How does the Singapore Government spot and retain talent?
Based on data from the Singapore Cabinet website, and with some guesswork from me, I think this is what happened.
There's lots of smart people in all parts of society. So, some of these smart people are from poor families. Give these smart but poor people a scholarship / bond to study when they're doing their tertiary studies. Once they've finished their studies, let them run an organization (generally, these are companies in which the Singapore Government has a stake, such as Neptune Orient Lines, PSA, Temasek Holdings, etc) as part of their bond. See how they managed to lead the organization they're running into greater heights.
If they do well, promote them to greater responsibilities, such as Member of Parliament, etc. If they don't, well, I don't know what happens.
Search the Cabinet web site. See how many of the current ministers used to be directors. Answer: 19. Managing Directors? 9. How many had Colombo Plan scholarships? 11.
If the numbers are non-exclusive, adding these numbers up gives 39. That's almost 50% of the current elected members of Parliament.
QED: Theory proven.