Retired MP Lee Yi Shyan has followed one guiding principle throughout his 14-year political career, and even into private life. If it benefits Singapore, he will help.
“The nature of work was varied. My general principle is, if it is good for Singapore, I will do it,” Mr Lee told Petir when asked about his work serving in the ministries for nine years.
The 64-year-old entered politics in 2006 when he was elected as Member of Parliament for East Coast GRC.
He held key portfolios in several ministries, serving as Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and later concurrently as MOS for Manpower. From 2006 to 2011, he was the Minister-in-charge of Entrepreneurship. In 2012, he was promoted to Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and National Development.
After suffering a minor stroke in May 2015, he returned to the backbench.
Mr Lee described his work at the Ministry of Trade and Industry as building Singapore’s internal capacity and extending the country’s reach.
“Singapore cannot survive on just 730 square kilometres,” he explained, referring to the country’s total land size. “We would become a very poor country and could not afford many things we currently enjoy. Our economy must be much bigger.”
To achieve this, Singapore holds discussions with international partners and like-minded countries to establish agreements on free trade and the free flow of information, technology, and capital. These agreements enable countries to specialise and collectively “produce goods and services in the most efficient way,” he noted.
Mr Lee was instrumental in strengthening economic ties between Singapore and international markets. He chaired bilateral economic councils and led government-to-government infrastructure projects.
His previous role as chief executive of International Enterprise Singapore, where he oversaw 39 offices globally, proved invaluable to his work.
“I knew where Singapore companies had a footprint. In certain regions, you must invest ahead of time to get to know them, build relationships, and create platforms for cooperation. Some of these efforts will not produce tangible outcomes until years later,” he said.
Mr Lee expanded Singapore’s trade presence in the Middle East and Africa. He was co-chairman of the Abu Dhabi–Singapore Joint Forum and the Saudi–Singapore Economic Cities Business Forum and spearheaded the first Africa-Singapore Business Forum.
“The Middle East is developing rapidly,” he said. “We would be doing ourselves a disservice if we had no presence there and knew nothing about the Middle Eastern market. Why shouldn’t we be involved in such a fast-growing region?”
He highlighted the need for Singapore to stay relevant to other countries, noting that Africa presented a significant opportunity. Fifty-three African countries transport substantial resources to North Asia through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
“If you see all these ships passing by your Marine Parade flat and you tell yourself, you have nothing to do with them. That’s silly, right?” he said with his characteristic deadpan humour.
“How can you not figure out something that adds value to the transaction? That’s another way to make Singapore relevant. When you look at all these things, there’s much to do and not enough time.”
Lee Yi Shyan has expanded collaboration opportunities for S’pore businesses in China
Mr Lee, currently the Chairman of Business China, strengthened Singapore’s collaboration with China through several key roles.
He co-chaired the Singapore-Jiangsu Cooperation Council and the Singapore-Shandong Business Council. He was also a member of the China-Singapore Joint Committee for Bilateral Co-operation, joint Ministerial Committee of the Tianjin Eco-City, and Guangzhou Knowledge City Steering Committee. In addition, he was the Minister-in-charge of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City.
“I tried to be creative, frontier-breaking, and bold in expanding new ideas. Whenever possible, I worked to expand the scope of our collaborations in the projects that I was involved in. I helped push the boundaries of collaboration and enabled Singapore businesses to participate in new opportunities,” Mr Lee said.
At the Ministry of Manpower, Mr Lee spearheaded efforts to help local industries transition to innovation-led growth and persuaded trade associations and employer federations to adopt SkillsFuture workplace training roadmaps.
“MOM’s work is to construct a world-class workforce to support world-class industries. We bring in talent from overseas and invest heavily in developing our local talent. Our people need to continue learning. Hence, the concept of lifelong learning,” Mr Lee said.
On the key issue of immigration, and the often fraught discussion on foreigners working in Singapore, Mr Lee was again, characteristically direct.
“If we were producing a lot of babies ourselves, every one of us having 3, 4 or 5 children, then we don’t need foreign talents. We’ll be doing so well,” said Mr Lee.
However, Singapore’s low fertility rate means the country needs foreigners working together with Singaporeans to support our industries.
“On the other hand, if we want good living standards but [what if we have nobody] to support your hotels, your hospitals, your factories, your R&D centres or science park and so on,”, he explained. ” So, Ministry of Manpower’s work is a difficult one.”
Lee Yi Shyan: Ministries work together to help S’pore flourish
At the Ministry of National Development, Mr Lee helped steer Singapore’s urban planning, transformed construction productivity, and drove community-centric housing initiatives.
He noted that long-term planning is essential to determine costs, financing strategies, and infrastructure development phases.
“We must think how Singapore will look like in 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years’ time. We must plan ahead,” he said. “Singapore reclaimed the land for Changi Airport Terminal 5 thirty years ago. We knew that one day we would need this land. We cannot wait until that day arrives to start panicking and scrambling to build. By then, it’s too late.”
“Different ministries focus on different issues. But together, we synergise our efforts so that Singapore can flourish,” he added.
Lee Yi Shyan: ‘We must make sure our system continues to work and good people come forward to serve’
When asked what he has learnt from his political career, Mr Lee said unassumingly that he was simply doing his part to serve the country.
“I didn’t set out to do political work. I’ve always believed there are people smarter, stronger, and more talented than I am,” said Mr Lee, suggesting that all he had to offer was a heart for service.
“I say that if it’s good for Singapore, I will help. I will do what I need to do seriously and discharge all my responsibilities.”
He strongly believes that Singapore can thrive only if capable people continue to step forward to serve, and is pleased to see younger talents coming forward to do so.
“A good organisation is one that has a strong succession plan, with capable people ready to lead generation after generation. Singapore cannot survive on one or two persons alone. We must cultivate the talent to continue operating the system. That’s why I help whenever I can.”
“We have the 4G leadership, and they must invest in the next pipeline—5G and beyond. We must ensure our system continues to work so that good people can come forward to serve.”
