Last night, during my dinner conversation with Admiral Zheng He, we discussed about the future of Temasek. Admiral Zheng He said that the western economies are declining and asia is rising, therefore, what is there to worry for this little island? The only main concern would be chaos and bloodshed, like the events occurring in Middle East and North Africa. The administration should learn from the recent event in Ayutthaya, Siam, to transit in a peaceful manner. Violence only breeds violence, as history has taught us.
The rational and pragmatic approaches of Raffles have certainly brought wealth and prosperity. However, Sifu SiTong constantly reminded on the social aspect besides wealth, which is morality. He was one of the staunch advocator for moral education in the school, which was rejected by Raffles. Raffles point of argument is based on his good friend Maslow’s theory of needs, which in my opinion is semi-flawed. Sifu SiTong argued that the ability to generate wealth do not teach a person of what is right or wrong, instead, once you find that capability, greed rear its ugly head. Raffles counter-argued that one can generate wealth in a socially responsible way – I couldn’t agree with raffles more.
However, as most are aware, Raffles is not exactly a people person. His strength lies on efficiency of completing a certain task or work. Hence, we would need someone with the right attributes to balance and partner Raffles in order to create a new paradigm! This new paradigm is to lead Temasek to be socially responsible and prosperous! *Fingers cross*
