Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T20:46:45.540Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - Governing the Global City’s Mandarinate

Politically Motivated Appointments in Singapore’s Public Sector

from Part I - One-Party Dominated Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2023

By
Assel Mussagulova  and
George Wong
Edited by
B. Guy Peters ,
Colin Knox  and
Byeong Seob Kim
B. Guy Peters
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Colin Knox
Affiliation:
Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
Byeong Seob Kim
Affiliation:
Seoul National University
Get access

Summary

Singapore’s civil service has been lauded as one of the successful case studies globally. The emphasis on meritocracy has been the hallmark of Singapore’s governance. This principle remains a guiding philosophy for the dominant People’s Action Party (PAP). Political analysts often attributed “the Singapore miracle” to its corruption-free, highly professional, technocratic government. Still, certain segments of Singapore’s civil service bear the institutional and cultural vestiges of politically motivated appointments. In this chapter, we first analyze the process of selecting top public service positions, showing how political considerations are factored into these appointments. Second, using the case of the People’s Association, we explore the “public service” face of para-political organizations and demonstrate how appointments and politics of urban governance are intertwined. The chapter offers us insights on how political interests and concerns persist despite the progress in public governance, and on the role of elite networks and political regime-making in shaping public sector opportunities.

Keywords

Singaporemeritocracyurban governancepolitical leadership
Type
Chapter
Information
Political Patronage in Asian Bureaucracies , pp. 25 - 48
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aberbach, J.D., Putnam, R.D. and Rockman, B.A. (1981). 5. The Compass of Elite Ideology. In Bureaucrats and Politicians in Western Democracies (pp. 115–169). Harvard: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barr, M.D. (2014). The Ruling Elite of Singapore: Networks of Power and Influence. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.Google Scholar
Bell, D.A. (2015). The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Chan, H.C. (1976). The Dynamics of One Party Dominance: The PAP at the Grass-roots. Singapore: Singapore University Press.Google Scholar
Chan, H.C. (1989). 3. The PAP and the Structuring of the Political System (pp. 70–89). Singapore: ISEAS Publishing.Google Scholar
Chen, P.S. (1975). Elites and National Development in Singapore. Asian Journal of Social Science, 3(1), pp. 17–25.Google Scholar
Cheung, B.L.A. (2003). Public Service Reform in Singapore: Reinventing Government in a Global Age. In Cheung, Anthony and Scott, Ian (Eds.), Governance and Public Sector Reform in Asia: Paradigm Shifts or Business as Usual? (pp. 138–162). Routledge: Curzon.Google Scholar
Chinn, D., Dimson, J., Goodman, A. and Gleeson, I. (2015). World-Class Government Transforming the UK Public Sector in an Era of Austerity: Five Lessons from around the World.Google Scholar
Connelly, B.L., Ketchen, D.J. and Slater, S.F. (2011). Toward a “Theoretical Toolbox” for Sustainability Research in Marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), pp. 86–100.Google Scholar
Constitution of the Republic of Singapore. (2021). Available at: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/CONS1963 (accessed on 6 May 2021).Google Scholar
Daud, S. (2019). Residents’ Ramp Took 7 Years to Build due to PAP’s “Divisive Approach to Politics”: Workers’ Party Pritam Singh, Mothership, October 16, 2019. Accessed from: https://mothership.sg/2019/10/pritam-singh-ramp-pa/Google Scholar
Derlien, H.‐U. (1986). Soziale Herkunft und Parteibindung der Beamtenschaft. In Ellwein, T. and Wehling, H.‐G. (Eds.), Verwaltung und Politik in der Bundesrepublik (pp. 115–132). Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.Google Scholar
Eichbaum, C. and Shaw, R. (2007). Ministerial Advisers and the Politics of Policy‐making: Bureaucratic Permanence and Popular Control. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 66(4), pp. 453–467.Google Scholar
Francesch-Huidobro, M. (2008). Governance, Politics and the Environment: A Singapore Study (Vol. 349). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.Google Scholar
Freeman, J. and Minow, M. (Eds.). (2009). Government by Contract: Outsourcing and American Democracy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goetz, K. (2007). German Officials and the Federal Policy Process: The Decline of Sectional Leadership. In Page, E. C. and Wright, V. (Eds.), From the Active to the Enabling State (pp. 164–188). London: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Hamilton-Hart, N. (2002). Asian States, Asian Bankers: Central Banking in Southeast Asia. New York: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Hansard, Singapore. (1996). “People’s Association (Amendment) Bill” Parliament No. 8, Session no. 2, Vol. no: 66, Sitting no: 8, 10 October, 1996. Accessed from: http://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/topichtmlfilename=013_19961010_S0003_T0006Google Scholar
Haque, S.M. (1996). A Grassroots Approach to Decentralization in Singapore. Asian Journal of Political Science, 4(1), pp. 64–84.Google Scholar
Hill, M., and Lian, K.F. (2013). The Politics of Nation Building and Citizenship in Singapore. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ho, K.C. (2000). Competing to Be Regional Centres: A Multi-agency, Multi-locational Perspective. Urban Studies, 37(12), pp. 2337–2356.Google Scholar
Ho, K.L. (2003). Shared Responsibilities, Unshared Power: The Politics of Policy-making in Singapore. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish International.Google Scholar
Kim, S. and Han, C. (2015). Administrative Reform in South Korea: New Public Management and the Bureaucracy. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 81(4), pp. 694–712. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852314558034Google Scholar
Kopecký, P. and Scherlis, G. (2008). Party Patronage in Contemporary Europe. European Review, 16(3), p. 355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krause, G.A., Lewis, D.E. and Douglas, J.W. (2006). Political Appointments, Civil Service Systems, and Bureaucratic Competence: Organizational Balancing and Executive Branch Revenue Forecasts in the American States. American Journal of Political Science, 50(3), pp. 770–787.Google Scholar
Lee Hsien Loong. (2016). Civil Service Not Independent of Government But Politically Impartial, The Straits Times. Available at: www.straitstimes.com/politics/civil-service-not-independent-of-government-but-politically-impartial-pm-lee (accessed on 1 May 2021).Google Scholar
Lee, E.W. and Haque, M.S. (2006). The New Public Management Reform and Governance in Asian NICs: A Comparison of Hong Kong and Singapore 1. Governance, 19(4), pp. 605–626.Google Scholar
Lee, H. and Lee, T. (2019). From Contempt of Court to Fake News: Public Legitimisation and Governance in Mediated Singapore. Media International Australia, 173(1), pp. 81–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X19853074Google Scholar
Lewis, D.E. (2007). Testing Pendleton’s Premise: Do Political Appointees make Worse Bureaucrats? The Journal of Politics, 69(4), pp. 1073–1088.Google Scholar
Lim, L. (2008). How Just Our Meritocracy? – Singapore Needs to Find a Better Balance So That Social Inequality Does Not Become Entrenched, Straits Times, 30 August, Newsbank, Access World News, p. 1.Google Scholar
Lu, L. (2021). Applying a ‘Glonacal’ Framework: The Education Choices of Academically Elite Students in Singapore in Relation to State Scholarships. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 20(3), pp. 1–13.Google Scholar
Mauzy, D. and Milne, R.S. (2002). Singapore Politics under the People’s Action Party. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayntz, R. and Derlien, H.U. (1989). Party Patronage and Politicization of the West German Administrative Elite 1970–1987: Toward Hybridization? Governance, 2(4), pp. 384–404.Google Scholar
Painter, M. (2004). The Politics of Administrative Reform in East and Southeast Asia: From Gridlock to Continuous Self-Improvement? Governance, 17, pp. 361–386.Google Scholar
Peters, B.G. and Pierre, J. (Eds.) (2004). The Politicization of the Civil Service in Comparative Perspective: A Quest for Control (Vol. 7). London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
People’s Association. (2021). About Us. Accessed from: www.pa.gov.sg/about-usGoogle Scholar
Poocharoen, O.O. and Brillantes, A. (2013). Meritocracy in Asia Pacific: Status, Issues, and Challenges. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 33(2), pp. 140–163.Google Scholar
Poocharoen, O.O. and Lee, C. (2013). Talent Management in the Public Sector: A Comparative Study of Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Public Management Review, 15(8), pp. 1185–1207.Google Scholar
Public Service Division. (2018). Administrative Service. Available at: www.psd.gov.sg/what-we-do/developing-leadership-in-the-service/administrative-service (accessed on 20 April 2021).Google Scholar
Quah, J.S. (2021). Best Practices for Combating Corruption: Learning from Singapore and Hong Kong. In Corruption in the Public Sector: An International Perspective. Bingley: Emerald Publishing.Google Scholar
Read, B. (2012) Roots of the State: Neighbourhood Organisation and Social Networks in Beijing and Taipei. California: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Rodan, G. (2008). Singapore ‘Exceptionalism’? Authoritarian Rule and State Transformation’ In Wong, J., and Friedman, E. (Eds.), Political Transitions in Dominant Party Systems: Learning to Lose (pp. 247–267). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203893111Google Scholar
Seah, C.M. (1985). Parapolitical Institutions. In Quah, J.S.T., Chan, H.C. and Seah, C.M. (Eds.), Government and Politics of Singapore (pp. 173–94). Singapore: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Singapore Prime Minister’s Office. (1994). White Paper on Competitive Salaries for Competent & Honest Government: Benchmarks for Ministers & Senior Public Officers. Available at: www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/government_records/record-details/a0bef428-730e-11e7-83df-0050568939ad (accessed on 1 May 2021).Google Scholar
Singh, B. (2017). Understanding Singapore Politics. Singapore: World Scientific Press.Google Scholar
Śliwa, M. and Johansson, M. (2014). The Discourse of Meritocracy Contested/Reproduced: Foreign Women Academics in UK Business Schools. Organization, 21(6), pp. 821–843.Google Scholar
So, B.W.Y. (2015). Exam‐centred Meritocracy in Taiwan: Hiring by Merit or Examination? Australian Journal of Public Administration, 74(3), pp. 312–323.Google Scholar
Spence, M. (1973). Job Market Signaling. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), pp. 355–374.Google Scholar
Stiglitz, J.E. (2000). The Contributions of the Economics of Information to Twentieth Century Economics. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115(4), pp. 1441–1478.Google Scholar
Tan, K.P. (2003). Democracy and the Grassroots Sector in Singapore. Space & Polity, 7(1): pp. 3–20.Google Scholar
Tan, K.P. (2008). Meritocracy and Elitism in a Global City: Ideological Shifts in Singapore. International Political Science Review, 29(1), pp. 7–27.Google Scholar
Transparency International. (2020). 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index. Available at: www.transparency.org/en/press/2020-corruption-perceptions-index-reveals-widespread-corruption-is-weakening-covid-19-response-threatening-global-recovery (accessed on 1 May 2021).Google Scholar
Tsuneki, A. (2012). Japanese Bureaucracy, Japanese Economy, 39(3), pp. 49–68.Google Scholar
Vallance, S. (1999). Performance Appraisal in Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines: A Cultural Perspective. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 58(4), pp. 78–95.Google Scholar
Van-Biesen, G. (2006). Overview of Civil Service Selection Procedures in EU Context. In Belgium Seminar on “Civil Service Recruitment Procedures”, Vilnius (pp. 21–22).Google Scholar
Van der Wal, Z. (2021). Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau: Guardian of Public Integrity. In Guardians of Public Value (pp. 63–86). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Veit, S. and Scholz, S. (2016). Linking Administrative Career Patterns and Politicization: Signalling Effects in the Careers of Top Civil Servants in Germany. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 82(3), pp. 516–535.Google Scholar
Weiss, M.L. (2017). Going to the Ground (or AstroTurf): A Grassroots View of Regime Resilience. Democratization, 24(2), pp. 265–282.Google Scholar
Weiss, M.L. (2020). The Roots of Resilience: Party Machines and Grassroots Politics in Southeast Asia. Ithaca; London: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Woo, J.J. (2016). Singapore as an International Finance Centre. London: Palgrave.Google Scholar
World Bank. (2020). Worldwide Governance Indicators. Available at: https://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/Home/Reports (accessed on 15 April 2021).Google Scholar
World Economic Forum. (2020). Global Competitiveness Report 2020. Available at: www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-competitiveness-report-2020 (accessed on 13 April 2021).Google Scholar
Yuen, S. (2018). Parliament: Grassroots Advisers Appointed to Fulfil Mission of Government of the Day, Says Chan Chun Sing, The Straits Times, Mar 8, 2018. Accessed from: www.straitstimes.com/politics/grassroots-advisors-are-appointed-to-fulfil-mission-of-government-of-the-day-chan-chun-singGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×