Asia Future Summit 2025 Besides stewardship, enterprise is also important for S'pore: Ong Ye Kung

Failure to chart new future just as damaging as failure to steward past resources, he says

- Tham Yuen-C Senior Political Correspondent

Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung said at the Asia Future Summit that it is often said that complacency is the biggest threat facing Singapore. The challenge is to know what to preserve or change, and when to seek a breakthrough. The session was moderated by Lianhe Zaobao editor Goh Sin Teck. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

(ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM)

In the rapidly evolving global landscape marked by intense competition, Singapore must do more than simply steward what the earlier generations have built, said Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung.

There is also a need for courage to do things differently, so as to build upon this inheritance and transform it into something better. Managing this balance between stewardship and enterprise will be a key challenge for the fourth-generation political leadership, he said on Oct 9 at the closing of the Asia Future Summit.

"A failure to be enterprising to chart a new future is just as damaging as a failure to steward accumulated resources from the past," he added.

Mr Ong's speech and dialogue, moderated by Lianhe Zaobao editor Goh Sin Teck, wrapped up the annual conference that was held over two days from Oct 8 to 9.

The theme - Navigating A Fractured World reflects the turbulence of today's geopolitical flux, technological bifurcation and economic volatility.

At this juncture of Singapore's history, the first instinct is, and should be, to avoid recklessness and to steward what earlier generations of Singaporeans have built, said Mr Ong.

But he cautioned that there is also a risk to focusing too narrowly on this.

"For every story of a new generation squandering away their inherited wealth, there is also one of atrophy, because they were so focused on protecting the past that they could not renew and keep up with the times," he said.