I feel this is so true.
http://studentry.sg/2012/01/01/the-incendiary-industrialist-interview-with-phillip-yeo/"
Phillip Yeo walks into a room and the atmosphere feels electrified. The 65-year-old chairman of SPRING Singapore possesses the energy of a much younger man. He does not pause for introductions, or even to allow the team from U@live to set up his microphone.
“You want to be a socialist? First make money. Which means you must be a capitalist first. If you don’t make money, how do you support socialist objectives? Socialism means going around with a begging bowl. If you want to help people, you need to find funds. You need to find a way to find money to finance social objectives. To help the less fortunate you need to make money – just don’t pocket it all yourself with big bonuses,” he said.
It is rare to find someone in Singapore, especially one as influential as Yeo, who is willing to speak so candidly.
But his frankness, like his fervor for development, has been something that has defined Yeo throughout his career. The man has never been one to sugarcoat his opinion – and given his experience, it is hard to argue that he should.
Yeo started his career during a brief stint in the Administrative Services, but he was soon transferred to MINDEF where he served in various appointments. However, he left the organisation to take up the position of chairman at the Economic Development Board (EDB). Yeo was instrumental in redirecting EDB’s focus towards new areas of business such as biomedical science. At the same time, he was the first chairman of the National Computer Board, where he played a leading role in developing Singapore’s first national computerisation plan that helped bring the nation into the information age. Later, Yeo moved on to become the chairman of A*STAR, where he once again pushed for Singapore to become a leading biomedical research centre. In April 2007, Yeo was appointed Special Adviser for Economic Development in the Prime Minister’s Office, a post he held until August 2011.
Speaking to both U@live and THE RIDGE during a brief interview at his office in Fusionopolis, Yeo shared his views on how he felt undergraduates should prepare themselves for the working world. Some of his lessons are harder to accept than others.
For example, while Yeo recognises the value of passion – he highlighted its importance during his address to the graduating class of 2011 last July – he also warns students not to forget the value of being practical. He notes that even though students should do things they are passionate about, they should also ensure they have practical skills. He laments, “Singaporeans kids are looking for an easy way out.”
Yeo believes that undergraduates should avoid courses that are too general. To Yeo, while technical and scientific skills are difficult to learn, they are invaluable in a career. He believes an engineering course would be more useful and exportable than a course in Business Administration.
But Yeo’s preference for engineering degrees is hardly unexpected. Although he is better known as a job creator and an industry builder, Yeo remains an engineer at heart. After all, before he received his M.B.A. from Harvard University, he first obtained a masters’ degree in systems engineering from NUS.
“Engineers are people with practical ideas. Engineers are not philosophers. Engineers get things done. They aren’t interested in the philosophy of life, they are interested in its practical aspects,” he said.
However, while Yeo is a supporter of engineering degrees, he also acknowledges the importance of a general education.
“You need to be knowledgeable. This is invaluable,” he said. Yeo himself is a living example of this. His office is filled with shelves and shelves of books, magazines. A whole conference table has been dedicated to carefully filed printouts from the online journals and other articles. He jokes he has no time for any hobbies besides working and reading.
The last piece of advice Yeo imparts to students is to not worry about foreign competition. He rebukes those who complain about having to compete with international students and non-citizens, stating that Singapore has no need for policies that favor locals. Yeo pointed out that local students have the advantages of family support and a familiarity with the country. He advises students to embrace the competition, going on to say, “If we are cruel to you, you will survive anywhere.”
Hard words. But what else could one expect from the incendiary industrialist.
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Originally Posted by DC33_2008
