Dynamics of the Singapore Success Story: Insights by Ngiam Tong Dow

Product Description 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. Key Features:(1) Retells the Singapore success story from the perspective of knowledge-based economy(2) Unveils Singapore's public-policy decisions in the early days(3) Provides an insider's perspective on how Singapore evolved from Third World to First(4) Written by Singapore's retired top civil servant, Mr Ngiam Tong Dow About the Author Ngiam Tong Dow served in the Singapore Administrative Service for more than forty years. He became Singapore's youngest permanent secretary ever in 1972 at the age of 35. He served in key government ministries, including the Prime Minister s Office, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of National Development, and the Ministry of Communications.He worked closely with the founding political leaders of Singapore including the late Dr. Goh Keng Swee, former deputy prime minister, and the late Hon Sui Sen, former finance minister. He also served under Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister and Goh Chok Tong, the succeeding prime minister. Ngiam was chairman of various statutory boards and government linked companies, including the Singapore Economic Development Board, the Development Bank of Singapore, the Central Provident Fund Board, and the Housing Development Board. He received various national public service awards, namely the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 1971, the Meritorious Service Medal in 1978, and the Distinguished Service Order in 1999.Ngiam graduated from the University of Malaya (in Singapore) in 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honors) in Economics. He obtained a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University in 1964. In 1985, he was awarded the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship. He is the author of A Mandarin and the Making of Public Policy: Reflections by Ngiam Tong Dow (2006) and Growing Pains of Economic Development: the Singapore Experience (in Chinese) (2007).