By Jeremy Au Yong

GIVEN two applicants with equally good grades, Mr Philip Yeo would give the scholarship to the one from a poorer family.

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.'

The 61-year-old, who is now chairman of Spring Singapore, was in fine form at the dialogue, making the packed Arts House erupt with laughter with his typical no-holds-barred style, and occasionally letting fly with some more colourful words.

It was nothing less than the gallery expected, with moderator Patrick Daniel, editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings' English and Malay Newspapers Division, opening the session by saying: 'My job this evening is a lot easier than the earlier ones because all I have to do is warm him up.'

Mr Yeo is the fifth speaker in the bi-monthly dialogue series organised by the EDB Society and The Straits Times.

The four before him were Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Temasek Holdings chairman S.Dhanabalan, Singapore Exchange chairman J.Y. Pillay and former top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow.

Though Mr Yeo spoke on a wide range of matters yesterday, he was especially passionate on the topic of scholarships for the poor.

But quite apart from the attempt to give them a leg-up, there was one more reason why he looked for scholarship candidates from poorer backgrounds.

This was their hunger for success.

Getting a PhD can be difficult because of the uncertainty of research results. Those from less comfortable homes were more likely to stay the course, he said.

'Being smart is not enough. You need the perseverance, the tenacity in life. I know of people who start on the PhD, but end up saying, 'I don't want to do the research, I want to go back to work in the bank.''

For those from poor families, it is different.

'You can't quit. If you quit, you have to worry about your family. So these kids will survive,' he said.

'Getting the PhD is one thing, coming out alive is another.'