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As the brand new chief of the Individuals’s Motion Get together’s (PAP) 4G workforce and prime minister-in-waiting, Lawrence Wong, 49, will enter his stint on the high in circumstances vastly completely different from these confronted by his predecessors.
GE2020 noticed opposition social gathering Employees’ Get together acquire yet one more GRC, whereas strengthening its maintain over Aljunied.
On the identical time, the entry of the Progress Singapore Get together (PSP) within the enviornment noticed a really close-run contest in West Coast GRC, shut sufficient that it might nominate two Non-Constituency Members of Parliament.
Merely put, Wong’s imminent tenure as chief of the PAP appears more likely to coincide with a political state of play the place Singaporeans — particularly the youthful ones — are extra open to contemplating opposing choices.
Rising range of experiences
This local weather has been fuelled not less than partially by the emergence of a web based house the place customers have entry to completely different concepts and dissenting voices.
That Wong could be getting into into such a zeitgeist was not misplaced on the person himself.
On the current Istana Press Convention with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and former PAP chairman Khaw Boon Wan, the Minister for Finance tackled a query on the issues and aspirations of younger Singaporeans by acknowledging that the 4G leaders needed to work onerous to win assist and belief from that demographic.
“I totally recognise the rising range of experiences amongst Singaporeans,” he mentioned.
“And I would really like each Singaporean to know and really feel that they’ll all the time have a stake in our society, at the same time as we chart our new means ahead collectively. And as chief of the workforce that would be the strategy the angle and the spirit I undertake.”
Younger individuals’s expectations shall be excessive on the kind of involvement that Wong guarantees; and he’ll little doubt concentrate on simply how onerous the duty at hand shall be.
Us versus them
In November 2021, at an Institute of Coverage Research and S. Rajaratnam College of Worldwide Research discussion board on new tribalism and identification politics, Wong gave a speech on the primordial human inclination to assemble into opposing teams.
“The web has made it simpler for such new tribes to kind and organise themselves. Sadly, the echo chamber of social media usually signifies that these tribes find yourself self-selecting data to assist and reinforce their very own views,” mentioned Wong.
It outcomes, the minister argued, in a facade of neighborhood that’s really predicated on ‘us versus them’-style mutual hate fairly than inclusive connections.
No to tribalism
“As soon as this kind of tribal identification takes root, it turns into tough to attain any compromise,” he added.
“As a result of once we anchor our politics on identification, any compromise looks like dishonour. Each grievance threatens one’s self-worth; and each setback a problem to at least one’s sense of self. So we get a downward spiral: individualism and self-interest trigger tribes to kind; every tribe closes ranks upon itself; and politics turns into outlined as all-out warfare amongst tribes.”
As Wong identified, Singapore with its myriad of intersecting identities — race and faith being the predominant ones — is fecund floor for this type of politics; concord within the city-state, he mentioned, “will all the time be on a knife-edge”.
His sensitivity to the problem was on show throughout as September 2021 debate with PSP’s Leong Mun Wai the place Wong criticised the PSP’s rhetoric on CECA for carrying “robust racist and xenophobic undertones”.
The primary post-65 PM
Wong would be the first Prime Minister who’s born after Singapore’s independence in 1965.
The 49-year-old, who was born on Dec 18 1972, is the second youngest minister within the cupboard.
The youngest minister is Minister for Nationwide Growth Desmond Lee at 45.
Wong’s first ministerial portfolio was within the newly created youth ministry, when he was appointed the Appearing Minister for Tradition, Group and Youth in November 2012.
Because the minister for MCCY from 2012-2015, Wong is more likely to have a eager grasp of points dealing with younger Singaporeans.
As one of many youthful ministers, Wong has been posting clips on video-sharing platform TikTok to have interaction youthful Singaporeans.
Wong, with greater than 30k followers on TikTok, seems to have discovered some success together with his content material, with one video clip reaching greater than 1.5 million views.
His relative youthfulness, his previous work with younger Singaporeans, and his social media instincts will put him in good stead in persuading younger Singaporeans with numerous views about Singapore’s future.
“All should really feel there may be hope”
In Wong’s imaginative and prescient, his prime ministership (if the PAP wins the following common election) will seemingly be one striving to make sure that irreparable rifts aren’t shaped.
“We could not all the time arrive at an ideal answer. However we are going to by no means let any group really feel unheard, ignored or excluded. We’ll by no means let any group really feel boxed in or ostracised,” he mentioned on the November 2021 discussion board.
“All should really feel that they’re a part of the Singapore dialog; all should really feel they’re a part of the Singapore household; all should really feel there may be hope for the longer term.”
The query shall be how Wong and the 4G leaders operationalise this imaginative and prescient.
“We do intend to have interaction the general public afterward and comprehensively assessment our insurance policies,” he mentioned on April 16, 2022, on the Istana press convention.
“We’ll see what must be adjusted and improved. This shall be a serious agenda for the 4G workforce.”
Comply with disagree
But, failure to foster a political house the place people can “conform to disagree” with out demonising the opposite might result in devastating outcomes.
We solely want to have a look at america, the place sporting a face masks has taken significance akin to waving a political social gathering’s flag, to see the results of permitting tribalism to take root.
In arriving on the collection of Wong as first amongst equals, Khaw mentioned that the finance minister was the selection of the overwhelming majority of the 4G leaders.
It’s a signal that Wong is a unifying determine inside the social gathering.
He could also be hoping to hold that status into his position as Singapore’s (seemingly) subsequent Prime Minister.
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High picture from Lawrence Wong’s Fb web page
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