Liu had wondered who he could be collecting from the Istana on such a consequential evening. Perhaps someone important.

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Alas, Liu, no.

But he was happy to talk politics, and Liu likes Wong’s economic bent. The new PM began his career in the public service, analysing numbers. Charts and algorithms are his specialty, a handy thing as Singapore’s economic growth tightens and great rivalries expose the nation’s trade-reliant books.

Somewhere on the drive home I was sent a fresh editorial from an academic website, signed by four Singaporean scholars calling on Wong to open up his nation to greater scrutiny.

The polite but bold missive complained that universities’ hiring and firing decisions appeared “politicised through a system of external vetting that penalises scholars who cross some invisible and shifting red line, perhaps by publicly criticising government policy”.

If there were legitimate reasons for this, they argued, “the government should not fear shedding light on how these processes work”.

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The second point made by Chong Ja Ian, Cherian George, Linda Lim and Teo You Yenn claimed the government selectively distributed information among approved politicians and media, preventing independent analysis and verification.

“Singaporeans who work with data are not convinced by the excuses routinely given for failing to provide data in as timely, comprehensive, and usable a manner as most other advanced countries do,” they wrote, adding that Wong should prioritise a freedom-of-information act.

The academics’ final request was for the end of “punitive and paternalistic responses to dissenting views”.

While the government claimed its approach was for society’s own good, the authors said open discourse should prevail. “Incongruent signals also emanate daily from the news media,” they said. “Even as Singaporeans grow in their capacity for robust, intelligent debate, the media remain an echo chamber for official views.”

Strong stuff.

I had not yet read the piece when in the car with Liu, and would have liked to gauge his thoughts on the writers’ specific points. But his views on the island’s political scene were illuminating.

“It is controlled,” he said, when I asked about the mainstream media landscape. “Everything is controlled.”

But he explained that without these reins Singapore’s high-functioning, clean and ultra-safe society might go to the dogs.

He asked if the Australian system was better. I dodged the question.

“Is there maybe a way to get a balance?” he said. “Maybe not. As long as they [the government] do a good job, I am good. We pay the politicians an insane amount of money to do the work. They are happy, and we are happy.”

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