SMU Board of Trustees Chairman and Banyan Tree Executive Chairman Mr Ho Kwon Ping was a panellist with Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Mr Ong Ye Kung at the Institute of Policy Studies' annual Singapore Perspectives conference held yesterday (Jan 23). On the topic of whether a single political party is best for Singapore, Mr Ho warned that one-party systems face the danger of its political elites becoming slow to change, resulting in a culture of entitlement and corruption. He added that the most desirable scenario for Singapore would be a system of robust internal competition within the People's Action Party (PAP). Likewise, Mr Ong stressed that the PAP must stay open-minded and grounded in reality, and have integrity beyond reproach.

The panel also addressed the possibility of Singapore having a two- or multi-party system. Mr Ho highlighted that history shows that a ruling political party which faces no competition tends to turn complacent. Nevertheless, Mr Ho thought the PAP had the best chance of any long-term party to set a new record for staying in power, because of its "ability to self-correct and obsessively talk about problems" and find solutions to them. He suggested that the party introduce a formal way for competing policies to be aired internally.