Quoting Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Mr Yeo said that Singapore has to get the most out of the significant investments - in time and resources - put into biomedical sciences.

Mr Yeo was making a speech at a farewell lunch hosted by Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang on Wednesday, March 14.

The merits of Singapore's biomedical sciences policy were the topic of a heated debate recently.

It was sparked off by Dr Lee Wei Ling, Head of the National Neuroscience Institute, who said that research resources were spread too thinly.

The World Bank has also said Singapore stood a 50-50 chance of succeeding in its efforts.

Mr Yeo, who leaves A*Star at the end of this month, said MM Lee had wanted him to reassure the research community in Singapore because the "recent storm" over Singapore's biomedical science focus had "shocked" the community.

In his speech, Mr Yeo quoted MM Lee as saying "the issue has been deliberated over a period of several months in Cabinet and decided by then PM Goh (Chok Tong) and cabinet. The policy has been continued by PM Lee and his cabinet."

According to MM Lee, Singapore had made significant investments in time and resources.

Therefore the country will have to get the most out of what it had put in.

When contacted, Dr Lee Wei Ling said she stood by her views.

She told Channel NewsAsia that sometimes, "the observer on the ground has a truer picture than the observer from the helicopter".

Dr Lee also added that most Singapore doctors and researchers who are not dependent on A*Star for funding, agree with her, "though many may not want to be named".

As for Mr Yeo, who described his seven years leading the biomedical sciences initiative since its infancy, he said that no ground breaking activity is without its critics.

He added that eminent scientists, such as Nobel Laureate Dr Sydney Brenner and Rector of Imperial College Sir Richard Sykes, have "soundly endorsed Singapore's research direction every step of the way".

In his speech, Mr Yeo also recounted how he was asked by the then Trade and Industry Minister to be Chairman of the Economic Development Board in 1985 when Singapore was in its first recession.

But when he consulted former Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee, he was advised to take charge of Singapore Airlines instead.

Subsequently, Mr Yeo spoke personally to then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who advised him to go to EDB as he was needed there.

Mr Lee had also said that Mr Yeo could go to SIA at a later date.

In his speech, Mr Yeo said tongue-in-cheek he wondered if the offer had an expiry date.

After leaving A*Star, Mr Yeo will become chairman of Spring Singapore and senior adviser on science and technology to the Minister for Trade and Industry.

He will also be a special adviser for economic development in the Prime Minister's Office.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who chairs the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council, will announce new developments in Singapore research when the council ends its meeting on Friday. - CNA/ir

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