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12/08/2008
“Why they hate Singapore”
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These are some of my off-hand thoughts on Chua Lee Hoong’s article “Why they hate Singapore” published in the Straits Times on 8 Aug.
-A nation is not a corporation that is run for just a profit motive.
-Singapore succeeded economically not because it lacks basic rights, but in spite of the fact that it lacks basic rights. There is a crucial distinction here.
-Good government policies may have led Singapore to become economically successful in the past, but the success is also due to hard work of working class Singaporeans. The Government should not take all the credit for it. It was the people, not the govt alone, who made Singapore great.
-The end does not justify the means. Economic prosperity should not be pursued at the expense of basic rights. A nation built on material considerations alone is like a house built on sand.
to continue reading...
Exerpts from Chua Lee Hoong’s article:
SINGAPORE is small enough to be a suburb in Beijing, but it has something in common with the mammoth People’s Republic. The little red dot and Red China are both countries the West loves to hate.
What’s eating them? The easy answer is that both China and Singapore are authoritarian states. The freedoms taken for granted in the West - freedom of speech and assembly - come with more caveats in these two places.
The real sin: Singapore and China are examples of countries which are taking a different route to development, and look to be succeeding.
Read these lines from British journalist John Kampfner, writing in The Guardian last month, lamenting the spread of what he calls the Singapore model. ‘Why is it that a growing number of highly-educated and well-travelled people are willing to hand over several of their freedoms in return for prosperity or security? This question has been exercising me for months as I work on a book about what I call the ‘pact’.
In an interview with Business Times, the Japanese management consultant who first became famous as author of The Borderless World, said Singapore should ‘replicate’ itself in other parts of the world. What he meant was that Singapore should use its IQ, and IT prowess, to help organise effective economies in other regions, as its own had succeeded so well. To be sure, his reasoning was economic, not political. But for those who hate Singapore, a Pax Singaporeana would be something to work against and head off.
12:50 Posted by soci | Permalink | Comments (5) | Trackbacks (0) | Email this | Tags: Singapore, China, Authoritarian, Chua Lee Hoong
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Chua's article exemplifies the greatest shortcoming of ST - the poor commentary articles on local politics; she basically repeats MM's theory that some foreigners find the singapore modeal worth emulating and other foreigners find this threatening, but she expressed it worse by using the word "hate", which badly mis-reads the situation; Far Eastern Economic Review might be very angry at the Singapore government for costing it a lot of money in lawsuits, and the Australian press might be angry at Singapore's hanging of one of their citizens for trafficking, but "FEER hates Singapore because its model of social development is too successful"? I dont think either HK nor Australia is trying to export its social model to China or Russia, and I doubt many of the journalists are that interested in Singapore's model; they are really more interested in specific issues
Posted by: yuen | 12/08/2008
well I wasnt the only one to find Chua's article silly
> ST Forum > Story
The world doesn't dislike Singapore
I REFER to last Saturday's commentary by Ms Chua Lee Hoong, 'Why they hate Singapore'. Singaporeans celebrated National Day last Saturday and deserve the world's congratulations.
Trying to describe why Western democracies may 'not like' Singapore is absurd and na�ve, and is probably based on a lack of general understanding and knowledge of how most of the Western world perceives Singapore today.
Western perception
Trying to describe why Western democracies may 'not like' Singapore is absurd and na�ve and is probably based on a lack of general understanding and knowledge of how most of the Western world perceives Singapore today.
The world has other problems and people elsewhere simply do not care about having Singapore on their radar screen of dislike
... more
I was born in Belgium, lived in four European countries, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
I have worked and lived in Singapore for the past 10 years; my wife is Singaporean, and so are my two youngest children. Yes, Singapore is a very good place to live and work in, probably one of the best globally. Singapore is very well 'managed' and that's where its difference from many other countries lies. Singapore is not governed, but managed as a company with 4.7 million shareholders.
You have a vision and you have good managers who understand how to implement that vision and its strategies.
You hire the best to ensure you remain competitive and highly profitable in order to secure the future of your citizens.
Singapore's business model achieves its aim, and I am sure many of its achievements can be 're-packed' into potentially highly successful export products.
Success is the creation of balance, stability and prosperity between the managers, employees and shareholders or citizens. Western democracies, on the other hand, have their successes too.
Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Norway and Finland - as well as some Middle East countries - are all worth studying and emulating.
Putting China and Singapore on the same page because both are so-called authoritarian states is wrong. There is nothing common to both, except for the ethnic origin of the majority race.
China is a country of 1.3 billion, pushed into a highly regulated, market-driven economy at lightning speed, causing lots of collateral damage.
We all know what Singapore is. I am sure Chinese and Russians, and many other nationalities, visit Singapore to study and learn its best traits.
They also visit many other countries - as do Singaporeans- which do certain things better than the Republic.
It's na�ve, (or arrogant?), to think that the whole world visits only Singapore.
The meaning of the word, 'hate' should be carefully weighed before using it. There are two meanings to hate: intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury; or extreme dislike or antipathy.
I have travelled the world for the past 32 years. I have never encountered or heard a single person or group who hates Singapore - or even dislikes the Republic. At most, Singapore is criticised for banning 'chewing gum' and for its lack of freedom of speech.
Mostly, however, and especially among Westerners, Singapore is praised for being clean, affordable and secure, and for its wonderful food.
The world has other problems, and people elsewhere simply do not care about having Singapore on their radar screen of dislike.
Bruno Serrien
Posted by: yuen | 13/08/2008
I love Singapore.
I do however habour a psychotic hatred--replete with negative unhealthy thoughts and violent internal dialogue--for the government.
Posted by: Matilah_Singapura | 13/08/2008
It's amazing that a shiny economy is enough for some people to forget the gross violation of human rights that conscription and caning are. It certainly doesn't pay to be male in Singapore. You're nothing but a tool of the state, either as a money-making taxpayer, a conscript or an example to other men while you're getting mutilated by a rattan cane.
Good job. I guess with enough money, anyone can overlook evil.
Posted by: Gwonkley | 03/09/2008
Being an open minded person who believes in live and "let live" I absolutely detest this place. So materially motivated. People are not friendly and being a person who has traveled to many many other countries lets me say this with ease. The comment about the food just floors me!!! This person has obviously never been to Thailand where the food IS really fabulous. What a shame people feel the need to come to asia and marry SUBSERVIENT women and call it LOVE> Pittiful I say.
PS - Spelling has nothing to do with it.
Posted by: Me | 19/10/2008