When Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing was asked about his political ambition in a Chinese TV interview last March, he replied with a Chinese idiom, which can be loosely translated as:

“Man proposes, God disposes”.(谋事在人；成事在天）

That cryptic answer reflected one thing that Chan had to grapple with, since he was identified to be one of the core members among our fourth generation of leaders: Being caught in an awkward position when faced with questions about his political ambition and potential career progression.

If he said he had zero political ambitions, he would have sounded weak and disingenuous, but if he expressed his desire for leadership, he would be at risk of sounding presumptuous and full of himself.

"Rare comments" reported by Reuters raises eyebrows

Hence naturally eyebrows were raised when Reuters reported that he made "rare comments" about succession at a Foreign Correspondents Association of Singapore briefing on Monday (Oct. 30), saying he had an obligation to be ready to take on the job of PM if called upon.

So what did Chan actually say when he was asked point-blank if he would like to take on the job as the next Prime Minister?

Based on the transcript Mothership.sg obtained from Chan's office, his somewhat meandering response was actually remarkably consistent with his personal style -- marked by a disinclination bordering on aversion to talk about himself and the constant references to "we" as a team -- when it comes to answering questions like these.

This was what transpired during that exchange:

Sharanjit Leyl (BBC): “Would you like the job?”

Chan Chun Sing: “All of us have to be prepared to do the job when called upon. And I will just repeat what Minister Khaw Boon Wan shared with us – In Singapore, leadership is a responsibility to be borne, not a position to be sought. You might think we sound very cliché, but I think I can speak for my fellow colleagues, that we all believe in this. We are where we are because of what the Singapore system has given us. We own this dream that we want to be called Singaporeans forever more. We know that it is an uphill task for a small nation to defy the odds of history, to survive without a hinterland. But we are also confident that with the advent of new technologies, that we can make it transcend our innate geographical and resource limitations. We are confident but we are never complacent.But all of us know that when called upon, we must not shirk from the responsibility.” (emphasis ours)

You can say he avoided answering the question directly, but he did manage to make an indirect point that in Singapore politics, it's most probably best not to talk about personal ambitions.

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What else did Chan say about leadership renewal

It is clear that Chan is being groomed for greater responsibilities.

One cannot help but notice that he has been stepping up to sell difficult and unpopular policies, such as water price hikes and the reserved presidential elections to the general populace.

And the fact that he was prepared to engage the foreign correspondents in Singapore at the event reflected the confidence senior political leaders have in him and his willingness to gain exposure outside his comfort zone.

In many ways, what he did not say and how he responded to questions were perhaps as interesting as what he said.

For keen observers of local politics, his assertiveness on the importance of teamwork and his clarity of thought and purpose, certainly did not make him sound like just another cabinet minister.

Here are some of his other thoughts and comments on our next generation leadership for you to chew on:

• Reassuring the business community and external investors that there will be continuity

"I know many people are interested in the 4th generation and so forth, and my truthful answer is this – the 4th generation is a finite permutation in mathematical parlance. It is more important to look at the team than to look at the individuals. In Singapore, you’re not going to expect as if person A becomes the Prime Minister versus person B, that the direction is going to be so diametrically opposite as to cause a huge discontinuity or disruption. In fact, whatever policies that we have in place now are thought through by the team, carried by the team, owned by the team."

• Personality and style are not determining factors

"Of course I accept that every individual leader would have his own style, his own personality and so forth. But by and large, those are not the determining factors. If you like, at the margins, the personality and the style and all that make a bit of a difference. But the central policy direction, I think, is what is determined by the team and this is what we should be focusing on. And if you take that perspective, you should be quite assured, within the finite permutations, we can have confidence that there will be business continuity in Singapore. You can be assured that the team of people are trying their level best to not only have business continuity but to constantly reinvent ourselves to stay relevant. So that is one perspective to take – look at the team and ask ourselves - is the team broadly in shape with the necessary capabilities? We will all play different roles at different stages of Singapore’s development. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We are all committed to make sure that as a team, we can help cover each other’s strengths and weaknesses, overlap each other as in playing football, to make sure that we bring the country forward. "

• The bigger challenge is finding people to serve beyond the 4th generation

"The question is this – how do we, as a small country, continuously attract committed people to come forth. Now, if the country is at war, has an epidemic, has a famine, there is a recession, maybe the whole place is upside down, maybe you have people who are very passionate who want to come forth, sacrifice their personal aspirations, family and so forth, to take charge of the country, much like the 1965 generation. But it is a fact that in every country, in every successful country, the more successful you are, the more difficult it is to find people who are prepared to put aside their personal aspirations to come forth to serve. If the young people of Singapore, those in their 30s, 20s and even those in their teens – if they continue to believe in this dream of ours to be independent and sovereign, that they are prepared to stand in the gap, then I think we will be very confident in our journey towards SG100. But we must believe in this. "

• The new leader will need time to command respect domestically and internationally

"It sounds cliché, it sounds easy to do, but it is not easy. And you need a process , and you need time, to ensure that whoever leads the country, not just the individual but the team, commands the respect, the trust of fellow Singaporeans, and also the international audience like many of you present today. We need to create that track record, if you like, to punch above our weight. Nobody will have sympathy or charity for us just because we are called Singapore. Nobody invites us to the international conferences to be at the table naturally. So we have to earn our keep, and for a small country to earn our keep, it is never easy, but we are determined. At least I can speak for my generation, I can speak for my Cabinet colleagues, we are determined that we will pass on a better Singapore to the next generation for them to decide how to take the country forward."

 

Top photo from Chan Chun Sing Facebook

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