J P Morgan Asia Investment Trust is based in London and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It invests in Asian companies on behalf of its shareholders. Its Board of Directors visits Asia regularly to talk to policy makers, opinion leaders and others in order to update its understanding of the politics, the economy and companies of Asia. On Thursday 6 October 2011, the Board invited me to lunch to get to know me, my ideas and the changing politics in Singapore. The Directors showed keen interest in the underlying reasons for the growing support for opposition parties and the emergence of high quality opposition candidates. They wanted to know if more of these highly qualified individuals will surface in future elections. I told them that we are seeing more and more successful professionals and businessmen coming forth to volunteer their services and expertise in the various parties. The signs are pretty good and “good for Singapore”, they nodded in agreement as I shook their hands to thank them for their interest in Singapore and the wonderful lunch they had hosted. (I actually didn’t eat much as they kept me talking throughout and I had to fill my stomach elsewhere afterwards.)
