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you have my utmost respect Mr Ngiam http://www.sma.org.sg/UploadedImg/files/Pu...0transcript.pdf http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ngiam-tong-dow-la...-100223359.html

Singapore 'should nurture wealth creators, not just wealth managers' 04:45 AM May 17, 2012 by Cheow Xin Yi SINGAPORE - Singapore has to decide, going forward, whether it aims to be a "Jurong Island" or a "Shenton Way", said retired top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow at a forum yesterday. Pitting the two models against each other and as metaphors of "wealth creators" and "wealth managers", Mr Ngiam expressed concern that Singapore might be nurturing more of the latter, at the expense of the former. "I believe that, while many Singaporeans are competent in our jobs, few among us are brilliant," said Mr Ngiam, the former Ministry of Finance permanent secretary, who is now Pro-Chancellor at the National University of Singapore. What would differentiate the wealth creator from a wealth manager, he felt, would include attributes such as tremendous reserves of energy, the ability to think out of the box and "seeing possibilities where others can only see rocks". Speaking to a group of around 250 engineering students, academics and industry representatives at NUS Engineering Auditorium, Mr Ngiam was asked during the one-hour dialogue why Singapore could not possess both wealth creators and wealth managers. He replied that a job in the technology sector has got more multiplier effects than one in the services sector. "Even if you take banking and wealth management, there's no reason why people should come to Singapore to manage their funds. It can be in the middle of the Indian Ocean with a computer. The barriers to entry are very low," said Mr Ngiam. Lauding the late Dr Goh Keng Swee's contribution to the wealth creation of Singapore, Mr Ngiam noted how Dr Goh, who was Defence Minister, had established Sheng-Li Holdings to build up Singapore's defence technology. Sheng-Li was later renamed Singapore Technologies (ST) Holdings. Under Dr Goh, Mr Ngiam said that ST engineers refurbished fighter aircraft and built battle tanks, which were comparable to others internationally. "After Dr Goh retired from the Government in 1986, there is no one to replace him as our wealth creator," he added. "The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and Temasek (Holdings) are sovereign wealth managers for our national savings and reserves. They are not wealth creators." Temasek in particular, Mr Ngiam felt, is supposed to be a wealth creator, but are just being "fund managers". Going forward, Mr Ngiam said the direction Singapore takes will have an impact on its political, economic, educational and labour policies. Asked what Singapore can do now to nurture wealth creation, Nr Ngiam said: "The engineering faculty should be given more resources." Later, he suggested that the Government could provide funding for university final year students of any discipline to start their business aspirations. "At the end of the day, if 10 per cent succeed out of 100, there will be 10 future companies," said Mr Ngiam.

I've read an interview with with Ngiam Tong Dow on straits times'(22 may 08) home section, and his views resonates deep within me. Unfortnately, because I do not subscribe to ST Online, I can only but share a few excerpts with you. Singapore Becoming High Cost, Low Tech "Wages in Singapore had gone up significantly over the decades, but the level of technology not by as much" " Their best and brightest from Oxbridge, instead of going into engineering and running factories, went into the City of London. City of London - They are not creators of wealth, they are just shuffling wealth assets around the place" " The United States has over taken Britain because "while some of their best went to Wall Street, their best still go into engineering" - Mr Ngiam's take on London' economic decline and US's continued economic success I am an engineer, and this strikes me with entirety. From my point of view, Singapore's engineering prowess(other than rig building) is falling/has fallen behind countries like Malaysia, and even the up and coming China. Manufacturing is dead because we only rely on MNCs to give jobs, and when they move to cheaper places, there is no one to replace them. Even after 30 years under them, Singapore's economic visionares did not develop engineering technology proprietary to Singapore. Simply look at the AMD and Intel chips, mobos, etc we have in our rigs. Its all manufactured in Malaysia, Taiwan, and China. You will need supreme mastery of technology to be able to design and manufacture these items, along with equipment used to manufacture these items. Needless to day, these are knowledge not clear to us anymore. On The Sale of Natsteel to Tata. " I don't know why our successors just sold it away, A pity, actually a body of knowledge - because in steel, you must know about steel trading, they whole experience is in there.... why the hell do we sell a pool of knowledge to somebody?[sIC]" It is sad when immediate returns are more valued than possible bigger future development. 40 years of knowledge sold. Because of this, Tata now has the technical prowess to build their cars cheaply ie. the Nano. Singapore, has lost yet, another opportunity. "We had shophouses to let out. When we tendered out, one bank offered $10,000, other stores offered more or less. There was one barber who offered only $200. I took it back to Mr Hon(Hon Sui Sen), and said:"This man offered only $200. But Jurong needs a barber because there are so many workers out there." Mr Hon:"Okay, you accept his $200, but tell him 3-year flexible lease only" We had a barber in Jurong because the chairman od the EDB was prepared to accept a much lower rental." Mr Ngiam on JTC back then. This is a particularly touching point. When the chairman of the EDB is concerned enough about the small things on the street, and able to accept a smaller return for the sake of the masses. Just look at LTA, URA, EDB and most other GLC agencies today. They have grown into huge rad-taped monsters, with many layers. Personally, I can't help but feel sad for Singapore.