Essay On Meritocracy In Singapore

Introduction
Ever since the PAP was elected into power in 1959, meritocracy has always been one of the key guiding principles of governance and dominant cultural value in Singapore. Over the years and even up till today, ‘equality of opportunities’ is embodied in almost every part of our lives, be it recognition in school, or at work. Our highly impartial meritocratic system has always been our pride and fundamental basis of our country’s successful story- transformation from a third to first world country. However, in the recent years, this system has started to show signs of becoming a victim of its own success and has evolved into an ideology of elitism and inequality. Should Meritocracy still be the central ideology in Singapore in the

For instance, the influx of foreign talent has indisputably reduced Singaporeans’ prospects in their own country, neglecting basic privileges that citizens shoud enjoy since foreign talents are able to “provide more merit” (The Real Singapore, 2013). This eventually results in wider wealth gaps, breeding a culture of resentment especially among the lower and middle class Singaporeans (Tan, 2008). Apart from this, Singaporeans are starting to question the qualities of the leaders themselves. Winners of meritocracy, in an attempt to pepetuate their prestige and supplement their own material rewards may end up in being corrupted(Chong, 2010). In 2012, Singapore was rocked by a chain of sex scandals involving top civil servants, teachers and even a Member of Parliament, Michael Palmer. Singaporeans were also critical of the former Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) Assistant Director, who misappropriated S$1.7 million of public funds in 2013. In this case, I feel that there is a need to rethink if meritocracy should still be the central ideology as it has resulted in arrogance, overvaluation of capabilities and depreciation of talents in a country where we have often been lauded for being productive and