Mr Yeo, who has led various government agencies, including the Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star), admitted yesterday to being a 'closet socialist' who would tweak the meaning of meritocracy.

This should take into account the disadvantages faced by those from poorer backgrounds, he said.

'In any society, in the bottom 20per cent, you will have kids who are very bright but who do not have the same opportunities. If you want to be reasonable, you need to find ways to help these kids cross the barrier,' he said.

This is why A*Star scholarship forms ask for details about an applicant's home and family income, in addition to the usual information.

Answering a question at the Pioneers Series dialogue, he said: 'I did it that way because, in my view...I can uplift the one from the lower economic base. If the other candidate lives in a bungalow, his parents can afford to send him off to study.'

He offered an interesting statistic: 70per cent of A*Star scholarships go to those who live in HDB flats, while 'a majority' of those on scholarships from the Public Service Commission live in landed property.

It was also with those on lower incomes in mind, he added, that he built a 'salary' element into the A*Star PhD scholarship.

'Some of these students are expected to help their family, or at least not be a burden to them,' he said. 'If I want to find kids from the lower income, to help them, just giving them a scholarship doesn't end it. To them, there's a penalty, a cost of doing a PhD, which is a loss of income for five years.'

Full story