Democracy and Governance

There is a good number of people who often view democracy and governance as an opposing dichotomy. Democracy speaks of freedom and the rights of the individuals. Governance however comes from the root word of 'to govern' or to preside and manage a group of people.

I however believe that they are both the same sides of the coin and in fact important pillars of a progressive society. In other words, democracy and governance must be balanced. The background behind what prompted this post is in essence the problem that we are witnessing in the world today. Rising oil and food prices, students shooting out in schools and all other problems of society.

I know that people might berate me for the lack of respect for democracy and believe strongly in the rights of the individual but the problem I find is that without a mechanism to aggregate those rights, you get anarchy. I am a firm believer of the Adam Smith's "invisible hand" and the free market. Because of the system of valuation and scales derived by a monetary system, a free market economy is an extremely neat decentralised control system for the allocation of scare resources. Not everything however can work in a "vote" system.

To aggregate society and in respecting the rights of the individual, we have given everyone a right to decide and we make selection by the common wisdom of the herd. It is however unfortunate that the herd instinct may not be the right instinct. We have witness bad policies of price controls and subsides in times when the free market economy needs a free hand to right itself and solve problems of scarcity. This is all because of the political will of the masses that are exerting extreme pressures on their leaders to meet their own self-interest for the short term. It is interesting and my opinion that Adolf Hilter was chosen by a democracy that was enraptured in nationalistic zeal.

I think we need to move to a new level where we balance democracy with good governance. We need strong leaders with good morals and ethics who have moral courage to defy the narrow interests of the individuals and consider the greater good of the community. This is sorely lacking in today's world. I am following the American Election with great curiosity and find that the continuous feedback loop of popular and opinion polls to be extremely disruptive. Presidential Candidates must move quickly and reverendly to the "heartbeat" of the people and at times pander after the select communities which they are addressing. By being so excessively sycophantic towards the masses, they makes statements, backtrack, side-step and basically do whatever it takes to win. Then of course when the dust settles and the decision is final, the people realise that they hardly knew the man they elected, because everything he said on the electoral race could hardly be counted upon and did not define how he would make choices for future challenges.

Is this the result from democracy that I desire? I guess not, and I'd take good governance anyday. In fact, I think people forget that the real purpose of the democracy is to ensure good governance. It is therefore the means to an end (good governance) and people should not take their eyes off the prize (because real good leaders would advance the rights and interest of the individuals anyway).

To the government and leaders, please never forget that.

To the fanatics of democracy, I think you're missing the point.

Learning how to live...

Hi,

I've sure many of my friends who has Facebook saw my declaration of exploding introspectives but have seen none of them appearing on the blog. I must say that the inertia was great.

Thankfully, every now and then, there will be a unknown force in life that will hit you like a truck and put things into perspective. I have just learnt that Dr. Randy Pausch from CMU has passed away. Although I have heard of his story, I never found out more. I never saw or read his book and I didn't see his "Last Lecture". But somehow, I was prompted today to search for it on Youtube and here it is.



I think it is just awesome to watch inspirational people. I'm a dad too and I've been truly touched. I think the most important point was not about how many people it helped. Or whether he was just being showy (which is some of the negative comments I've seen). The point was that it was his life and he lived it well and he lived it with meaning.

His sharing only meant one thing. That we've all been beneficiaries of receiving a reminder that will energize us into motion.

For me, I am also thankful for reminder that brickwalls are there for a reason.

A window of perspective

I'm all set. The visa for everyone has been approve and we should all be well on our way to Boston in a month. The process was laborious and difficult.

The amount of probity checks and paperwork that needs to be amassed is unbelieveable. Ironically, I understand from a small print on forms for the whole visa episode is that there is a real effort to cut down on paperwork. Haha... I think I remember repeating data for several different forms, countless times. Then again, it is reflective of how a couple of people without rationality and with no respect for the sanctity of life can inflicit so much inconvenience on people whom they will never know. The result is so much layers of check and cross-checks to regulate the passage of people travelling across borders.

The interview for the visa at the American Embassy was another highlight. I was by a counter window with a charming Asian American interviewer. She ran through the protocol and worked through the papers. I was asked why I was getting a visa and of course I told her the reason.

"So which university would that be?"

"The Fletcher School. Tufts University"

"Oh great. That's a really good school."

So we ran through the questions to talk about my course of study, how I will be paying for it and then the next thing caught me by surprise.

"So why did you leave your job to this programme."

"Erm, I didn't. I took a sabbatical. I'll be getting back to my job once I'm done"

A look of confusion. It didn't click. I've just mentioned that I was paying my way and then of course I said I was going back to work. After some questioning, I told her about the No Pay Study Leave and directed her to the letter of approval. Then she was livid.

"Why? Oh my gosh." She couldn't believe it because it didn't make sense.

I then proceeded with my standard text of explaining why I did it, which I use to everyone whom I knew. I've said it so many times that I lost count but this was the first time I had to say it to someone whom I just met. I wondered if I was even believeable. Did I sound so unreal that she smelt a rat? Perhaps then I would be in trouble because my visa would not be approved.

Anyhow, we moved right along. She went on with other background questions and spoke to my missus. Before we concluded the interview, she had only kind words of consolation for me.

"Alright, we're done here. Good luck okay? I hope you can find some way to get compensation and get it all back."

I most certainly will. Thank you "lady at the window".

Bringing the Brood

For friends who don't already know, I'm bringing the brood.

Finding housing for families in Massachusetts is not the easiest thing in the world. To problem is because of leaded paint. Since most of the housing in MA pre-dates 1978, it is likely that these house would use leaded paint. Paint however, is quite toxic and little children can suffer from lead poisoning when in constant contact with it.

I am actually quite happy that there is such a legislation to protect my little ones but it also translates to a smaller selection of housing for my family. Nevertheless, we've managed to find housing near school albeit being a little pricey. It's a nice little townhouse and once we are there, we can show you pictures of our temporary home.

So for other newbie Fletcherites who will be going with family. This is an important point to note.

A Role Model - Kishore Mahbubani

Hello Fletcherites and readers of this blog,

Being a 2nd generation citizen of Singapore and having enjoyed the fruits of good governance, I certain that it is of no surprise that I am a great admirer of our founding father, Mentor Minister Lee Kuan Yew. I dare say that the success and the strong foundations of this tiny island nation were the life work of this great man.

Today however, I would like to introduce another role model for me. He is none other than Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. I vaguely remember my first introduction to this great thinker during a special forum held in my high school and he was the Permanent Secretary (Policy) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs then. I was raptured by his clarity of thought and his ability to communicate clearly on issues of foreign policy and governance. For the moment on, I have always found myself drawn to his writings whenever I encounter them.

He has written a new of book on the emergence of the East. Ironically, his first book has a title that says, "Can Asian's think?". I have also found his commentaries on US Foreign Policy particularly insightful. On some quarters, his articulate and frank comments has not only drawn controversy and the ire of some Western journalists and commentaries who rejects his pro-Asian ideas.

I think the last article I read was one which he commented on the 3 presidential candidates of John McCain, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barrack Obama. I think it was expressed that he was most in favour of an Obama presidency.

More interestingly, I found that he is no stranger to Tufts University. He was also given the 2003–2004 Dr Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award by the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) at Tufts University.

I guess if there anyone is willing to read his works with an open mind, it would yield much value in my opinion.

Anyhow, here are some cool Youtube Videos of him at the Carnegie Council.





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Shin Splint...

I'm not sure how many of you knows this but it's a fun fact to know. It's trivia and it's substantiated.

How do you identify a Navy man?

Well, all you have to do is to check his shin. Due to the incessant need to cross watertight doors on a ship, you will invariably nick your shin on the edges of the hatch. If you are a klutz, perhaps you get it more often then some. As a rule of thumb, I conclude that everyone have at least been struck once. For me, I've got scars at approximate the same height on both my shins. Prove of a Navy man and a klutz.

What's the purpose of this post you may ask?

It's my way of conveying a metaphor. Crossing that threshold can seem like an effortless task. For some like me, it's an obstacle and its whack you squarely in the shin and leaves you reeling in pain for a while. Paralysed and unable to walk.

Today, I'm at my lowest and humblest. Unbelieveably, I have decided to remain with the organisation that I serve. As a compromise, I am requesting for no pay study leave or no pay leave in order to maintain this path to Fletchers. I must say that in these few weeks I have received continual offers to derail me from the road to where I want to go. This I resisted with great vigor.

Perhaps my friends and colleagues will be bewildered by this sudden turn of events but perhaps they will never understand this internal turmoil that I face. This strong desire to do something of meaning and purpose when I know that I have established myself in a position of influence. Perhaps some others may be disappointed because of my inability to join them in their adventures without restraint but it may be for the best. It certainly isn't about money because that is something that I'm fully capable of generating. More importantly, I believe is my needs of having immaterial satisfaction over the material.

The battle of my emotions and my logic has once again proved that my heart is stronger than my mind.

The ball is now in their court. I have abdicated control and this is my final recourse.

On Capitalism

In warfare, It is common to know of Sun Tzu who proposed 36 strategems of War in his evergreen work known as "The Art of War". One another classic on warfare was written by Carl von Clauswitz who timeless work was known aptly as "On War". These have been familiar works which I have been introduced as a result of my vocation.

Last weekend (on BT Weekend, page 6), I was introduced by my favourite Business Times correspondent Ms Teh Hooi Ling, a parallel in the field of Economics, particularly on the subject of capitalism. He is none other than Joseph Alois Schumpeter. Although, in my life time, I have been more familar with free market economist like Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes. Ms Teh's coverage of Schumpeter got my attention.

When considering classical economics, the allocation of resources has been reduce to mere mathematics calculation of the interactions between demand and supply. The 'invisible hand' mechanics implies that all social and economic interactions will be resolved based on personal cost and benefits. Schumpter having the benefit of being able to observe the trend in the 19th century notes that a hybridised form of capitalism is present that is as much a social and cultural construct compared to an economic one. In this form, it extracts the value from the free market mechanism in capitalism as an efficiency form of resource allocation and yet able to reconcile the societal needs to minimise and limit the negativity of the fairness of the laissez-faire.

Another key element of Schumpeter's writing covered in the article was his thoughts on entreprenuership. He believes firms that there is a need for a "incessant dynamism" and competitive innovation for standing ahead. Failure to do so and the inability to maintain this entreprenuerial spirit is a key reason why the list of Fortune 500 in past decades would experience a great degree of variance. I quote "without blazing new trails, without being devoted, heart and soul, to the business alone", one cannot expect to remain on top.

Since my background is one of a organisation involved in the production of a public good, it leads me to think one thing. Firstly, how does one promote an entreprenuerial spirit when there is an absence of a "profit motive"? Public policy must therefore facilitate a few conditions to achieve this.

Firstly, a need for a measure to define staying on top. This I envision will come from very concrete measureables of key performance indicators or very realistic benchmarking. In short, policy must mirror free market conditions to exact the cost and benefit relationship so that failure can be real and is a measureable cost.

In the individual front, this means that the individual must passionate and with great commitment to his business and his business alone. To invoke this commitment and passion, the individual must be given a "profit motive". In today's HR context, this would be in form of rewards and recognition. As a policy, we cannot lapse into a "mere husbanding of already existing resources, no matter how painstaking, is always characteristic of a declining position". Call me a government lap dog all you want but this justisfies a rethinking of the rewards of the civil servant and hence my position of a reasonably high and attractive ministerial pay maintains. Of course, creative employment of resources here do not only apply to HR but to all facets of the public function.

Ms Teh has also made mention of entreprenuership in large corporations stating that they require "even more talents". They must "woo support" among their colleagues, "handle men with consummate skill", and give others ample credit for the organisation's achievements. At this juncture, I take this opportunity to honour my personal mentor and another dynamic and amazing senior commander. Both are great leaders that typifies an entreprenuerial description and whom I deeply respect and willing to serve. LTC Thng Chee Meng and COL Harris Chan Weng Yip.

There is a small part of this article that encouraged me greatly, it was a reflection of my current circumstance and it adds further conviction to my decision to travel off the beaten path. It is also my secret hope that Schumpeter is right and that I can truly live up to the ideal of validating it. I quote the whole section that Ms Teh has written.

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On Social Mobility

"The persistence of class position is an illusion... Class barriers must be surmountable, at the bottom as well as at the top." The key to a higher class position is for an individual to strike out "along unconventional paths. This has always been the case, but never so much as in the world of capitalism."

Most industrial families have risen from the ranks of workmen and craftsmen "because one of their members has done something novel", and this is "virtually the only method by which they can make the great leap out of their class".

As Abraham Lincoln noted, singularly talented people almost always strike out in bold new directions. "Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored... It thirsts and burns for distinction."
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I hope in time, I can be counted among the "towering geniuses". Hahaha~!

To wrap this up, I end it with a further quote in the article.
"Innovation itself is primarily "a feat not of intellect, but of will... a special case of a social phenomenon of leadership".

I guess Clauswitz and Schumpeter is agreed on the sword of the spirit and the power of the will.