Out of the box Learning from other countries
When I visit another country, I pay attention to how their organize their society and give my observations on how things could be improved in Singapore.

Some people have the mistaken impression that I found conditions in other countries to be better than Singapore. This is a wrong impression.

Let me share my perspective.

I do not point out what is wrong in other countries. This would give an appearance of arrogance. It would also be inappropriate because I do not know the obstacles that they may face. I prefer to be polite to the host countries.

I do see many areas where they appear to organize their systems better than Singapore. I share these observations so that the people in charge can consider these possible improvements. I also want the general public to give their views on whether they like to see these changes.

Often, I found that the practices adopted in other countries reflect their desire to take better care of the people.

In the case of Singapore, our approach appear to take better care of the businesses, e.g. to reduce cost, at the expense of the taking care of the people.

For example, I am impressed with the availability of service staff manning the information desks and doing work in the premises. I approach them for information and get helpful answers from well educated and knowledgeable staff who come from the community. They do not employ foreign workers who are cheaper. These businesses incur the higher operating cost in the interest of giving better service to their customers.

We need to change our business practices and give get more opportunities for our locals to have useful jobs. 

Tan Kin Lian





 

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