Stop wasting time lingering over your past successes

Here we are again. Whenever someone from the government headed by the People's Party (PAP) makes a statement or gives an interview about a particular government policy, one should always start by evaluating the effectiveness of this policy. The Minister of Education, Mr. Ong Ye Kung (Ong), does not escape this policy of self-praise. Speaking of "the systematic injustice" that exists in Singapore, he insists that this systematic injustice "stems from the success – not the failure – of government policies."

Policies are not static, they must change according to the situation at a given moment. At present, the public is increasingly concerned that current government policies may perpetuate inequalities. Why can not Ong just focus on that? Why do we still have to go back to the past and point out that it is because previous government policies have worked well? The past is in the past! How can you progress if you continue to focus on the past? The issue that needs to be addressed is increasing inequality. The past is irrelevant! Why talk about it if the goal is not yet to hit the audience with the stick of gratitude? Why so defensive? Nobody says that past policies did not work. What we are saying is that they are not working now.

Ong is focused on the issue of meritocracy. While meritocracy is an important element of social mobility, it is essential to recognize and accept that meritocracy does not work if there is no equality at the outset. Meritocracy is founded on the belief that we all have the same opportunities to succeed. What she does not recognize is her limits when the playing field is far from equal.

I understand that complete equality is a chimera and probably impossible. That said, we must always aspire to build a society that offers equal opportunities for all (where possible). At the present time, society is becoming more and more divided, with the privileged half completely unaware of how the less privileged half lives. Until we cross this divide, there can be no equal opportunities and no equal opportunities, meritocracy is only an illusion.

The first step in correcting any inequality is to recognize that our current policies are not working as effectively as we would have hoped. This should be the center. Stop wasting time focusing on past successes.