When there are no easy choices, it is time to think out of the box. Often this will not work either then all good leaders cast their sight to the future and wait for changing circumstances to provide the opportunity to act. It might be controversial e.g., Obama's Iran peace initiative.
It is perfectly true that it is easy for us to criticize. The job of finding solutions is orders of magnitude harder.
I don't know about others but I criticize because.
1. There is inadequate questioning and criticism in parliament and the MSM.
2. A consequence of believing that only the paranoid survives.
3. We must always do better. The media keeps Obama humble. What keeps LHL and his ministers humble? A repeat of 2011?
4. The best leaders don't care if they are popular, so criticizing them do not hurt them and can only help them do better. These are the results speak for themselves characters.
On and off I praise their work in this blog too. The latest was how Shanmugam scolded US lawmakers publicly in DC.
In my parents' time it was futile for leaders to try to get them to understand the pressures of the job and the limits of policy making. In our time when it is clearer that the cognitive and judgement gap between the ministers and many well educated and traveled among us is narrower, government leaders must communicate much better. Give some opinion makers opportunities to understand your constraints (count me out). They will either provide out of box ideas or at least explain policies to others.
The solutions the PAP government suggest got to be better. Never mind if they cannot do better but keep trying. Sure the future is hazy as the PM replied to Chan Heng Chee's questions.
No comments:
Post a Comment