|
WORKING IN U.S. NOW: Bond-breaker Hector Yee (extreme right) with other Singaporeans working at Google's California headquarters. -- ST FILE PHOTO
|
MR HECTOR Yee, one of three public-sector scholarship holders who were named and shamed for breaking their bonds 10 years ago, now works at Google's headquarters in California.
So does Mr Philip Yeo consider him a loss to Singapore?
Clearly not, suggests his answer to the question. In fact, he is glad Mr Yee is not here.
Mr Yeo, chairman of Spring Singapore, is well-known for taking a tough line against government scholars who do not return to serve a single day of their bond.
Mr Yee, now 32, was such a bond-breaker. He had accepted a scholarship from the National Computer Board (NCB) to do an undergraduate degree in computer science at Cornell University in the United States.
In 1998, when he was 22 and about to complete his four-year course, he decided to stay on - sparking a controversy when his name was made public.
The issue was widely debated in the press and in Parliament.
Recalling the incident yesterday, Mr Yeo said: 'He wrote back by e-mail: I'm not coming back because I want to stay in America for the next 15 years. I see my role in life to serve the world and not Singapore alone.'
Then, in a typical no-holds-barred retort, Mr Yeo added: 'What bullshit is that, right?
'I don't think he's a loss. Thank goodness he's not here.'
Mr Yeo then went on to explain what got his goat.
'It's the attitude,' he said.
Mr Yee had asked for - and was given - an extension of one year to do a master's degree. But he later said he was considering a PhD after that. NCB advised him to get work experience first.
He then broke his bond.
Mr Yeo, then chairman of the Economic Development Board, had warned that bond-breakers would be named in public as a deterrent because of their growing numbers.
He remains adamant that scholarship holders have a 'moral obligation' to serve their bonds as the money comes from taxpayers.
Mr Yeo was himself a Colombo Plan scholar who did engineering at the University of Toronto in Canada. He returned in 1970. 'Because we are forced to come back, we helped build Singapore.'
To further underline his point, he gave this example: 'I got 100 scholars. I allow one to stay for five, 15 years, I make a mockery of the 99 guys who come home.
'At the end of the day, there's a thing called equity. If you don't want to have the obligation, don't take the scholarship...Borrow from Citibank if you want to.'
|
