhaps, it's a clarity possessed by science and engineering-trained people - there's very little emotional bias, that stands behind a decision they make.

A few of us took the opportunity to engage the Minister in a discussion and debate, over current issues. I tried to cull from him the secret of Singapore retaining its policy and civil service leadership young, even from the 1960's.

His answer was simple - most of the older people, say above 40, in Singapore at that time, were not university-educated. They had to take young people, because these people were the only ones with degrees!

Furthermore, most sponsored scholars come and serve the Singapore Government only in the first few years of their careers - after that they would "flow through" and join the private sector, perhaps in their mid-30's. This kept the policy and civil service circles, relatively young.

I also argued with the Minister over the issue of brain drain (which both Malaysia and Singapore suffers from) and that the logical thing to do, would be to attract the best brains from less developed countries, to reverse the brain drain - as opposed to trying to attract our best locals back from developed countries. People naturally gravitate towards a more developed environment, in a globalized world.

George Yeo did not quite agree with me on this and said that it would be a waste "if we lost our core people" (meaning locals). But he did agree with me, that globalization has greatly weakened patriotism and educated people tend to be more individualistic, now - with little regard to roots, community and a sense of responsibility to contribute back, to one's country.

After about 1 hour plus, the Minister politely excused himself, to attend another appointment. We all left the function at Temasek House, a little impressed with the man. Perhaps, if there were many more like him, then Malaysia-Singapore ties, would be greatly strengthened.

And Mr. Yeo, you've got my vote for becoming Singapore PM, one day. Majulah Singapura!