In Your Opinion Podcast

Can you change Lee Kuan Yew’s mind? ‘He will listen,’ say S Jayakumar

Synopsis: Conversations and interviews that give you something to think about. Each Wednesday, In Your Opinion speaks to thinkers, leaders, and the people shaping our lives and the issues of the day.

Governing Singapore today is a tough task, made more difficult by frequent comparisons with the immediate post-independence decades - a period dominated by the towering figure of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Yet was Lee more open to persuasion than we realise? Was governing Singapore far more complex, nuanced and more akin to a team sport? What enabled the Singapore Cabinet to have vociferous debates on policy including the Elected Presidency, the Group Representation Constituency and the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament?

And after recent developments and the power of hindsight, would one of their chief architects say they’re due for a refresh?

These are the subjects of the book Creating Three Unique Singapore Laws: An Inside Story by S. Jayakumar, launched on Aug 12.

In an exclusive hour-long podcast with The Straits Times opinion editor Lin Suling, he opens up on Cabinet deliberations and sheds light on a milieu in Singapore’s history after the 1981 Anson by-election, which sparked the creation of three powerful institutions that have become indelible parts of Singapore’s political system.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:49 Are recent resignations of minority Members of Parliament a setback for the GRC system? Is the GRC system due for a review?

13:03 Has public understanding on the limits of the Elected Presidency improved?

21:26 Was the NCMP scheme created to secure the ruling People’s Action Party’s dominance in Parliament?

29:27 Do PAP backbenchers pull their punches in Parliament? What was it like being J B Jeyaretnam’s “sparring partner”?

31:41 Was Lee Kuan Yew actually more open to persuasion than Singaporeans realise?

33:15 What allowed Lee’s Cabinet to have such vociferous debates? Does S Jayakumar worry about political correctness dampening discussions? What does it take to recruit capable Cabinet Ministers?

40:50 Why did a proposal on constitutional design go through DEFCO - the defence council overseeing national security?

44:04 Are any of Singapore’s constitutional institutions due for a refresh?

47:04 How did S Jayakumar balance heavy ministerial portfolios with constituency duties in Bedok and family life?

Creating Three Unique Singapore Laws: An Inside Story is published by Straits Times Press and available for $38.90 (excluding GST) at major bookstores and online at https://www.stbooks.sg/

Read ST’s Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH

Host: Lin Suling (linsuling@sph.com.sg)

Produced and edited by: Teo Tong Kai

Executive producers: Danson Cheong and Lynda Hong

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