The Secret of Effective Government

An old couple who had been married for decades were asked what was their secret to a successful marriage.

The secret is compromise, the old man replied. Whenever my wife and I have a disagreement, we compromise. We will each present our arguments and then we compromise and do it her way.

The Singapore government is widely recognized as one of the most effective governments in the world. Numerous experts and surveys, like Beri have rated our government highly.

And their secret? They listen to the people.

After one full year of listening to ordinary citizens, religious leaders, civic organizations and even parliamentarians, plus an unprecedented petition carrying 30,000 signatures argue against the idea of building a casino in Singapore, they announced last week to build not one but two casinos.

The surprising thing is that nobody was surprised.

Paul Simon was right. After changes upon changes, we are more or less the same.