The transcript below was taken from our full interview with Singapore presidential hopeful Ng Kok Song. It’s part of a series where we discuss tech, business, and other topics with potential candidates for the upcoming presidential elections.

You can also read our detailed coverage or watch the full video of the chat with Ng.

Transcript

When the government gives business, there’s still a bit of the “buy IBM” mentality.

When I started my company eight years ago, I had to compete for the business.

I had to compete with the giants in getting business from government agencies.

They say, “Kok Song, you’re well and good. You have a track record at the GIC but what is your track record at Avanda? Zero.”

So I said, “Then how do I start?”

So I said, “Give me five years. I and my partners at Avanda will build up Avanda and we will have a five-year track record, and we will come and compete for the business.”

So there is still this syndrome, the “buy IBM” syndrome.

If we really want local enterprises to succeed, we must at least have a level playing ground.