14 minute read
COVER STORY
CULTIVATING A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTAL STATE IN SA
Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP) offers valuable lessons for the ANC and other African liberation and independence movements, in how to turn themselves into effective developmental parties, which can come up with and manage complex development strategies that are needed to turn ethnically diverse former colonies into highly industrialised, racially inclusive and peaceful countries. WILLIAM GUMEDE reports
Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP) used its postcolonial hegemony better than Africa’s dominant independence and liberation movements, to transform Singapore within one generation from dirt-poor at independence from Great Britain in 1965, to a highly developed economy. In contrast, most African countries within one generation became signifi cantly poorer than they were at independence from former colonialism. By delivering industrialisation, widespread prosperity and racial peace, the PAP ensured its continued legitimacy. Almost all African independence and liberation movements, who have been successful in opposing colonial or apartheid regimes, have failed to use their hegemony over their societies to make the transition as governing parties who can successfully manage such intricate state-building, industrialisation and development, so successfully implemented by the PAP. The PAP was established in 1954 as a party to fi ght for the independence of Singapore from Great Britain. Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of post-independence Singapore, was one of the founders of the PAP.
PRAGMATIC ECONOMIC POLICIES
The PAP was similar to many African liberation and independence movements, a party of the Left. However, unlike many African liberation and independence movements who adopted either MarxistLeninism, African variants of socialism and communalism, democratic centralism, and state-led development, the PAP adopted pragmatic market-based policies, partnered with business, including multinationals. The Singaporean thinker, Chan Heng Chee says that the PAP ideology was that of pragmatism, meaning adopting policies based on whether they produce results – and if they do not, rejecting it – and not based on dogma or the belief in an absolute truth. Michael Hill and Lian Kwen Fee said that the PAP adopted ‘‘purposive rational policies’’, which “requires planning and considerable quantitative analysis to complement a very strong strain of empiricism. If the leaders fi nd that a policy is not working or that it is producing unintended results, the PAP will jettison it without any sentimentality”. Many African liberation and independent movements of both the left and the centre, often pursued left populist social, political and economic policies. The PAP consistently rejected populism. The PAP has been exceptionally “responsive” to citizens’ concerns, contrary to most African liberation and independence movements, who often take for granted that their supporters will vote for them because they supposedly brought “freedom”. The PAP also focused on the long term, rather than the short term, whereas many African liberation and independence movements focused largely on the short term, undermining long-term sustainability.
The PAP focused on making “things work”, delivering quality basic public services on time, making “basic utilities function efficiently”, and ensuring new “infrastructure is intelligently planned with a long-range vision in mind”.
At independence, local and international business were alarmed by the rise to power of the PAP because of its left-wing history. Many local and international companies moved their company head offices to other countries. However, the PAP proved the market doubters wrong.
The PAP cobbled together an industrialisation strategy, focusing on export manufacturing, unlike many African liberation and independence movements, who rarely focused on industrialisation, focusing on redistribution of colonial or apartheid-inherited assets, land and businesses as the main strategy.
The PAP encouraged private sector-led growth, rather than state-led growth, unlike many African liberation and independence movements, who discouraged private sector-led growth, prioritising state-led growth. It focused on exportled manufacturing. It eschewed import substitution, the policy of replacing foreign imports with domestic production, to focus on manufacturing locally for export abroad.
The PAP’s post-independence economic strategist Goh Keng Swee, strongly pushed industrialisation as a way to foster growth and create jobs, rather than redistribution of existing or colonially inherited wealth. The state partnered with business – predominantly foreign multinationals. In contract, African independence and liberation movements nationalised many local and foreign companies, or introduced indigenisation or empowerment programmes where the state or local political capitalists close to governing parties get slices of local or foreign companies.
The PAP sought out outside experts to help. They did not take on Marxist-Leninist or neo-liberal economic advisors. Singapore took lessons from Japan’s industrialisation, the Dutch and German industrialisation following the end of the Second World War. The PAP also took to heart advice from the United Nations Development Programme, which is more sustainable development orientated, than say the World Bank or International Monetary Fund.
The government established a social pact coordinated body, like the Dutch equivalent to forge a consensus between organised labour, business and the government on growth, industrialisation and multiracialism strategies. Importantly, business had equal power to that of labour, although the PAP started off as a party aligned to trade unions.
Trade unions were compelled to compromise short-term interests in favour of the country’s long-term industrialisation. For example, they had to agree to productivity targets, accepting lower wages and increases and not to strike to foster an investor-friendly labour market. African liberation and independence movements aligned to trade unions often give preference to their labour allies above that of business, which results in these governments alienating business, and therefore losing out on having business, with its resources, ideas and capacity for the industrialisation programme.
The PAP uniquely used multinationals in Singapore to lead industrialisation – because at independence there were no large indigenous companies. International multinationals led the export manufacturing expansion. The PAP government did not nationalise colonial-era local and foreign businesses – as has been the case in many African independence and liberation movement-led countries.
The PAP government encouraged local and foreign investment, introducing tax holidays, low taxes and established industrial estates. The PAP government also involved foreign multinationals in partnering with the government in industrialisation. The PAP partnered with local and foreign businesses to stimulate growth, industrialisation and development.
HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE-LED DEVELOPMENT
The PAP government built its industrialisation programme around building low-cost housing – building a manufacturing industry link to the inputs of the housing programme, fostering technical education and building inclusive ethnic communities around the housing programme. The banker, Lim Kim San, was put in charge of the rollout of the housing programme – which he did extraordinarily successfully. The government also used the housing expansion to integrate different ethnic communities to foster multiracialism and common nationhood.
The PAP in 1966 enacted the Land Acquisition Act, which made possible for the government to acquire private land for public purposes. The Act provided for compensation to private owners of land acquired by government. The land acquired was land that was in “surplus”, vacant or land that private owners wanted to willingly sell. Land in productive use remained largely untouched.
Between 1959 and 1984, the government acquired around one-third of the total land area of Singapore. An Appeals Board was established, with independent members, to mediate in any disputes over the amount of compensation between private landowners and government. The Act fixed compensation at market value as of 30 November 1973.
The PAP did not pursue affirmative action and empowerment programmes for previously disadvantaged communities, such as the Malay communities. Instead, they prioritised lifting everyone out of poverty, giving the poorest of all communities a leg up. The PAP government focused all-out on revamping the colonial education system,
making the educational system fit for purpose for industrialisation, and putting pressure on the trade union movement, aligned with the PAP to strike compromises to encourage economic growth, employment and business creation.
They focused especially on education as a development, growth and empowerment strategy. In 1981, the Prime Minister established Yayasan Mendaki (Council for the Education of Muslim Children) to boost the educational performance of poor Malays and to promote a cultural change to make education a priority among the community. To finance the Mendaki scheme, the government deducted 50cents from every Malay-Muslim employee’s pension fund contribution – which the government matched.
REALIGNMENT OF THE INDEPENDENCE BROAD CHURCH
The PAP, like African liberation and independence movements, was also at its inception a broad church, or popular front, bringing together different ideological groups, from the left, centre to the right, trade unions, businesses and conservative religious leaders, under one umbrella to oppose colonialism. Communists and trade unions were aligned with the PAP, a left-wing nationalist party, which had “a reasonably broad working-class base”, the “Englisheducated” middle class, the “Malay blue- and white-collar workers”, and “the Chinese clan associations, trade guilds, and blue-collar workers as well”. At the party’s inaugural meeting more than 90% of those present were from the trade union movement.
At independence, the PAP was dominated by strands, one the central democratic wing, led by Lee, and the other, the communist grouping, led by Lim Chin Siong.
In August 1961, Lee forced out the communists from the PAP broad church because of irreconcilable ideological, policy and leadership differences. The PAP communists in 1961 formed the Barisan Socialist Party and took 35 out of 51 branches of the PAP with them.
Many African liberation and independence movements, when in power, still keep together the different and opposing ideological groups which were part of the broad church of the anti-colonial or antiapartheid struggle. However, keeping such disparate ideological groups within one governing party in power caused continual paralysis in decision, policymaking and direction, which undermines development, industrialisation and societal peace which needs clarity in decisions, policies and direction.
ENTRENCHING THE RULE OF LAW AND TACKLING CORRUPTION
The PAP was from the start very firm against corruption, prosecuting its own powerful leaders for corruption, to show that liberation leaders are not above the law as in many postcolonial societies.
Corruption included elected and public representatives living beyond their means or being unable to explain wealth, property or assets. Very early on in power, the PAP came down hard on corruption within its leadership ranks. In 1959, Education Minister Chew Swee Kee was forced to resign after evidence emerged of his involvement in corruption. The PAP prosecuted a key leader, Phey Yew Kok, who was also the powerful leader of the National Trade Union Council (NTUC), to jail for accepting bribes.
The PAP was also more determined to establish the rule of law at independence – and making everyone equal before the law. When Singapore was granted self-government by Great Britain in 1959, not independence, which came only in 1965, the PAP won the 1959 general elections, and Lee became Prime Minister.
In the fi rst 30 days of gaining power in 1959, the PAP government broke up criminal gangs, mafi a networks and illegal activities. The government continued with enforcing the rule of law – bringing to book both party members and leaders who were corrupt and ordinary citizens who were – which entrenches the rule of law. When they get into power, many African liberation and independence movement governments, often exempt party members and leaders from the rule of law, while they police ordinary citizens not connected to the liberation or independence movement leaders. This unequal treatment of citizens depending on their connection to the leaders of the governing party undermines establishing a culture of rule of law – crucial for industrialisation, growth and development.
ETHNIC INCLUSIVITY
The PAP was scrupulous in electing and appointing leaders who came from diverse ethnic backgrounds in the multiracial country, making multiracialism a guiding ideology. In elections to the central executive committee, Cabinet and for candidates for parliament, the party takes care to have ethnic diversity and gender equality. Singapore is a multi-ethnic and a multilingual state. It consists of 77% Chinese, 14% Malay, 7.7% Indian and 1.3% Eurasians. Within these individual groups, there is extensive diversity. The PAP went out of its way to represent all ethnic groups at ‘‘all levels of the state and in state institutions”. The PAP adopted multiracialism, a respect for and equality of all ethnic groups, and tolerance of differences, as one of the post-independence country’s ‘founding myths’. Many African independence and liberation movements were often dominated by and prioritised one ethnic group, colour or region, excluding others, marginalising the talents, ideas and resources of other groups who could have been marshalled for industrialisation, development and nation-building.
MERIT-BASED APPOINTMENTS IN PARTY AND STATE
The PAP vigorously pursued the strategy of merit within its own party and within the state. The PAP headhunted new talent based on their performance record, educational background and values for leadership in the party. During the fi rst years in power, when it faced fi erce competition from opposition parties, Lee Kuan Yew, made a case for the PAP to recruit the country’s top talent: “It is a battle of ideals and ideas. And the side that recruits more ability and talent will be the side that wins.” In 1976, the PAP modifi ed Shell, the oil company’s system of testing new executives to evaluate new recruits for party leadership. The Shell system involves testing candidates’ ability to analyse, imagination and sense of reality. Critics have slammed the rigorous selection process saying it promoted elitism. The PAP also established a meritocratic public service, setting entry examinations for new entrants, to recruit the nation’s best talent, no matter their ethnic, political or language affi liation. No African liberation or independence movement has created meritocratic public services. Most African liberation and independence movements appoint only cadres of their parties or in other cases members of the ethnic, language or regional group dominating the party to public services. In its policy of meritocracy in the party and the state, the PAP rewarded performance, excellence and effi ciency on merit, rather than based on ethnicity. The PAP ahead of every election vigorously reviews existing representatives in terms of their performance, and to make place for new talent. During the fi ght for independence, the PAP had a cadre system which it introduced in 1958. Members to the party had to apply to become cadres. Minimum educational standards were set to become a cadre and certain kinds of people were excluded – to raise the quality of membership of the PAP. Election to party leadership was largely on merit, but also included all ethnic groups, which lifted the best talent among its support base to the leadership of the PAP. The PAP was “obsessive about co-opting talent”. They “constantly” replaced “older MPs” with the ‘‘best and brightest young talent that can be recruited”. Bringing the best talent continuously into leadership, getting rid of corrupt and incompetent ones and ensuring ethnic diversity in leadership appointments, made the PAP a much more dynamic political party than most African liberation and independence movements, who often elected leaders based on struggle credentials, loyalty to the leader and ethnic, colour or religious affi nity to the dominant leadership group. African liberation movements and independence movements would do well to learn from how the PAP, one of postwar’s most effective former independence movements, transformed Singapore, from a poor backwater, into a prosperous, ethnically inclusive and peaceful society.
WILLIAM GUMEDE
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SCHOOL OF GOVERNANCE UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND
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