Guy who interviews 350 top teenage students in S'pore each year thinks he knows what they want out of life

Right.

Belmont Lay| October 17, 02:42 PM

Eddie Teo (pictured above), chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC) who gives lunch dialogues, interviews 350 young people vying for scholarships each year, spending 30 minutes on each of them.

The 350 are shortlisted from some 2,500 applicants for the PSC scholarship. Some 70 scholarships are awarded a year on average, even though there is no quota or cap. Successful applicants are bonded for between four and six years.

Recently, the former President's Scholar and former High Commissioner to the country in the 2000s, gave a speech on Sept. 24 at an Overseas Singaporean Unit event in Melbourne, Australia.

Check out what Teo, who spent 35 years in the safe and secure iron rice bowl environment of the civil service, has to say about young Singaporeans, based on the essays they write, their school records, their psychological profiles and their responses at PSC interviews:

Via the essay topic young interviewees have to tackle is what kind of Singapore they would like to see in 15 years' time, Teo found:

1. Young people are aware of the values espoused by the founding fathers, particularly Lee Kuan Yew.

2. However, the young make what Lee Kuan Yew would have considered irrational lifestyle choices, such as emigrating to Australia to work less and go fishing more.

The young simply do not see life as work and work as life.

3. Young people still do think critically though, such as what is happening to the socio-economic disparities and political environment in Singapore.

But they believe Singapore should not be a welfare state, but the government should do more for poor Singaporeans.

4. The young are also critical of the educational system even though they benefited from it. So this makes them a tad hypocritical.

But what they want is for a greater diversity in criteria for success. Those who excel in areas such as sports and the arts ought to be recognised and rewarded as well.

5. When it comes to political views, the young in Singapore are not ideological and pragmatic. They want the People's Action Party to be in power but desire checks and balances in the form of a a strong but moderate opposition.

They are also sceptical about the claim that there is not enough talent in Singapore for two strong opposition.

 

And here are four flaws young Singaporeans possess:

1. The young have a poor knowledge of Singapore's history. For example, they do not know who S. Rajaratnam is. He is our first Foreign Minister by the way.

2. A few are knowledgeable about current and foreign affairs. They might not be reading books and magazines enough and might not even have visited Yangon or Phnom Penh, even though Singaporeans should know about the pecking order and Singapore's place in the region.

3. They are too risk-averse. This is evident as the best students have decided to join the public service instead of forging a path in the private sector or be an entrepreneur. Then again it could be a case of self-selection.

4. They lack imagination and creativity. Only a few are deemed by the psychologists as being able to think out of the box and to offer unconventional ideas and solutions.

 

In conclusion, civil servants by and large, now and in the future, are advised to be:

Less "kiasu" and "kiasi" -- traits which other Singaporeans continue to share -- but become bolder, less risk-averse and more innovative.

This is so as unconventional ideas coming from one party alone is a recipe for failure.

The government must welcome and not fear disagreement as the people must be critical but remain responsible and reasonable.

The government cannot be too micro-managing and strict, or else, it will make too many enemies. If managed well, those outside can be co-opted and turned into allies.

And if the government's new skillsets prove inadequate, Singapore will slowly cease to be exceptional and start to decline.

 

Top photo via IPS Commons

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