The above letter by Mr Chua Chern Pin to Straits Times Forum today is a response to a letter by Dr Huang Shoou Chyuan, ‘Why top S’pore students aren’t world beaters’ (ST, Jan 10). I will quote a portion of his response here:
“I believe one critical condition for Singaporean world beaters to surface is continued focus on the following strategies: promotion of the enterprise spirit, and de-emphasis on academic results.
By enterprise spirit, I do not refer just to the setting up of businesses; after all, not everyone is cut out to be a businessman.
Rather, it is about having a general spirit of adventure, the courage to take a different path and motivating ambition.”
I endorse the above statement, as I believe that the enterprising spirit is more important than making a Google or Microsoft. Here are my two cents worth of opinion. I have been discussing this topic to the death with many people, including people who are involved in enterprise too. My theory is that Singaporeans are not ambitious enough and our comfortable lifestyle has inhibited us to take risk. That is not surprising because the best route to success according to our parents, is education. However, our parents do not realize that the economy is changing and the way that the road to success is the road less travelled.
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