Kenneth Paul Tan

Asian Angle | In post-Lee Kuan Yew era, governance in Singapore must adapt to changing times

Some critics say the ruling party has lost its way, but today’s PAP is a logical extension of what it was already destined to become under Lee’s leadership

Efforts by fundamentally good people to achieve national immortality and success now face the prospect of a reversal of fortune, if flaws get out of control

Reading Time:5 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Supporters of Singapore’s People’s Action Party cheer for their candidates ahead of the 2015 general election. Photo: Reuters

Kenneth Paul Tan

Published: 10:30am, 15 Sep 2023Updated: 1:34pm, 15 Sep 2023

A century since the birth of Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, it is not uncommon to hear Singaporeans describe the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) as a pale shadow of its historic self.

The more critical among them, including some of the party’s own supporters, will even say it has lost its way, strayed from the path of its founding leadership. Others, when asserting their disapproval of some PAP politicians’ behaviour, will remark that Lee would never allow that if he were still alive.

But it has been more than eight years since his death. Lee has not risen from his grave to save Singapore, as he once famously said he would do. Not even after the shocking spate of political scandals that made headlines in July this year.

Singapore’s Finance Minister Lawrence Wong (right) and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Wong has been named as the leader of the ruling People’s Action Party’s fourth generation team. Photo: EPA-EFE

In fact, there has not really been a rupture between today’s PAP government and its “original” form. Today’s PAP is merely a logical extension of what it was already destined to become under Lee’s vigorous leadership.

The seeds that Lee planted have now taken root and sprouted. If still alive and influential, he almost certainly would have taken pains to remove the diseased leaves, but he would probably not have taken drastic measures like replanting or planting something altogether new.