Opinion
PM Lawrence Wong advocates for broader success metrics beyond 5Cs, ahead of upcoming GE
In a video message on 22 June, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong emphasized the need for a broader definition of success in Singapore, urging a shift from the traditional “5Cs.” He called for valuing individuality and collective success. However, some Singaporeans view his message as tone-deaf, considering rising living costs and housing prices.
In a six-minute video message released on 22 June, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong emphasized the need for a broader definition of success in Singapore.
He outlined his vision for a society where every individual is valued for who they are, and where success is not a zero-sum game.
PM Wong urged Singaporeans to move away from the traditional definition of success embodied by the “5Cs” – cash, car, credit card, condominium, and country club.
While acknowledging that these are not inherently negative aspirations, he highlighted their adverse effects. “We have seen how such a narrow definition of success can lead to negative consequences,” he said.
“We become more anxious and stressed, and worse, we pass this on to our children. This is not the society I want Singapore to become.”
Instead, PM Wong in his video, says that he envisions a Singapore where everyone matters and is valued for their individuality.
“We can all strive to be the best possible versions of ourselves. Our success is defined by how we help each other to do well collectively,” he stated.
He emphasized that success should be about excelling at what we do today with pride and perseverance, rather than seeking status or rewards.
“My team and I want to build a society that allows space for U-turns, side-steps, slowdowns, pauses, experimentations, and outliers. We want to broaden our concept of achievement.”
PM Wong also shared his personal experiences, including his initial desire to leave the government sector due to constant competition and comparison.
He called for an expanded perspective, citing healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic as examples of unsung heroes who deserve recognition alongside doctors. “There are many unsung heroes – nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiographers – who put in their hearts and souls in supporting every patient’s recovery,” he said.
“To me, they are all successful role models we should look up to.”
PM Wong, in his parting message, asked the public to celebrate every kind of success, respect all forms of work, and never be afraid to try even if setbacks are inevitable.
Previous Statements on the 5Cs
Previously, at the launch of the Forward Singapore report at Gardens by the Bay in October 2023, PM Wong had also touched on the topic of 5Cs and attributed it to the evolving nature of success in Singapore.
The Forward Singapore initiative started in June 2022 and seeks input from diverse segments of society to revitalize the nation’s social compact for the future.
During the launch, PM Wong noted that contemporary Singaporeans are less focused on the “5Cs” and more concerned with issues like housing and the cost of living.
“The Singapore Dream is more than just material success. It is also about fulfilment, meaning, and purpose in what we do,” he stated.
However, this shift away from material goals — rather than shifting values — might be just be influenced by the increasing difficulty in attaining traditional markers of success due to rising living costs and a widening wealth gap.
PM Wong’s comments may be driven by how the 5Cs are now beyond reach for many Singaporeans, who may feel cheated out of the Singaporean dream touted by the People’s Action Party in the 1990s.
Given that the general election is expected to happen in the coming months, PM Wong might just be trying to manage Singaporeans’ expectations to avoid this issue, which it cannot address or fix in the immediate or short term — putting aside how many years have passed without having fulfilled the Swiss standard of living as promised by former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
A YouTube comment on PM Wong’s call for Singaporeans to move away from the pursuit of 5Cs—a sentiment echoed by other commenters—reflects a critical view of his motivations: “This is pretty tone deaf considering the rising costs of living and exorbitant housing prices.”
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Donate your millionaire salaries for an entire year that we may eat your bullshit story. Otherwise, eat your own bullshit.
I have chatted with a lady in the east while she was enjoying her bowl of vegetables cum curry chicken at a local coffee shop.
I saw her eating away with lots of vegetables, so I thought she ordered vegetarian food. It turns she began getting rid of the curry chicken bones on the table. It was big chunk of chicken bones. I can’t believed it.
So I ask her how much she paid for it. She told me it cost more than $10.00.
Really overpriced curry chicken.
The US Biden administration has an open border in the south – no walls! The pap administration has an open border all around Singapore – yet Singaporeans have no balls!
That’s easy for a millionaire like him, and his fellow millionaires in the regime to say. They all already have more than all the 5Cs -Cash, Cards, Condo, Cars, Country Clubs, Career, Comfort, Castles, Connections, Capital, Cronies. The peasants have 5Cs too! Cowardice, Crunch, Calamity, Curse, Crisis, and add a 6th C – Can-of-worms.
Pineapple lovers, this is good for you
Singaporeans First, Singapore First, First World Nation= 95% jobs for foreigners in 2023? Eat Fish if Chicken is Expensive. LOL
they don’t need 5C’s . they have more than 5C’s . tsk tsk tsk . Bank account more than 7 zeroes. What do you think?
when someone told you chicken is expensive, eat fish……blah blah blah as usual.
same white wine from the same bottle will taste the same.
Cannot get good degree in SG for rat race, but able to go US ‘unknown’ uni to ‘upgrade’ with public fund and get a degree by 22 yr old, and Master of Arts in applied economics by 23 yr old. At 23, where were most of us? I dream your dream, would you dream mine?
same white wine from the same bottle taste the same
What’s 5Cs ah wong is babbling about?
5Cs are for the elites, miws, wealthy foreign trash.
Here, sinkies are struggling with the latest 4Hs – HDB flats, hawker centres, handouts (cdc), hell holes. Prices and expenses are skyrocketing non stop.
Conventional WISDOM touch on success. While FAILURES are not an option per se. BUT has the PAP Administration VIGOUROUSLY given, and gives Singaporeans That MUCH NEEDED LEG UP when SITUATE Singaporeans in UNFAIR COMPETITION with their favoured Trash from India especially. Why ALLOW PRs, Residents with NO LOVE for SG, plenty of perks, benefits to enjoy. Why the PAP Constantly SCOLD Singaporeans, REGULARLY RUN DOWN on Singaporeans – ALL DESIGNED to PUT down CITIZENS and ELEVATE Foreigners? Why. Why. Why. Why thou PAP behave like as though Singaporeans ARE of NO Class, NO USE to PAP except for Votes, candies,… Read more »
“Broader success” metric? Are you READY to WALK the talk Lawrence Wong? Lead by EXAMPLE. Field less than 2/3rds parliamentary majority candidates for the coming GE. SHOW that “winning” the election doesn’t need a “landslide” majority.
“PM Wong urged Singaporeans to move away from the traditional definition of success embodied by the “5Cs” – cash, car, credit card, condominium, and country club” Is LW out of touch with how ordinary Singaporeans feel and think? Does he think we have the capacity to think of the 5Cs still? Most Singaporeans are simply asking to own a decent flat, have a decent job and have enough to live comfortably by. But while ordinary Singaporeans struggle with inflation and high cost of living, the frequent news of sale of Good Class Bungalows are a stark reminder of the class… Read more »
Preach what you teach, Mr Lawrence Wong. I shall be waiting for the day when millionaire ministers live in HDB flats, take public transport and ask high-paying civil servants to do the same.
Yes, as a society, wealth and material possessions should not be end-goal. But where do you think the public got such ideas from? Who is one driving flashy cars and living in colonial bungalows?
How can LW’s governance be any different when ex pm LHL made him The Chosen One…and the one who chose him became his shadow.
What blinking nonsense is this…?
Wont be tolerated elsewhere in other governments…. i think.
I strongly urge this PAP Administration to spare Singaporeans more of their rhetoric spins, recycle lies, rehashing nonsensible repeats of cajoling to fool Singaporeans. We are at the max brim of your mental tortures – our stomachs are bloating , our brains are bursting with all, caused by, your nonstop daily monthly yearly hollow music, tunes, all misorchestrated, all whatsoever, every now and then blast at our ear drums, and trying to tug at our hearts which u shd know are not palpitating. Get ready bed space for millions of sheeps at IMH will do the PAP good. Just say… Read more »
Having attained Swiss standards (and beyond) for themselves, of course now they tell the common person-on-the-street that Swiss standards for Singaporeans was only an “Aspiration”.
Disappointing! 80% in public housing struggling with rising living costs including food and the PM is talking about the 5Cs. Is he living in Singapore? He is not talking about bringing down the costs of the bloated PAP cabinet. He is not talking about the removal of the GRCs, which violates the rights of the minority races. He is not talking about reducing the size of Parliament. He is not declaring a living wage. Another PAP clone that can never be a Statesman. By this speech he loses to the Opposition who have grasped and identify with the plight of… Read more »
Wong spoke like he is melodiuously strumming and serernading his guitar.
Pleasing and soothing to the ears, but neither convincing nor concrete in substance.
Suggest he hangs up his guitar and start taking action to deliver his promises.
Who believes them anymo?
Ist thing address yours and your team’s undeserving astronomical salaries..
2ndly , get rid of the excess ministars eg 2nd ministar of this and that ministry, among other things..
Such a tiny city , need so much hand holding?? ..shows incompetency.
3rdly dont just talk, put in place measures to address the ever rising costs of everything under our sg sky.
Just 3 main points….many others too that need seeing to but NATO?….🙄😒😏
***** ***** So, it’s just more words, more statements and more bs, … to posit itself deeper into the oredi inculcated and indoctrinated, whilst at the same time, hoping, … to influence “new blood” !!! It’s really recycling and respinning when LawLan states that “every individual is valued ……”, which is not too far away from “no one will be left behind, or fall through the cracks, blah, blah, baloney blah” !!! For those seriously hoping for a new dawn, ought to try getting up a bit earlier, … and see for themselves that there’s nothing new at all !!!… Read more »
Come on SG, wake up fully. SG BETTER WAKE UP FULLY, no more sleeping to BELIEVE PAP, to cast VOTES for them, they make SG as Paradise for Your Children, and Your Grandchildren.
PAP has CREATED A big NIGHTMARE Singapore – QUIET, no plans, to REDUCE Inflation, to Support SG (when free University Scholarships giving to Foreign Trash OVER local born Blue SG’s) to IMPROVE TFR, to Improve Productivity.
The PAP Pathway to SUCCESS – Foreign Trash. FOREIGN Trash is WHAT this PAP made SUCCESS with for SG. NOT SO???
As long as the 2 who scandalised Bungalow rentals, the SLA supportive role, all ARE NOT taken to task, no way to believe in PAP meritocratic lies. Talking cock, making motherhood statements in internet era is only good to fool the pigs. And more advanced countries has found AI has already F n F motherhood speeches into thin air, except still in Sheegapore there’s immense political value made into FAKE value by Millionaire self rewarding pseudo law makers. Champion JOKERS prize goes to PAP. This is doing the right thing – to win undesirable prizes no one in 1st world… Read more »
LW just do what is right for Singapore, even is unpopular. We people’s power will give you the mandate. Ignore all the naysayers and trolls, they are just irritant noise. Set the new LW era for Singapore, institute the necessary changes. Onwards!
Hahaha, getting influencers and chronic champions on board to support white shirts.
Looks desparate, isn’t it?
What do you think?
Hello, what we want to see are REAL ACTIONS like reducing high costs of living, increasing miserable birth rate, cutting down astronomical minister salaries, trim excess fat in the cabinet, solving housing shortage.
We don’t need a Liang po po pm, full of saliva and non-stop airy fairy speeches.
No NATO please.
Again, PAP habit of playing REGULARLY broken vinyl records – the last of which if I ain’t rmb wrong, PAP SHOUTED, ‘All Pathways lead to Successes’.
The other SIMILAR one was, ‘ALL Neighbourhood Schools are Good Schools’.
THE HUGE TROUBLE with PAP is, 1., all these are Perennial LIES and HOLLOW Talks to sway, and wash SHEEP BRAINS, 2., to CATCH UNSUSPECTING For Trash ENTICING them SG is Their GOLD mine – when Press Reports KEEP Copy and Paste info SG has X Millionaires.
These elites living too good a life. They only need to act for the few days every 5 years.
Telling the voters they are the servants of the voters. Some shed crocodile tears and many will tell grandmother grandfather stories to win votes.
Once they win and secured majority, we will immediately become their servants for the next 5 years.
They only have to sacrifice and suffer a few days but we have to sacrifice and suffer for 5 years.
If lawlanwong comes out saying that the 5C mentality invented by Goh and then enshrined by Kayu Son had been a wrong emphasis for SG/Singaporeans all along, I might believe his objectivity. Rather, with SG growth having stagnated at only 1-2% growth under the Kayu One, with increasing reliance on foreign labor to grow the GDP, the lure of 5C is increasingly beyond the aspiration for younger Singaporeans – and LW knows he can’t deliver it. Hence the obvious need to change the tune. Didn’t 2 million$ ministers change the aspiration level from Condominium to Colonial bungalow as one of… Read more »
LMAO!!! His speech reaffirms that that many among the ruling party are truly are yes-man living within their ivory tower. They knew that the 5Cs and the Swiss standard for Singaporean are but untenable way back but chose to remain silent so long as the GDP is up cos they and the cronies gain to realize what they advocated. No???
That speech I watched seemed like AI generated…the mouth movements didn’t sync with the words …..even his features… who knows,these days!
Now it’s “begging” SGs for support to stay in power..
Threatening us that infrastructure and services may not come about w/o them.. blah blah blah…
After GE it’s back to business…their backstabbing policies..
Please,we’ve heard it all before..
Trust needs to be earned, not given..
So you & your team needs to work better and earn sgs trust first…before you get our votes.
1C more than enough .
Corrupt , Corrupt .
More like a”group think. concept, just to have follow the “leader ” with no reward base motivation,thereby dumping productivity into the dustbin of history.So sad that such unusually pathetic idea can be put forth by Pappy’s Group think “leaders”Let’s see how many more GRCs Pappies will loose in the coming GE.
So the 5C are reserved for the rich, uber-rich and the privileged and connected ones?
The rest of the native Singaporeans are in the squeezed out and crowded arena with all those few millions naturalized citizens and new immigrants fighting and struggling for survival?