THE POLITICS OF REVERSAL
It also raises the intriguing question whether there was a less public way to prevail on Income to walk away from the deal, even if it meant paying a financial penalty to Allianz.
Given the government’s close association with the labour movement which owns a substantial part of Income through NTUC Enterprise, such a move was not inconceivable.
That it was not done and instead the government opted for a more transparent and direct way to stop the deal speaks much about its modus operandi.
It has now made clear where it stands on the labour movement’s social mission to support low-income workers.
The message on Monday could not have been delivered more loudly.
It also says something about the new leadership’s willingness to act when there are important principles at stake.
Is there a danger that there will be more public pressure for the government to intervene or reverse its decision over other issues?
On social media, one popular refrain has been that with the impending General Election, the government is more sensitive to public feedback.
So time to up the noise level?
There is nothing new in this sort of talk and every government faces the political challenge of making difficult decisions and balancing the interests of different groups.
That’s what politics is about.
A new prime minister might face a more testing time in this regard.
Since his inauguration, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has articulated his vision for Singapore on a wide range of issues, including listening to public feedback before making decisions, valuing diversity and developing a less academic-centric society.
He has said most of the right things but there are questions about what he will actually do to put his vision into effect.
The Income-Allianz decision will count as one such marker.
Han Fook Kwang was a veteran newspaper editor and is senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.
