Singapore's success: an observer's concerns

By DAVID MASON
The following article was originally found on the Business Times, 25 Oct 2011.

I'VE been coming to Singapore for the last 48 years, which makes me feel ancient. Mind you, the first visit in 1963 was merely a one-day stopover on a ship back to the UK.

We berthed at what is now the container terminal and I bought my first transistor radio at what is now Raffles Place, from a small shop which was near Change Alley. We could not afford Robinsons on the other side of the park.

Immediately, I can hear young Singaporeans saying, 'Huh?'

Singapore has changed dramatically. I came to live here in 1979 and stayed until 1997. Since then, I have worked here on and off every year and have had the opportunity to see the place change and grow.

The modern Singapore is a success story. From a swampy island, beset with mosquitoes, whose only claim to success was its geographical location and its huge harbour, it has become one of the world's leading cities.

You all know the statistics, because you are brought up on them. Shipping, oil refining, transport hub, banking centre, high-tech R&D, regional centre in every way. Singapore is a success.

Yet this is fragile. The world is truly global economically and Singapore exists only because of economics. The current outlook for the global economy is scary, to say the least, so Singapore must take stock.

You have had the same governing party since independence and if I have learnt one thing from them, it is that the nation requires stability. Without it, you are lost. I'll avoid the arguments about democracy because I'd like you to let me in next time I come to Changi.

But the message is very clear - do not throw away what your forefathers fought so hard to establish.

The modern Singapore shocks - in the nicest sense. Our first home was in Upper Thomson, with kampongs on three sides. The night-soil tanker visited every morning and woke me up, to get to work in a non-aircon bus. Being an ang moh and not used to the weather, I used to leave wet marks under my shoes by the time we got to Ocean Building. Now you have the most modern of buildings, an advanced transport system (okay, it gets crowded, but the aircon works) and fairly full employment.

You are also known as a place of enjoyment for the well-heeled, and some of them now live here. You have casinos, Formula One racing, the best zoo in the world, arguably the world's best food and an amazing number of foreigners.

Which is where this starts to get serious. Singapore started and sustained itself through the incredible efforts of its people. The government was tough and restrictive, but for a good reason - to establish and prosper as a nation.

Discipline was key to this and I know - I had my hair cut in 1979, but I didn't really mind. I had the privilege of working with several of the 'Old Guard' and admired their ethic. Singapore prospered and built so much of its current infrastructure because of it.

The HDB estates are the best public housing in the world. Don't believe it? Try another country. Jurong has just gone unbelievable for its size. The CBD has to be close to the best in the world for businesses.

But there is a problem. Years ago, if a taxi driver even mentioned political dissent, we would both look around to see who was listening.

Today, I hear dissent from many Singaporeans. The last general election is testament to a growing sense of unease among the population. The haves and the have-nots are getting further apart and the discipline is fading.

There is much dissent about the apparent unchecked immigration from Asian sources, despite the agreed need for it on macro-economic grounds.

What worries me as a sympathetic observer is not the development and the immigration - I can only applaud it. It is the lack of knowledge and sensitivity of the younger generation of Singaporeans.

Singapore was fought for and won as a globally important nation by the mid-1980s. Its younger management have been born since then and display two general problems. The first is that 'it has always been like this, so it will continue' - an awful sense of birthright and complacency. The second is a lack of understanding of how the country was born in the first place.

Asians have a tradition of respect for their elders. Singaporeans are in danger of losing it. If you do so, you put your nation at risk.

Source:http://tinyurl.com/5slrpxl

The writer was a partner with Price Waterhouse Singapore for 18 years. He now runs his own consultancy in business communications in the UK. He spends several months a year with clients in Singapore. Email: david.mason466@btinternet.com

Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

新加坡的成功：一个观察家的担忧

　　过去48年来，我多次到访新加坡。这让我感觉有点年事过高了。我第一次来到新加坡是远在1963年，在乘船回英国途中，我在这里停留了一天。

　　我们的船停在今天已变成集装箱码头的地方。我于现在称为莱佛士坊的地方，靠近真者里（Change Alley）的一间小店，买了生平第一架晶体管收音机。公园对面的罗敏申（Robinsons）的价钱不是我们负担得起的。

　　我几乎可以马上听到年轻新加坡人说：“huh？”

　　新加坡已经完全改观了。我于1979年前来这里定居，直到1997年。之后，我每年都有断断续续的来这里工作，有机会目睹新加坡的改变和成长。

　　现代新加坡是个成功的故事。从一个充满蚊子的多沼泽地方——只能以其地理位置和巨大港口为豪——它已成为环球大都会之一。

　　你们应该很熟悉这些统计数据，因为你们是一起成长的。海运、炼油、交通枢纽、金融中心、高科技研发和各式各样的区域中心。新加坡是成功的。

　　但这是脆弱的。世界经济的确是全球化了而经济是新加坡存在的唯一原因。全球经济前景目前至少可以说是让人忧心忡忡，所以新加坡必须评估自身的处境。

　　自独立以来，新加坡便一直由同样的执政党管理。如果我有从他们那里学到一点东西，那就是国家需要稳定。没有它，你们就不知所措了。我要避免关于民主的争论，就让我下一次抵达樟宜机场时由你们来告诉我好了。

　　然而，信息是很清楚的——不要丢弃先辈努力建立的一切。

　　现代新加坡让人感到惊喜。我们的第一个家位于汤申路上段，三面都有甘榜。粪便车每天早上前来时都会把我叫醒。我乘搭没有冷气的巴士去上班。身为洋人和不适应这里的天气，在抵达海洋大厦（Ocean Building）时，我的鞋子往往留下湿印。

　　你们现在有最现代化的建筑、先进的交通系统（是很拥挤，但冷气却是没有问题的）和接近全民就业。

　　对富有的人来说，新加坡也是一个很好的享乐的地方，他们之中有一些已经在这里定居。新加坡有赌场、一级方程式赛车、全球最好的动物园、可以说是全世界最好的食物、还有数目可观的外国人。

　　后者让情况因此逐渐变得严重。新加坡的成就是其国人努力不懈的结果。政府严厉和实行种种约束——但其出发点是好的——建立一个繁荣的新加坡。

　　纪律是关键。我知道是因为我的头发于1979年被剪，但我却并不在意。我有幸同一些老一辈的政治领导人合作，对他们的道德准则很钦佩。这是新加坡繁荣和成功建立目前众多基础设施的原因。

　　建屋发展局组屋是全世界最好的公共住屋。不相信吗？到其他国家看看。以裕廊的规模来说，它的发展是让人难以置信的。中央商业区大概是全球做生意最好的地方。

　　但有一个问题。多年前，如果一个德士司机敢提出政治异议的话，我们两人都会看看旁边有没有人在听。

　　今天，我听到许多新加坡人提出不同的政治意见。上一次大选是人们不满情绪日益膨胀的证明。贫富差距日益扩大，纪律也越来越松懈。

　　人们对来自亚洲的似乎不受控制的移民数目非常有意见，尽管他们同意在宏观经济上吸引移民是有需要的。

让我这个关心新加坡的观察家感到担忧的，不是这种情况的出现和移民问题——我只会表示赞赏——而是年轻一代新加坡人缺乏知识和敏感度。

　　经过一番努力，新加坡于80年代中成为全球重要的国家。之后出生的年轻人显现了两个问题——首先是“一直以来都是这样，所以繁荣也会持续下去”——这是让人厌恶的与生俱来的权利和自满的心态。其次是对国家是如何诞生缺乏理解。

　　亚洲人有尊敬年长者的传统。新加坡人有失去这个传统的危险。如果真是如此，国家将受到危害。

● 大卫·梅森(David Mason) @联合早报．思维空间

原载《商业时报》。作者在英国经营商务沟通咨询公司，每年有数月会在新加坡会见客户。叶琦保译。