9/30/2015

15 Prime Ministers for Singapore

This is my recommendation. You don’t have to agree but I have good reasons for it. The appointment of two ministers each in MTI and Education is so well received that the reasons for it must be right. Singapore should seriously be thinking of having 15 Prime Ministers to be efficient and productive and to take the country forward

Here are some of the favourable comments in support of having two ministers in the two ministries reported in the ST. No one has a bad word for it. No one can find anything wrong with it. It has no flaws, as good as a concept in perfection. I will put them down in point forms for ease of reading.


1. Challenging period and tepid economy

2. Two ministers mean greater focus on each area, each dedicated to specific areas, aka dedicated ministers, I like the pun

3. Global competition and fast pace technological advancement

4. Greater attention and accountability

5. Business can expect more help, also know the priority of govt

6. Boosting economic growth like a car with two engines or is it two exhausts

7. Ministers would have more time to interact with business leaders

8. And for better coordination it is apt to have a coordinating minister on top of them. If not we may end up like the housing crisis, influx of population but not building flats

9. SME Association Kurt Wee even suggested a third minister dedicated to SMEs. This is good anticipation ability to see the trend for more ministers


The two minister concept is such an ingenious creation that the govt should have thought of it long ago. Never has a govt initiative been so well received. And by the comments from the business leaders, the govt really needs to have more ministers in every ministry. Singapore is growing, the world is growing, jobs are getting so big and so complicated, one minister is just impossible to cope and do a good job.

Actually the move has already been started long ago in the PMO. There are quite a number of ministers in the PMO, suggesting that there is a need for more PMs. So with ministries getting more ministers to help to run, it is unfair to expect the PM to work alone. The current practice of having so many ministers in the PMO should be abolished and replaced by having more PMs with one PM overseeing one ministry. Then to make sure that there is proper coordination and efficiency, there will be a Coordinating PM to gel the PM team together.

Singapore will have the most effective and efficient govt to take it forward in the next 50 years. This is political entrepreneurship, with creative and innovative new ideas in govt.

What about cost? Never mind, if the new structure of having so many ministers is productive, it would pay by itself even if the cost of govt is 10 times more. You must pay for good quality right? It is the result that counts. Did you see why Singaporeans are paying so much for housing and cars and still able to pay? The simple answer is that they can afford it as they are making a lot of money. So there is no need to worry about cost of govt when there are productivity and growth.

We need to seriously study this new approach to govt for more productivity. The old concept of productivity means one minister wears 10 hats and one MP with 50 directorships. The new productivity formula is many ministers in one ministry and many ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries and Chairman of committees to work together to improve productivity.

This is simply ingenious. Harvard is going to take this idea further and develop a course on it for a Ph D in Govt Administration.

16 comments:

  1. Please stay calm RB. The LHL team knows what is best for you. Since you have given the PAP team 70% mandate, you have to leave all policies in their safe hands. Whatever the PAP team decides will be good for the welfare of the Singaporeans. So RB, please relax, stay calm and let the government perform the best for you and your family. OK?

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  2. No! No! No! We don't need 15 PMs!

    Maybe 1 PM with 5 DPMs, each coordinating inter-ministries matters.

    Each ministry can have 1 Full Minister and AT LEAST 2 Deputy Ministers.

    The more ministers the better for SINGAPORE to cover all directions, top bottom front back left right centre!

    Cost is nothing! Cheap! Very Cheap! Cantonese saying "wet-wet-water"!

    Uniquely Singapore!

    Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well deciphered.
    The Sin Cabinet is filled
    with CRONIES.

    With a Cabinet like Sin,
    it as good to run the governments
    of the US and China combined.

    Some do disagree and bluntly
    declared that they found the
    PMs in Sin cho bo lan(do nothing except collect money) and remunerate themselves by the millions.

    Do You agree ?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anon 9:46, I definitely very calm. That is why I can sit back, relax, look at the big picture, analyse and conceptualise like a professori, and writing papers for discussion.

    A panicky person would not be able to write this kind of high brow and complex stuff and make it look so simple.

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  5. There are or were 2 perm secs in the Finance Ministry: Budget and Revenue.
    Maybe PMs - prime ministers - 1 Operation 2 Staff 3 Planning 4 Budget 5 Internal Affairs 6 External Affairs...?

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  6. Education needs more ministers. 1 primary education 2 secondary education 3 tertiary education 4 private education 5 pre primary education

    Like that got 5 persons can get minister salaries.

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  7. Yo, redbean, how much kickback are you getting out of this?
    Instead of ministers getting $1 million plus each, you are now recommending 15 PMs each getting more than $3 million? What, you think your ahkong owns the bank?

    ReplyDelete
  8. PAP Joke
    ===========
    Q: How many PAP Ministers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
    A: Five. One Minister to stand on the chair to hold the light bulb. And four Ministers to push the chair around in a circular direction to unscrew the light bulb.

    Q: How many Singaporeans does it take to unscrew the same light bulb?
    A: NONE. The Singaporean turned on the switch and showed that the light bulb is working well and was never broken in the first place.

    ReplyDelete
  9. PAO Joke
    =================
    Q: How many Alien Talents does it take to change a light bulb?
    A: Twenty Aliens and One Singaporean. We need;
    - One Alien CEO
    - One Alien CFO
    - One Alien COO
    - One Alien HR Manager
    - One Alien General Manager
    - One Alien Finance Manager
    - One Alien IT Manager
    - One Alien Engineering Manager
    - Two Alien Supervisors
    - Ten other Alien Workers to stand around to watch the light bulb being changed.
    - And One Singaporean worker to physically change the light bulb

    ReplyDelete
  10. Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi unknown, welcome to the blog.

    If each gives me 1% commission I will laugh all the way to the banks.

    ReplyDelete
  12. At the meantime, each Sinkaporeans will have to do 3 person's job to achieve betterer, fasterer and cheaperer concept.....

    ReplyDelete
  13. What's wrong with having 15 Prime Ministers or even more, if the People are fine with it?

    Many Sinkies believe and claim that without PAP, they are likely to have became captives to aliens. Or end up as refugees, slaves and prostitutes.
    PAP is a saviour to many Sinkies and they are grateful. They feel very blessed to have PAP made them the envy of other nationals.

    You do not feel proud ?

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  14. After next election we probably will have a minister for haze, a minister for ponding, a minister for pest control, a minister for floods, a minister for overseeing opposition town councils (only), you name it they have it.

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  15. Really nothing wrong leh. Only pay and pay mah. Or is it tax and tax and more taxes?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Singaporeans just love to 'Pay and Pay'. But 'Pay and Pay' party also smart enough to throw bones and feathers to the daft to make them happy, then make them pay and pay. They just love it, election after election. This is indeed paradise found.

    ReplyDelete