PM Wong’s challenge: Reversing the me-first instincts of Singaporeans

Getting ahead at all costs got Singapore where it is. But Singapore can be a more wholesome society if we look out a lot more for one another.

These were the slogans many of us grew up hearing – not just from him, but repeated by our pioneer generation parents, and our elders. Many Singaporeans, especially those from Generation X born in the 1960s and 1970s – many of the 4G ministers belong to this age group – internalised this world view and learnt to be competitive and assertive, pushy in our demands to get ahead.

To be effective, the change has to permeate society and reach the grassroots. Schoolchildren have to be socialised differently; the public discourse around who we are as a people must change; and most of all, our interactions with one another as citizens on a day-to-day basis – on the road, in school, at the hawker centre, in HDB estates – have to change.

When it is every man for himself, prices of assets like property get chased up. A more community-minded perspective will consider if more deserving buyers should be given a chance. Existing government rules already do this, by slapping additional stamp duties on buyers of multiple properties. In a competitive, every-person-for-themselves scenario, everyone scrambles to get the most health insurance coverage at lowest cost. For example, well-to-do Singaporeans, who can afford the premiums, may demand as-charged plans that pay medical bills from the first dollar, without the usual co-payment elements to keep claims low.

But it will be a worthwhile, even necessary, endeavour if we want a society that is not only successful, but also kind and pleasant to live in.PM Wong, the heartland boy from Marine Parade

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