WHEN talking to its citizens these days, Singapore’s top-down leadership is increasingly using a term not often heard since independence.
The phrase “national conversation” is being uttered almost every day by Cabinet ministers to get Singaporeans to take part in formulating policies for the country’s future.
Although the word “conversation” sounds milder than “restructuring”, used to describe the first major national review 10 years ago, it is a departure from 47 years of People’s Action Party (PAP) rule.
The authoritative former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had little use for public opinion when he was in power, preferring to set his own agenda. Full story
