What went wrong in Singapore: by a former insider

A FB friend shared this and I read it. I was duly impressed but somehow sensed that there is something very wrong about it. Took me two days to pin it down as my subconscious mulled over it. Then I wrote to my friend, who was also very impressed, a very smart person who used to worked for Dr. Goh as follows.

I felt there was something very basic and wrong about the well thought article this former admin service officer had written but I couldn't pin it down until this morning. 

The whole article in one word was [clipped]. First class intellect yes, but without old fashioned common sense. Was too academic, too caught up with theory. Pity Dr. Goh wasn't around to scold them.....that was why I rumbled away about the same ideas I had which the guy had written about, my skepticism on how they can be used....incubating in my subconscious I got it. 

It is always harder for me since I do not have the burden of responsibility. I have the luxury of indulging the intellect without concern for its practical application. Also so few readers can point out the flaws. I can hide behind their ignorance. 

A whole generation of policy makers need common sense training. Who is going to do that job?

What went wrong?

By Donald Low's FC

It has been nearly ten years since the PAP won a landslide victory at the 2001 General Election. Held soon after the September 2001 terrorist attacks and the collapse of the US tech bubble, the 2001 election showed that in times of crisis, Singaporeans turned instinctively to the trusted hands of the PAP. Almost ten years later at the 2011 General Election, the PAP scored only 60.1% of the popular vote, a reversal of 15% compared to just ten years ago. What went wrong? What does the report card...