Good governance is challenged by global economic crisis: A. Tuminez, University of Singapore

ASTANA. January 30. KAZINFORM /Rizvana Sadykova/ ?Values are the most important foundation of effective leadership in today?s globalized world?, Astrid Tuminez, Vice-Rector of the Lee Kuan School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.

You delivered your speech at the International Conference on Administrative Reform held by the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. You are the Vice-Rector of the Lee Kuan School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, an honored guest at this conference and a visiting lecturer who was invited by the Academy. How goes your cooperation with the Academy? At the end of October, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Academy of Public Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. Our partnership is a long-term project. Actually, I came here this time on the invitation of Bakhyt Yessekina, the Rector of the Academy. The need for public policy professionals is pretty major. The reason for that is the fact that good governance is so important in the development of a country. People suffer in a country that is not governed well. There are many good schools of public policy such as the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, the London School of Economics, and others. The Lee Kuan Yew School is the premier school of public policy in Asia. There is a great interest in public policy because what public servants and decision makers do in taxation, healthcare, housing, and other areas of governance has a huge influence on people?s lives. The issues of public policy have become very important in a globalized world, where people are demanding more and more from their leaders. It is no longer enough for leaders to simply make their careers. The Internet has a big influence, people are feeling more empowered, and they are asking more from their governments. Good governance is important and it can be taught. That?s what the Lee Kuan Yew School is about and I hope we will build a strong partnership with the Academy of Public Administration. Dr. Tuminez, in your lecture you reminded us the words ?Faith and Reason in the Golden age of Islam, which created great civilizations and influenced others from Africa to China?? Do you mean that nowadays these values have to be distributed in the Islamic world? How could you comment on this. I quoted those words from a primer on Islam written by Dr. Vartan Gregorian, for whom I used to work. I have come to Kazakhstan this week, having spent several days in Saudi Arabia because we would like to bring students from Saudi Arabia into the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. I met many people in Jeddah, Bahrain, Riyadh, and some of the places were very interesting, especially the women?s colleges. Islam has a great history and many positive legacies, but I am concerned that today we see distorted definitions of Islam, where views of Islam are high-jacked by certain groups of people who do not have a full appreciation of the history of Islam. Like other religions, Islam can be an influence for good. It can help people overcome their greediness and selfishness. The conference I attended today focused on administrative reform in a newly-independent country, where you have a lot of challenges.-You are fighting corruption, you are fighting distortions from Soviet Era, although there were some good things from the Soviet Era ? science, education, healthcare. In the post-Soviet context you have become freer to travel the world, to get your education, to express your ideas. There has been so much change. But what are the values that will drive further change and development in Kazakhstan? A strong national identity, a sense of mission. And Islam is a part of your culture and your identity so I thought it was a good thing to mention the Golden Age of Islam. The legacy of your people includes this fantastic heritage which actually led the world, at one point, in science and had a very broad understanding and approach to the wonders of the world. In your lecture you said that ?Values are the most important foundation of effective leadership in today?s globalized world.? What do you mean by this? I recently looked at two books that studied the Singapore story, and they highlight the following values that informed the governance and management of Singapore from the start. First was a long-term, forward-looking view. The leaders of Singapore urged their population to work hard and to accept delayed gratification in return for a better future for their children. Long-term self-reliance was emphasized rather than short-term gains. Another value was internal stability, which had as its corollary the willingness to accept authority and paternalistic rule for the good of society at large. Patriotism and sacrifice were emphasized, as embodied, for example, in the mandatory two-year military conscription for all Singaporean males. Inter-ethnic and inter-religious understanding also informed the government policies on language, education, and public housing, further reflecting the value of internal stability. Yet another value that informed Singaporean leaders was meritocracy, which meant that leaders chose people and rewarded them for their talent, abilities, and the results they produced, regardless of social status. Other critical values that led to Singapore?s success were honesty and integrity. Public service in Kazakhstan took serious actions against corruption. Is corruption a problem in Singapore? I think all systems have corruption, so it depends on how you define corruption. Singapore has very strict laws: what is legal, what is illegal. In the last year a survey was done, and for the first time Singapore actually surpassed Hong-Kong as a place where financial managers and professionals would rather do business. They welcome very strong anti-corruption laws. Singapore has an anti-corruption agency, CPIB. So you have to set up laws, you have to implement them as well, and it doesn?t take very long for international businesses to discern if you are corrupt or not, Money can be invested anywhere, be it Singapore, Cambodia, Hong-Kong or Ukraine. Usually money is more likely to go to a place where there is less corruption and more stability. A lot of investors invest in Singapore, and a lot of companies have moved their operations there. Perhaps due to this approach Singapore is included in the list of so called Asian Tigers. How does Singapore generate revenues? Singapore has very few natural resources, and I think it?s very interesting how the government launched the country, how it raised revenue. In Singapore the government has something called GST or Goods and Services Tax. It is seven percent. When you go shopping, and when you go to restaurants, you have to pay seven percent tax. We also have income tax in Singapore but beyond that the government also generates revenues by attracting a lot of corporations to Singapore. The most expensive houses are often rented by expatriates - those who work for foreign companies. Singapore also provides incentives, for example, for biotechnology. The Singaporean government really wants to develop this sector. It invited Genentech, which is a very big bio-technology company in the world, based in San-Francisco. The government provided incentives for the company, so now Genentech is in Singapore and it hires local people. Singapore also attracts lots of conventions and events. For example, recently they had a Formula One Race in Singapore. It was the first time Formula One was held at night, which was another Singaporean idea, to attract more tourists. They are always thinking of ways to attract tourists. Because Singapore cannot rely on oil, gold, forests, or other resources, they have to come up with ideas all the time! New and creative ideas are needed, and we should try to implement them properly. And Singapore is one of the most popular convention sites in the world and this helps generate employment. A lot of people like to come to Singapore for conferences because it has good food, it?s safe. I lived in NewYork City for thirteen years and you can always see tourists in Manhattan because it?s a popular place. The same thing is true for Singapore. You can see that from the number of hotels. For example, the southern part of Singapore used to be a really ugly place where you could only see containers for logistics but they turned it into something really beautiful ? a beach, with all types of activities and a gondola ride and good hotels. Why is the School of Public Policy named after Lee Kuan Yew? Lee Kuan Yew is the Minister-Mentor of Singapore, he is the founding father of Singapore, he was the first leader of independent Singapore, and he founded a party in the late 1950?s. It was the start of the self-governing period for Singapore, and Lee Kuan Yew and his cohorts set the goal to make Singapore a civilized place, to make it stable and harmonious. There are three ethnic groups in Singapore ? the Indians, the Malays and the Chinese, so the issue is to have them live in peace. Lee Kuan Yew is often criticized, for the lack of political freedom in Singapore but people have a decent life, and access to education and housing. If you look at the countries which are totally free and totally restricted, Singapore is somewhere in between. Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy is a part of the Singapore National University, which is rated the 30th best university in the world-. Singapore is very competitive and it leads in science and technology. The School started not so long ago in 2004 but previously the university had a smaller program in public policy. The Lee Kuan Yew School started with less than sixty students in public policy programmes and the school grew so fast - now we have 282 students in our Master?s programs. Only 20% of our students come from Singapore, 80% are from other countries. We recruit students from Malaysia, China, India, Kazakhstan, Burma, Vietnam, USA, and Germany. 65% of our students are on full scholarship, and all our classes are taught in English. You know Russian. In the early 1990's, you worked in Moscow, where you ran the office of the Harvard University Project on Strengthening Democratic Institutions, where you worked directly with former president Mikhail Gorbachev. Recently has been a great day in the American History - inauguration of President Barak Obama. For me, as a university teacher, first of all, it is a prove that educated and talented person can achieve anything in Unites States. How did you achieve all this? Tell us about your education, professional background and family. When you have a curious and open mind you create the reality you live in. I won full scholarship to Harvard. I was a Senior Advisor in Strategy and Programs for the Salzburg Global Seminar, a U.S. educational institution based in Salzburg, Austria. I was also the director of research for alternative investments at American International Group Global Investment Corp. When I was little, some Catholic nuns took me and my sister to their school because my family couldn?t afford an expensive private school. We did very well in school and by the time I was fifteen I had won full scholarships to the top university in the Philippines. I was accepted by one of the universities in the USA and my education was mainly in the US, and this was very important. America is a very open society; it?s for people who are hungry, for people who have dreams, who believe they can do anything. I received a degree in Russian literature and international relations. In the early 1990's I was invited to Moscow to run the office of the Harvard University Project on Strengthening Democratic Institutions. From 1992 to1998 I was a program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York. I was responsible for grant-making in conflict prevention, the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and democratization. I also worked with the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. I have two children, a 12-year old daughter and a 6-year old son. I am married to an American. We met each other in Harvard. I am an outgoing person, easy to travel. I recollect when my son was only six weeks, and I had to deliver a speech in Berlin. My credo is - You have to set up your own rules and follow them, and thus you create the reality you want to live in. Thank you very much for the interview.