A belated birthday greetings to Singapore!
At Forty, Singapore Craves More of the Same
Kalinga Seneviratne
SINGAPORE, Aug 16 (IPS) - At forty, like a successful man
approaching a mid-life crisis, what this nation of four million
people yearns for is more of the same.
And nothing symbolises this collective wistfulness more than the
'no contest' re-election of incumbent President S.R. Nathan who
begins a walkover second-term in office on Wednesday.
The strongest contender, Andrew Kuan, former chief financial
officer of the state-run Jurong Town Corp., was disqualified after
his employers -- encouraged to speak up by no less than Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong -- had no good word to say about his
career and performance.
Nathan will enact the same scene as on Aug.18, 1999 when he became
president by default because, then as now, no one else got the
certificate of eligibility. God's in his heaven. And all is right
with the world!
Or so the citizens of this 'self-made' South-east Asian city-state,
which transformed itself from a Third World to a First World
nation, would like to think.
Singapore celebrated four decades of achievements last Tuesday with
thousands dressed in the red and white national colours, colourful
multicultural pageantry and jets screaming overhead. But there was
both joy and worry, joy at having arrived and worry for the
future.
Prime Minister Lee, son of the nations founding father Lee Kuan
Yew, in a televised national day address, recalled how the little
country began life by being kicked out of home the former
Malaya.
''Suddenly we were on our own with no natural resources to exploit,
no hinterland to fall back upon, and no army to defend ourselves,''
he said, adding, ''But, we were determined to survive, and started
to build a nation from scratch''.
''Today we have every reason to rejoice. In 40 years we have
succeeded beyond all expectations,'' Lee pointed out. ''Our society
is harmonious and cohesive
we are attracting investments and
talents from around the world, to live in a safe, clean and dynamic
city''.
With a per capita income of 27,800 US dollars, Singapore enjoys one
of the highest standards of living in Asia.
Yet, what worries many Singaporeans is that their success story is
being emulated by other, much bigger and more resource-rich
countries in the region, who have the populations to sustain
economic activity, while Singapores own birth rates have been
falling, thus making it more and more dependent on foreign labour
and talent.
''Looking ahead, we face a totally different world. China and India
are emerging as strong, competitive economies,'' observed Lee. ''We
need to develop new skills and capabilities, open new markets
abroad, bring in investments and seed new areas of growth''.
In recent years, one of the pillars of Singapores success story,
its electronic manufacturing, has been losing out to competitors in
the region. Factories have shifted to countries like China and
Vietnam, while Malaysia has aggressively lured business away from
Singapores swanky airport and efficient harbour.
The new capabilities Lee referred to included bio-technology,
multimedia and arts as well as Singapore Inc.'s (government- linked
companies) aggressive foreign investment policies in the region
such as in Indonesia, Australia, India, Thailand and China --
mainly in banking, telecommunication, aviation, tourism, food
technology and other service industries.
Through these investments, the aim is to build a greater Singapore
economy, which is not dependent for growth on its small and
dwindling population.
In its attempt to develop a multimedia and arts industry, it is
discovering that for 40 years, its education system based on
rote-learning, conformity and focused on examination success has
served well.
But, to develop creative industries like multimedia and arts,
students need to develop a passion for creativity which a
conformist education system cannot provide in other words
Singapore has to relive a childhood lost in the quest to
succeed.
In the past few years there has been much debate about how the
education system should be reformed to encourage creativity. Some
analysts have even argued that the political system, which is
basically a one-party system dominated by the ruling Peoples Action
Party (PAP), must be reformed first.
The dilemma facing the PAP, which holds 82 of the 85 seats in
parliament, is how to relax the political system without loosing
its grip on power over the island and its people. As political
analyst Ho Khai Leong put it, ''It cant remain authoritarian when
globalisation is on our doorstep''.
In a survey done by the Today newspaper this month, it was
revealed that many young Singaporeans have a love-hate feeling
towards the country. They love the efficiency, cleanliness and the
modern infrastructure of the country, but, at the same time, they
want to have more freedom to speak their minds.
Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam recently said that for
Singapore to go to the next level it is very important for society
to respect those creative minds who may not fit into the conformist
model.
''All this takes passion and conviction, which unfortunately
appears to be dormant, if not lacking outright, in many
Singaporeans,'' observed lawyer Siew Kum Hong, in a newspaper
commentary published on national day.
''The Singapore education system seems to breed these traits out of
us, thanks to the unrelenting focus on examinations and grades that
seem to continue despite recent attempts at reform,'' he
added.
As entertainer and fashion-designer Amy Tashiana told Today
newspaper: ''I hope Singapore can be more mature in its way of
thinking, and support peoples individuality not decide for them
what is best''.
At forty Singapore is trying to be naughty. But not trying hard
enough considering the circumstances and values surrounding
Nathan's re-elections.
