Roads filled with driverless cars, every home linked with fibre-optic cable, gardens in the sky, shining towers of scientists creating the future. Singapore is at it again, trying to plan the next leap up the development ladder.
For 50 years, Singapore has punched above its weight class, thanks to a run of political stability, long-term planning, transparency and openness to investment. Along the way, the tiny Southeast Asian nation turned from a centre of colonial administration and trading into a major container port, an oil- refining hub, an electronics manufacturer and a banking center.
Now as the nation passes the half-century mark on Aug. 9, Singapore’s challenges have evolved. Its founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, died this year, and his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, is betting billions of dollars on a “Smart Nation” plan to take the city state to the next level. His task is to take a nation where more than 45% of the resident labour still do non-professional jobs like cleaning and staffing assembly lines, and turn it into a global centre for research and innovation.
If he succeeds, the country could become a model for other advanced nations that share similar problems -- rapid immigration, reliance on imported low-cost labour, an aging population, lackluster productivity, and rising social and health care costs.
“This is ultimately a long-term vision, there is still a significant proportion of the local labour force that may not have the necessary skill set,” said Irvin Seah, a Singapore- based economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd. who was part of a government-wide economic review in 2001. “We have often been a test-bed for many interesting economic development policies.”
Speed of Development
A glimpse of that vision can be seen in Jurong Lake District, a 360-hectare development area in the island’s west where the government has installed more than 1,000 sensors to monitor and control everything from vehicles to trash cans. The sleepy fringe of the city is being transformed into a second central business district, with shiny waterfront condominiums, a new Science Centre and the terminal for a planned high-speed railway to Kuala Lumpur.
“Singapore has changed completely, the government does things very quickly,” said Ho Soon Chye, a 60-year-old security officer who earns S$7 ($5) an hour guarding a Chinese temple in the city’s financial district. “But things are so much more expensive. It’s hard for those who don’t earn a lot, and there are more foreigners taking our jobs.”
Ho’s generation grew up in a nation where people’s lives visibly improved under the iron control of a government that made policy for almost every major industry and venture in the state. To make the transition, Lee needs to make the island’s workers more efficient and more innovative and that may mean relaxing that control.
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For 50 years, Singapore has punched above its weight class, thanks to a run of political stability, long-term planning, transparency and openness to investment. Along the way, the tiny Southeast Asian nation turned from a centre of colonial administration and trading into a major container port, an oil- refining hub, an electronics manufacturer and a banking center.
Now as the nation passes the half-century mark on Aug. 9, Singapore’s challenges have evolved. Its founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, died this year, and his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, is betting billions of dollars on a “Smart Nation” plan to take the city state to the next level. His task is to take a nation where more than 45% of the resident labour still do non-professional jobs like cleaning and staffing assembly lines, and turn it into a global centre for research and innovation.
If he succeeds, the country could become a model for other advanced nations that share similar problems -- rapid immigration, reliance on imported low-cost labour, an aging population, lackluster productivity, and rising social and health care costs.
“This is ultimately a long-term vision, there is still a significant proportion of the local labour force that may not have the necessary skill set,” said Irvin Seah, a Singapore- based economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd. who was part of a government-wide economic review in 2001. “We have often been a test-bed for many interesting economic development policies.”
Speed of Development
A glimpse of that vision can be seen in Jurong Lake District, a 360-hectare development area in the island’s west where the government has installed more than 1,000 sensors to monitor and control everything from vehicles to trash cans. The sleepy fringe of the city is being transformed into a second central business district, with shiny waterfront condominiums, a new Science Centre and the terminal for a planned high-speed railway to Kuala Lumpur.
“Singapore has changed completely, the government does things very quickly,” said Ho Soon Chye, a 60-year-old security officer who earns S$7 ($5) an hour guarding a Chinese temple in the city’s financial district. “But things are so much more expensive. It’s hard for those who don’t earn a lot, and there are more foreigners taking our jobs.”
Ho’s generation grew up in a nation where people’s lives visibly improved under the iron control of a government that made policy for almost every major industry and venture in the state. To make the transition, Lee needs to make the island’s workers more efficient and more innovative and that may mean relaxing that control.
Click Here To Register For Free Trial Services OR Give A Missed Call : +6531581402 Follow Us On Twitter : www.twitter.com/epicresearchsg Like Us On Facebook : www.facebook.com/EpicResearchSingapore Need Any Assistance Feel Free To Mail Us at : info@epicresearch.sg
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