Singapore, Jan. 18 -- A high-quality public service is critical, but for Singapore to be successful, it must work closely with a "first-class political leadership", Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said. It must also be fundamentally aligned with elected leaders.
"Some people argue that since we have a capable civil service to keep things working, Singapore already is in good hands.
"Hence, we need not be so stringent in our expectations of political leaders - of capability, or mastery of their portfolios, of the experience they bring to the job," he told 900 public servants at the Public Service Leadership Dinner yesterday.
"And (that) we can even survive a bad election, or a bad government, because the civil service is there.
"I...