Singapore: The Best Bureaucracy in Asia

Abstract

Prof. Dr. M. Azizur Rahman highlights Singapore as having the most efficient and least corrupt bureaucracy in Asia. The author attributes this success to a system where civil servants are selected based on high academic qualifications, intelligence, and "smartness" through competitive examinations. Unlike other Asian nations where bureaucracy can be a "suffocating" force, Singapore's civil servants are given high financial incentives and significant responsibility in overseeing development projects across sectors like manufacturing and housing. The article notes that Singapore has successfully adapted the British administrative model to its local culture, maintaining a "small is beautiful" approach where a compact but highly skilled public sector drives national prosperity.