"In all recorded history there has not been one economist who has had to worry about where the next meal would come from." - Peter Drucker

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Insight: Themes new, old and recurring

"Stayers versus quitters

THIS began to emerge as an issue in 1989, a time when Singaporeans became increasingly mobile.

That year, Mr Lee Kuan Yew had strong words for those who did 'materialistic calculations' before deciding to stay or leave. 'If you just do your sums - plus, minuses, credit, debit - you are a washout,' he said.

The issue was revisited in 1996, when Mr Goh noted that some Singaporeans now talked openly about emigrating. He argued that successful Singaporeans, whom society had invested in, had a special duty to make a difference to the lives of other Singaporeans. 'To opt out and emigrate is a cop-out,' he said.

The issue later erupted into the stayers versus quitters debate in 2002."


"It is often said that the defining ideological characterization of the PAP is political pragmatism. Pragmatism tends to be loosely defined, meaning practical or useful... It has become equated with rationality. However, pragmatism can also mean expediency — doing what is advantageous while motivated primarily by self-interest...

Lee Kuan Yew has described the PAP approach as ''rational'', meaning choosing the best available course of action and not allowing any option for achieving that goal to be excluded on account of dogma. There are two aspects to PAP pragmatism. One is a commitment to rationality and practical results, the litmus test being “Does it work?”, and the other is tactical. The PAP prides itself on not having any “sacred cows” to prejudice freedom of action."

--- Singapore Politics Under the People’s Action Party, Diane K. Mauzy. Robert Stephen Milne


"The overriding goal of PAP pragmatism is to ensure continuous economic growth. This singular goal is simultaneously the singular criterion for initiating and assessing all government activities, in terms of how an act will aid or retard this growth."

--- Communitarian Ideology and Democracy in Singapore, Chua Beng Huat


"Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia... have been important areas of migration since the establishment of British colonial rule in the early nineteenth century. The large and sustained immigration was engendered by the demand for labour in the public works and agricultural plantations, by the good prospects for trade and commerce, and by the law and order attendant on British rule. Such forces of attraction, coupled with liberal immigration policies, were reinforced by equally strong repelling forces in the immigrants’ countries of origin. Natural calamities, political upheavals, poverty and population pressure were the decisive factors that induced the immigrants to leave their countries."

--- The Population of Singapore (2nd Edition), Saw Swee Hock, Swee-Hock Saw