SINGAPORE (Oct 29): Singapore's public transport system should be de-privatised and be managed by the government instead of private operators.

That's the view of Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, local media reported on Thursday.

Singapore's public transport woes are a result of privatising bus, train and taxi networks, says Mahbubani, who was speaking at the Singapore Economic Policy Forum organised by the Economics Society of Singapore.

Singapore should not "remain a prisoner of old economic ideas", says Mahbubani, adding that private corporations are judged on the basis of quarterly results and have less of an incentive to spend on long-term maintenance.

He believes that privatisation "has been taken too far" and that Singapore should have the political courage to make changes to the system given its shortcomings.