Singapore in transition: economic change and political consequences

Abstract

With Lee Hsien Loong's ascendancy to the prime ministership of Singapore, there has been a general recognition that whilst this heralded a change in generational leader-ship, little expectation exists that any fundamental political change will take place. This paper argues that, rather than examining the current actors for signs of political change, economic changes within the Singaporean economy are a more fruitful source of political change analysis. By political change the author does not mean any dimin-ishing of the dominance of the People's Action Party, but a change in the 'type' of political actors that will be required to ensure Singapore's future economic success. Lee has always had a strong preference for those who perform well scholastically, particu-larly in the sciences. (Mauzy and Milne 2002, p. 47) To develop and implement these kind of strategies, requires much more than the absorption of new technologies and skills. It demands fundamental changes in yesterday's mind-sets, organization structures, and management processes … Challenging orthodoxies can play an important role in stimulating the flow of innovation necessary to win in the new Asian envir-onment where companies need to be different as well as better. (Williamson 2004, pp. 3, 110)