Originally posted by timothytsgsg:
The reason on why I wrote that because I believed in a few main things:
1) Economic freedom and political freedom goes hand-in-hand. When there's creative freedom in your workplace, eventually you will transfer that into your home and your family. So if you feel more happier with your work in a new working culture and regime, you naturally wanna share with your family. And when you get more money from your bonuses from your company, you wanna share with your family.
And with more money in your pockets and wallets, you also sense a belonging to the country as it shows that it recognizes and appreciates your real talents, your hard work, the results you get and the effort. You score points and money not by kissing ur bosses' rear end everyday, but by your own hands. That, by itself, creates a lot of positive feelings from within.
From there, politics take over. Elections you will vote to show that you want a govt which can not only continue to run the country- not control- in an effective manner, but also care for the citizens of the country as well. Eventually most of your family members and your relatives will vote because they care as well.
2) Working culture in Singapore is still about the family-run, monopolistic culture. The bosses only know how to kiss up people they like and kick down people they dislike. People who are the best ass kissers are the ones promoted while those who prefer to be honest and work hard are relegated to the tiny corners of the office to rot.
It sucks the hell out of a job and is extremely de-motivating to anyone who works in such a culture. What's the point of working in such an environment? Sure the pay is good but if you feel that you hate your fellow colleagues, the bosses doesn't like you and you work for nuts and yet get nothing, then what's the point?
The PAP may not get the whole blame for this but let's face it, they let it happened and they let it fester by sweeping it under the carpet, ignoring it. They also don't make themselves look good by doing the same thing in the opaque glasses of their GLCs.
The working culture in S'pore usually sucks and that's why by liberalising the private sector, we mostly probably will see the 1st few positive steps in re-instating a more open working culture that motivates people more than the exact depressing opposite.
3) Just read Jack Welch's book, read some US-published magazines and read about the current business scenes in the US and around the world. See how much the people there and internationally have so much choices and so much economic freedom. Everytime in Newsweek and Time, I read about a new young prospective CEO from South Korea or China or the US and everytime I wonder why can't Singapore have one?
Why does it always be the same old boring person? I mean SWH is okay but he's no Steve Jobs. He isn't like Google founders either- or the Starbucks founders for that matter. Almost 98% of our multi-millionaires are about 70 to 80 years old.
Bill Gates is so much richer than these guys and he's only still 50! Roman Abramovich, rich oil magnate and Chelsea FC owner is only 37 or 38 and he has US$15billion.
The truth is this: can we ever find a real young CEO or a billionaire coming out from our system- both public and private- anytime soon? With such a rubbish obselete system, it will be forever before we find our Steve Jobs, Roman Abramovich, Jack Welch, Warren Buffett or the guys from Google.
But with a change in the system, in the private and even in the public sector, we might see a change- for the better. And for the better for Singapore as well.
Wow! That's quite a load off the chest isn't?
I do agree with you but sadly I don't think there is any change in the system in sight. Sad ....