Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that public servants must understand the political context in which the government functions to be effective, but cannot get embroiled in political debates or party politics.

Public servants need to stay impartial and stay out of politics, SM Lee added.

He was speaking at the 2024 Annual Public Service Leadership Award Ceremony.

SM Lee also touched on what it takes to govern Singapore well, noting three key factors: good policies and politics, good public service and political leadership, and the right relationship between the public service and political leadership.

SM Lee said Singapore has been able to overcome the "tumultuous early days of nationhood" because it is well-governed.

It took good policies and politics, good public service and political leadership, and the right relationship between the public service and political leadership to govern Singapore well, he added.

"For six decades, we have made steady progress... We have overcome major crises together as a nation: severe recessions, regional troubles, the Covid-19 pandemic; and in doing so, we have become a more cohesive and united people.

And because we got things right domestically, we could stand tall internationally."

Good policies and good politics

SM Lee elaborated that getting policies right was crucial, and public officers knew better than most that policymaking was hard.

He added that creating good policies is a very demanding task that requires knowledge, experience, creativity, a practical touch, and organisational ability.

If not done well, the goals and ambitions "will remain empty slogans," and the government will fail to deliver results to Singapore.

He said: "That is why it is vital to have a competent, professional, high quality public service."

SM Lee also pointed out that the public service has to stay out of politics, remain impartial and cannot get into political debates or party politics.

However, for the public service to function effectively, it must understand the political context in which the government functions.

For political leaders, ministers have to set Singapore's overall direction with the best interest of the nation and its people in mind.

SM Lee warned that ministers cannot confine themselves narrowly to politics; to be effective, they must master policies, too.

"Ministers who just preside ceremonially over the ministries, setting grand objectives and then leaving the hard work of getting things done to the public officers, add no value."

The right relationship

Beyond good policies, SM Lee said public officers who do their jobs well need to serve under good ministers.

"The stronger the public service, the better the political leadership needs to be," SM Lee said, refuting the claim some make that it is easy to be a minister in Singapore due to its capable public service.

To establish the right relationship between good ministers and good public service, SM Lee said each has its respective role and must do well.

The respective responsibilities must be kept clear, and both sides must work closely together with mutual trust, respect, and understanding.

SM Lee drew on the example of raising taxes like the Goods and Services Tax (GST), where ministers and the public service worked closely.

Ministers did the political work, like preparing the ground and deciding on support measures, while the public service advisers the ministers and executed the increase, design and implementation of the support package.

"The political leadership and the public service will need to work closely together like this on a whole range of other strategic issues, whether it is public transport, immigration, or income inequality.

Each will need to do its part, so that together the political leadership and the public service can come up with good policies, persuade Singaporeans to support them, and make the policies succeed. We must do our best to keep our government functioning in this way for as long as we can."

Formidable challenges

SM Lee warned that Singapore faces formidable challenges in the years ahead, both externally as the world becomes increasingly turbulent, as well as domestic challenges.

He added that Singapore faces political pressures and incentives where Singaporeans' expectations, aspirations and demands on the government rise.

"As growth becomes harder to come by, as our politics becomes more fiercely contested, things can go wrong for us too.

If electoral margins get slimmer, the government will have less political space to do the right things.

It will become harder to disregard short-term considerations in decision-making.

The political dynamics will become very different."

"Singaporeans must understand the dangers this creates, and so must the public service," SM Lee said.

Top photos via SM Lee/Facebook