10 sayings by ex-top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow that lays the smack down on everyone
Calling the former top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow "outspoken" is like saying a nuclear holocaust is "regrettable". Because that would be an understatement. You might have to hear it to believe it. But the quotes this man gives makes him a living legend.
Ngiam has served as Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office under Lee Kuan Yew, as well as in various other ministries. He has earned his reputation as a no-nonsense kind of guy. Someone with clout. Someone who can speak his mind without fear or favour. At 73, he could be trimming bonsai, shooting the breeze and smoking a pipe. But no, he is still out laying the smack down on everyone.
So, here are 10 Ngiam Tong Dow sayings from his recent wide-ranging interview in the September edition of the Singapore Medical Association newsletter that will make him go down in history for giving it like a manly man:
- "I think a lot of these pseudo-economists and pseudo-politicians say Singaporeans should be employed first, but are Singaporeans fit or willing to do some of these job?"
- "My favourite topic — I’m on public record — is Formula 1 (F1). We’re paying the Englishmen to stage the F1 night race here. Why should we use taxpayers’ money to pay for these races? I have asked this question publicly, but the MOF has never addressed it."
- "I was born in a generation where every cent counts, so I believe we should spend our money wisely, and not on frivolities. Sometimes, I think our present Cabinet spends money on frivolities, and staging the F1 is my “favourite” example."
- "A Hong Kong delegation asked me what I consider frivolities. In Hong Kong, they have fireworks displays every year. One of the delegates asked me whether I thought it was a waste of public money. If everyone in Hong Kong can see the fireworks, then there is no waste; if only a restricted number of people can see it, then the money spent is wasted."
- "For example, one of my favourite topics to show the stark difference in priorities during my younger days and today is work-life balance. During my younger days, we never thought of work-life balance. For me, my first plane ride was for a work conference in Bangkok!"
- "In the early days, Lim Kim San and Goh Keng Swee worked night and day, and they were truly dedicated. I don’t know whether Lee Kuan Yew will agree but it started going downhill when we started to raise ministers’ salaries, not even pegging them to the national salary but aligning them with the top 10."
- "When you raise ministers’ salaries to the point that they’re earning millions of dollar, every minister — no matter how much he wants to turn up and tell Hsien Loong off or whatever — will hesitate when he thinks of his million-dollar salary. Even if he wants to do it, his wife will stop him."
- "The Civil Service has definitely become tamer, which is not good because we need a contest of ideas. The difference is that no one wants to make a sacrifice any more. The first generation of PAP was purely grassroots, but the problem today is that PAP is a bit too elitist."
- "We shouldn't buy trophies. The best thing is to train our own people and give them the experience. I wrote an article some time ago on how we were spending over $6 billion trying to raise productivity. I found out that we have 30,000 trained workers each year, if we took into account the graduates from all our universities, polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education! Yet, our employers refuse to take them on because they say that while the graduates may have the theories, they may not be able to do the job!"
- "For example, the delivery of medical care falls squarely on the shoulders of our nurses, so I was very upset to read that our Population White Paper classified nursing as a “low-skilled” job. Whoever passed that document should have his pay revoked. (laughs)"
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PM Lee says Ngiam Tong Dow's 'legacy will live on' as tributes pour in for late civil servant
Former top civil servant Mr Ngiam Tong Dow had spent 40 years in the apex Singapore Administrative Service.PHOTO: ST FILE
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, friends and colleagues paid tribute to former top civil servant Mr Ngiam Tong Dow, 83, who died on Thursday (Aug 20).
In a condolence letter addressed to Mr Ngiam’s wife, Jeanette, on Friday, Mr Lee called Mr Ngiam a “versatile and outstanding civil servant” from the founding generation.
“Tong Dow stood out among his peers for his intellect and empathy, and his willingness to speak his mind,” said Mr Lee.
related: PM Lee, friends pay tribute to Ngiam Tong Dow
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‘Straight as an arrow’: Friends, family share memories of Ngiam Tong Dow at wake of former top civil servant
The wake of Ngiam Tong Dow at his home along Chestnut Avenue in Bukit Panjang on Aug 21, 2020
As a friend, the late Ngiam Tong Dow was "straight as an arrow" and could be counted on to be reliable and willing to speak the truth, friends, family and former colleagues recalled at the wake of the former top civil servant on Friday (Aug 21),
At home, he was a supportive, family-oriented father, they added of Ngiam, who died on Thursday aged 83 after a four-and-a-half-year battle with ill health. Those attending the wake included Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, former PM Goh Chok Tong and former president Tony Tan.
Speaking to members of the media at the wake, which was held at his home in Chestnut Avenue, Bukit Panjang, former politician George Yeo described his friend as a “warm and good human being”.
related: Ngiam Tong Dow helped S'pore become a business hub, contributions have enduring impact today: PM Lee, President Halimah
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Singapore's 'economic czar': Tributes paid to former top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow after his death
Former veteran civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow died on Aug 20, 2020. (Photo: TODAY)
Mr Ngiam spent more than 40 years in public service, working with some of Singapore's founding political leaders including then-deputy prime minister Goh Keng Swee, as well as all the prime ministers.
He was permanent secretary for several key ministries including the finance, trade and communications ministries.
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As we honour the passing of Ngiam Tong Dow, will the current crop of PAP leaders pay heed to his sage words of wisdom?
A civil servant who spent 40 years at the helm of Singapore’s administration has died at the age of 83. In his illustrious career, Ngiam Tong Dow became the youngest permanent secretary at age 33 and was awarded accolades such as the Distinguished Service Order in 1999 when he retired.
Having worked closely with the late Lee Kuan Yew, his successor Goh Chok Tong, Goh Keng Swee and Hon Sui Sen, it would be fair to say that Ngiam was an influential member of the old guard.
With his alignment to the Peoples’ Action Party (PAP) not in doubt, it is notable that Ngiam had observed in 2003 that Singapore was “larger than the PAP“. Yet, fast forward 17 years, has the newer generation of PAP leaders followed his advice?
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Ngiam Tong Dow, pioneering Singapore bureaucrat who bemoaned ‘little Lee Kuan Yews’ in civil service, dies aged 83
Ngiam Tong Dow, the pioneering Singaporean civil servant, has died at age 83. Photo: Handout
Ngiam Tong Dow, the pioneering Singaporean civil servant who served four decades in the highest levels of the city state’s bureaucracy and on retirement bemoaned creeping “elite arrogance” among its latter-day mandarinate, has died at age 83. Ngiam’s family told The Straits Times he had been ill for the last 4.5 years.
The public service stalwart’s career began in 1959, the same year Singapore gained self-rule from Britain under the leadership of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and the People’s Action Party (PAP).
A first-generation Singaporean born to a court interpreter father and a Hainanese mother who worked as a washerwoman, Ngiam won a bursary to study economics at the University of Malaya. Later in his career he obtained a Masters in Public Administration at Harvard University.
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Ngiam Tong Dow: Stop Dancing to the Tune of the Gorilla
At 66, the HDB Corp chairman Mr Ngiam Tong Dow insists he is “no radical”, just a concerned Singaporean with three grandchildren, who wonders “whether there will be a Singapore for them in 50 years' time”.
In this interview, he gives candid appraisal of the civil service, and his prognosis of what the lack of an alternative political leadership means for Singapore.
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Dynamics of the Singapore Success Story: Insights by Ngiam Tong Dow
Singapore's success story has been widely read. How and why this transformation came about, however, has seldom been publicly analyzed and articulated. Very few insiders with firsthand experience have chosen to illuminate the fundamental public policies guiding Singapore's social and economic growth. Yet it is this aspect of the Singapore story that most intrigues outside observers.
Based on his rich, forty-year experience as a senior Singapore civil servant, Ngiam Tong Dow manages to present a clear picture in this book of Singapore's path toward success. It is a collection of his speeches, interviews, and articles delivered and written between 2004 and 2010.
According to Ngiam, what lies behind Singapore's spectacular achievements from 1959 onward is the island nation s relentless pursuit of knowledge as the critical lever for development. Singapore is the forerunner of knowledge-based economies emerging in this new millennium.
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