[News] Singapore Dominates Asia Region as Best Place to
Live
Expatriates continue to rank Singapore as
the top place to live in Asia, above Hong Kong and many other
cities. The city-state is economically strong and environmentally
safe, when compared with many other cities in Asia. But when it
comes to rights issues, Singapore lags behind in a number of areas.
Naomi Martig reports on how Singapore has managed to attract its
expatriate population, despite its restrictions on some civil
liberties.
Singapore's reputation as one of Asia's best economic performers
continues to attract a large number of foreigners to it shores.
Nearly one-third of its 4.6 million residents were born in
other countries.
The country's economy grew 7.5 percent in 2007. Its
financial service sector is strong, its education system is
considered among the best in the world and it is regularly ranked
as a favorite among expatriates living in Asia.
A new report by ECA International, the world's largest
organization for international human resource professionals, says
Singapore maintains the highest quality of life for foreigners in
Asia.
Lee Quane is general manager of ECA International in Hong Kong.
He says the group's annual report compared living standards in 254
locations, globally.
"Singapore comes in as number one because of the fact, unlike
other Asian cities where we indicate their infrastructure levels
are of a developing status and they score quite poorly in some
areas such a health care, such as infrastructure and such as
pollution levels. Singapore, on the other hand, scored
exceptionally well in all of these locations, comparable to many
Western cities," said Quane.
Since the Asian financial crisis a decade ago,
the city's economy has outperformed its rival, Hong Kong. It now
holds one of the highest per capita gross domestic product in the
world.
Quane says another major factor that makes
Singapore attractive is its very low level of social
unrest.
"It has very low crime rates, a complete absence of social and
political tensions, which makes it very good location for Asian
expatriates to reside in," added Quane.
However, having an absence of social and political tensions does
not necessarily mean Singapore is free from human rights
concerns.
In the ECA report, Singapore was outscored in one respect. Quane
says, in terms of the media, cities such as Hong Kong far outranked
Singapore.
There are tight limits on freedom of expression in Singapore. In
2007, Reporters Without Borders ranked Singapore 141st out of 167
nations in its Worldwide Press Freedom Index. The government
restricts public protests and censors films and television shows.
And, critics of the government often find themselves facing tough
libel lawsuits and other restrictions on their comments.
Homayoun Alizadeh is the regional representative for the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights in
Thailand. He says Singapore's effort to sustain social stability
has often led to excessive censorship.
"Last year, for example, when the World Bank had its
international conference in Singapore, some of the Singaporean
civil society organizations intended to carry out a demonstration,
express their views. But, of course, they were not allowed to have
these kinds of activities," said Alizadeh.
Analysts say, for most expatriates living in Singapore, these
sorts of rights issues are not a concern, because the problems have
not yet reached a point where they severely affects their
lives.
Alizadeh says Singapore is trying to improve its rights record.
For example, he says officials in the country were instrumental in
establishing a human rights commission within the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations.
"Singapore played a major role, especially when the charter was
signed in [on] 20th November 2007 in Singapore, in convincing
countries like Burma, Myanmar, to ensure that the ASEAN Charter is
signed, especially in regards to the provision Article 14 regarding
the commitment of ASEAN member states to establish an ASEAN human
rights body," continued Alizadeh.
Several rights groups argue that the new human rights body does
not do enough to address concerns in the region. But Alizadeh says
Singapore's push to create the commission is significant, because
the country's officials realize that making progress on human
rights is key for long-term stability. And, the Singapore
government considers stability as essential for building a safe and
economically prosperous city.
Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-03-10-voa10.cfm
