will singapore ever launch a successful project?

vito_corleone SG

will we? what does it tell us about our "brilliant" and " elite" leaders? is it true that the singapore education system produced nothing but slow-witted, narrow minded morons? let me list out all of our attempted "grand projects":

late 1980's to early 90's - plan to become a financial & banking hub failed miserably following the rise of shanghai and the business genius of hong kong. the government's plan to match the swiss standard of living was an outright disaster.

early 1990's - plan to become a tourism hub failed. haw par villa, tang dynasty city, sentosa all failed to attract enough visitors to even sustain operation costs.

mid 1990's - plan to become an IT hub failed terribly. dot com bubble burst, adding to the spectacular collapse of our seemingly uber-optimistic plan to become the IT capital of asia.

late 1990's - plan to become a business hub failed. singapore's square graduates failed to generate any appeal to leading financial companies, lacked expertise and experience in the field of commerce.

early 2000 to 2004, plans to become a biotech, educational and entertainment hub failed. countries with cheaper labour costs or more r&d funds edged us out of the competition in the bio-tech field. educational institutions still failed to provide a world class education that appealed to foreign students, lost out to emerging education powerhouses like australia. the building of fancy arts complexes like the esplanade failed to attract visitors, there was a nice arts centre, but THERE WEREN'T ANY FAMOUS ARTWORKS FOR PEOPLE TO VIEW. censorship also hindered progress of the entertainment industry.

after reading all the examples above, do you honestly think our plan to become a tourism and a las vegas style casino/hotel hub will work out? i seriously have my doubts.

SMAPLionHeart SG

hah, if it failed..the 5 billion ain’t coming from our coffers

robertteh SG

The reason for so repeated failures in all the projects you mentioned are simple:-

(1) To much self-confidence about top-leadership (Self-ness or IQ)

(2) Neglecting to build teamwork, coordination and knowledge applications at all levels. (Teamwork or EQ)

(3) Lack of true management excellence - ideas, decisions and policies are rhetorics and not translated into result-oriented and people-friendly accountable processes to get results.

(Read recommendations on good corporate governance at market place) Laughing

Tuatau SG

Originally posted by vito_corleone:
after reading all the examples above, do you honestly think our plan to become a tourism and a las vegas style casino/hotel hub will work out? i seriously have my doubts.

That would be difficult. Las Vegas succeeded because it welcomed everything, the good and the bad, that came with the casino/gaming culture (vice, strip clubs, risque shows, instant weddings, underground money-lenders, syndicate operations, etc.) and was able to cater to all kinds of people at different social levels with its variety of attractions.

The Singapore government would never take the risk to go all out and "show hand" when they handle projects like this. There'd be curbs on this, restrictions on that, and in the end Singaporeans would be lucky if the people don't get 2 more "white elephants" like the Tang Dynasty theme park.

drawer SG

Yah u are right.......one good thing in a "real" democracy country is that they accept everything,the good n the bad,that is why they can be successful.
I remember there was a joke from Ronald Reagan,it goes like this:2 ppl were arguing with each other,1 from the U.S,the other from Soviet Union(old time Russia).The guy from United States tell the other guy:"Hey u know what,we commoners from the U.S can go up to our President n say "You sucks"!!.Can u ppl from Communist country do that?"The guy from Soviet Union reply:"Sure we can,we can go into our leader's room n bang on the table n say"Hey you know what,the U.S President sucks!!!"(this is roughly the joke as i cannot remember everything in details).
From the above joke,we know why the democratic country can lead the world in today's politics.Becoz in their country,opposition act as a "pushing force" to motivate the ruling party to listen n selectively accept different kind of advices n opinions.Whereas in a socialist country like ours or the old time Soviet Union or communist China,the leaders only want to hear one kind of opinion,that is what they "choose" to hear,any other different opinions can throw into the dustbin!!!In short,a democracy can accept socialist n democratic ideas in their country.Whereas a socialism can only accept "socialist and one-party rulez ideas" in their country,you see the difference?

LazerLordz SG

Precisely.Nothing can be introduced as a component alone.The MIW think they can micromanage things.Sadly, they are deluded.And this delusion will be our downfall.

Though I am opposed to the casino on moral and religious grounds, the damned thing is already passed, so better build it well.Those who want to gamble, go ahead.I'm not going there, but it sure better be something that we can be grudgingly proud of, not some half-farked white elephants lying around in the West.