He is passionate about Singapore, I guess more than the majority of us. The irony is, he has given up on Singapore. He said that he does not have any expectations, so that he will not be further disappointed. He did magnificent things around the world - architectural projects in Johor, built an high efficiency airplane - which he believed cannot be achieved in Singapore. Why?
Education System
He shared a case of his friend who is a dyslexic turned down by schools in Singapore but became high achiever and serial inventor overseas. Some how I got the hunch from watching biographies and documentaries that the "good" education systems will churn out a higher percentage of smart people. However, it does not tolerate erratic behaviours and it does not allow students to choose their area of focus and interest from early age. This is important accordingly to Malcolm Gladwell. We take 10,000 hours or the equivalent of 10 years to be an expert in any field. That's why most entrepreneurs are drop-outs. However, if education systems were to allow such flexibility, will it turn out that many will drop out and out? As in, they won't have a future at all? Oh by the way, studies show that dyslexics can be very intelligent, often out-of-the box thinkers and problem-solvers. Here are some big names in business who are dyslexic.
No Margin for Error
He shared that he went to the Economic Development Board (EDB) to propose building a solar energy-powered transportation for use within the school campus. EDB asked if the idea had been implemented in other countries before and if not, it could not be done in Singapore. I still remember the Hippo open air double bus took 6 months before getting an approval to run on Singapore roads. The Duck Tour (amphibious transportation) took 2 years. I saw many open places in parks and asked National Parks if I can operate children rides there. They gave me thousand and one restrictions. Is it true that we really cannot afford to fail in Singapore?
