Philip Yeo was Chairman of Economic Development Board, a statutory board that aims to enhance Singapore’s position for business and to create sustainable economic growth; Chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), another statutory board that supports research and development in areas of competitive advantage for the needs of Singapore; the person behind the industrialization of Batam, the creation of Jurong Island and the building of a biomedical science center in Singapore.
Philip has a long association with the military and was from St. Joseph’s Institution. He graduated in 1970 in Applied Science (Industrial Engineering) from the University of Toronto and later obtained a Master of Science (Systems Engineering) from the University of Singapore in 1974 and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University under a Fulbright scholarship. He is now aged 72 in the year 2018.
Philip is known for his speed, dynamism, up-front way of talking and has little patience for bureaucracy.
I quote here from the book, “The Philip Yeo Story,” to provide gravity to his importance to Singapore. This memory was from George Yeo who has served in various ministries.
“One night, I received a telephone call from Lee Kuan Yew (then Senior Minister) asking me whether he should speak on behalf of Philip to the Cabinet. He knew that Philip could be “insubordinate” but said that his contacts among global CEOs and his ability to break new ground were nonpareil. I agreed wholeheartedly and supported Lee Kuan Yew’s personal intervention. It was a huge relief to me because I knew what a loss it would have been to Singapore. Great men have their rough edges.”
I quoted this paragraph to exemplify Philip’s importance through Lee’s contemplation to defend him. I am unsure what the specifics of the issue here was, but it was Lee’s defense that captured me in this quote.
At one point of time Philip seriously considered a lucrative offer from Hong Kong to join the private sector. In 1999, Richard Li, son of Hong Kong Billionaire Li Ka Shing wanted Yeo to join his Singapore-based fund management vehicle Pacific Century as executive chairman. The offer at the end of the discussions were 28 million SGD over three years. 10 million signing on bonus, 10 million spread over three years and 8 million in stock options.
An event I thought hilarious but heart-warming was Philip’s naming in 1991 as one of Singapore’s 25 sexiest man in the local Her Magazine. This was the era where Singapore had a strong spirit. To portray our local movers and shakers like this had a distinctive Singaporean flair and dignity to it. This was a clear indication of the national pride during that era.
I want to end Philip’s introduction with another quote from George Yeo, this time about his speed and his dislikes about bureaucracy:
“There were sharp clashes in the bureaucracy because there were permanent secretaries and others who felt that he [Philip] was not conventional, that he disliked meetings,” said George Yeo. “Civil servants have long meetings and every time they are unsure they ask for more data, more studies. Really, the doubts are in them. It’s not that the data would flush out those doubts, they just don’t want to decide, so they go round and round in a circle, frustrating everybody along the way… Philip’s very impatient about meetings.”
I ended with this quote to infer the bureaucratic nature of Singapore and how perhaps we are growing into something much too complex and structured, a place where a sense of a natural energy and thriving is restricted.
How can we build a place that is less governed by policies and meetings and more on spirit and a sense of “natural energy?” I’m not sure if there is a way but I feel that if Singapore wants to thrive again like it did in the 90s then we have to find a way.
In the following articles about Philip which I will summarize extensively from his book, my aim is to provide insight to this natural energy that Philip had that we Singaporeans should possess if we want to prosper in the 21st century. In this period of great technological advancement and change will we still remember who we are?
Links referenced for this article:
1. https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/S0732-1317%282010%290000019009
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurong_Island
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Yeo
5. [Book] Neither Civil Nor Servant: The Philip Yeo Story by Peh Shing Huei, Straits Times Press, 2017.
