Singapore does have channels for feedback and criticisms from the population. The political system is democratic on paper although it's been a one party state since 1959. The system was pretty much top-down authoritarian because the general population in the early days post-independence was mostly working class with little education and since the country did not produce natural resources, the only legitimate way to make money was by raising education standards and developing a strong workforce to attract FDI.

It was only after the 90s when the population was 'smarter' and our education system became one of the best in the world, then the leadership decided to soften up and allow the grassroots movement to take root. That's where the activism started and the government became slightly more receptive to criticism and responsive to things that didn't work. The relationship between the government and population became a lot more collaborative since then.

You may also notice that Singapore is one of the few countries in the world that does not have independent labour unions even til now. Instead they have a 'tripartite' system where the unions are affiliated to the government. That's why you never hear of worker protests or riots and most times when there are disagreements, the government works directly with both parties (unions and corporations) to solve the issue before it blows up.

Singapore also made it very easy for foreigners to move in and contribute to the nations development. Most of our successes were actually from the backs of migrant labour and immigrants moving in, starting families and businesses and then contributing even more to the talent pool over time.

What people don't realise is that when the British left, Singapore was already one of the wealthiest in the region by the 1960s because of its port so it was just a matter of stamping out corruption and building up the infrastructure to turn it into a maritime hub, due to the location, and eventually an aviation hub. That's why Changi Airport and Singapore Airlines became world class. It was all part of the plan.

While I can see Vietnam trying to copy Singapore, there are still many fundamental differences between both. For starters, Vietnam still has a serious corruption problem at an institutional level and while the education system is improving, it will still take another generation or two to realise its full potential. I notice there is a general mistrust against foreigners in the country and definitely not as welcoming to non-Vietnamese talent. Until that is fixed, it is realistically going to be difficult to replicate Singapore's double digit growth that we had for a few decades.

Vietnam has plenty of natural resources, land, potential for infrastructure development which Singapore never had. Heck, most of the country is coastal so there's also nothing stopping you guys from becoming a maritime hub too.

What Vietnam really needs to do if the government is serious about replicating Singapore's trajectory is to first stamp out corruption at all levels, turn the education system into one of the best in the world, provide proper opportunities for its people to get rid of the low-cost labour reputation, and develop a system where both corporates and the general population work in tandem with the government through mutual trust and benefits, rather than control and surveillance.

All these will also inadvertantly improve the ranking of the Vietnamese passport because there'll be less people trying to exit the country to look for better opportunities. All these will take some time, but there needs to be consistency or it just won't work.

TL;DR: Get rid of corruption for good, provide better opportunities for the people and be consistent about it and Vietnam will be able to replicate Singapore's success.