MEGA-CITIES: SINGAPORE
A futuristic sight to greet seafarer and tourist alike: Merlion Park, at One Fullerton,Singapore – with few suspecting that this was a malarial swamp a century ago.
It’s part of the city-state and during independence from the British in 1965, Singapore faced massive unemployment and declining trade.
With its back to the wall, nonetheless, the country demonstrated to the world how to modernise and progress.
Singapore’s transition from a backwater economy to the third richest country in the world per capita in 2023 is stunning: 10% foreign direct investment increase year on year (2023 figure is $195 billion); third safest city in the world; one of the least corrupt states and best health service in the world.
A massive ascendancy by any country’s standards and obviously people in high office after the failure of both colonial powers – Britain and Japan – decided the country’s been screwed over enough and that independence was the way forward.
Very few voted for the status quo, but enter a political activist, Mr Lee Kuan Yew – usually known as LKY, a barrister educated in Cambridge – who laid the foundations of the modern Singapore state.
For sure there was a strategic advantage being at the geographical centre of Asia’s trade routes; but banking, legal systems and the English language gave Singapore leverage.
Elected on independence issues Kuan Yew admitted that the aforementioned were positives of colonialism, but the main benefit has been from business-friendly policies since his People’s Action Party took office.
Singapore has 74% Han Chinese population with minorities of Malays, Indians and Europeans.
But the parliamentary system – in principle based on the UK’s unwritten constitution – reflects Asian dynamic business practices and strong top-down government.
Criticised in the West for being authoritarian and sometimes tough on human rights, it is argued that Singapore’s hard slog to nation-building took priority over Western-style democratic ideals.
But typically, this is what happens in any development of a nation’s economy.
After all, didn’t the UK repress trade unions and universal suffrage in Victorian times?
Happily, Singapore doesn’t repress unions or deny voting rights, but there have been social restrictions along the way.
‘Guided democracy’ is Singapore’s policy and, above all, PAP has always courted foreign direct investment through low taxes. Want to do business? Come on in and let’s talk!, seems to be the mantra in Singapore.
Cheap business rates figured highly, but the guided democracy component impressed Tony Blair so much he once referred to Lee Kuan Yew, as the ‘smartest leader he’d ever met.’
Compared to the West’s buzzword ‘populism’ – ‘appeal to to the people’ was Trump and Johnson’s tactic, ie, just vote for me because I say things you feel are right, Lee Kuan Yew eschewed populism in favour of long-term planning goals supported by solid finances.
All involved Asian values – for this latter read thrift, investment, security and education.
These goals are certainly successful and one example is the mass transportation system, the construction of which was debated for many years.
Although costly with the building of tunnels, bridges and support infrastructure, the Singapore Mass Rapid Transport system – totally driverless – is considered a benchmark project for the rest of the world.
To put it into context: the UK abandoned the HS2 northern link railway half-way through due to financial restraint. Yet years ago Singapore’s MRT secured funding through sound fiscal policy in a far lesser time frame.
LKY quoted:
‘We are pragmatists. We don’t stick to any ideology. Let’s try it and if it does work, fine.
If it doesn’t we’ll try another way.’
By the way, Kuan Yew’s policies on private car ownership have a biase. Heavily taxed, car use is beyond most residents’ budgets, but because of that there’s a liveable city: parkland with trees and lush vegetation and there’s no problems with congestion and urban pollution either.
To use the road, car owners must pay taxes for it. This was one of LKY’s proclamations.
So owning a car today on Singapore’s roads will cost in the region of US$100k – and that’s just for a basic Toyota Corolla. Not cheap, and most go for the MRT as a better travel option.
Anyway, back in the early-70’s I flew out to join a Shell tanker for six months.
Before my passport was stamped I was immediately directed to a barber at Changi airport.
In a strange-but-true story, long-hair on men was contrary to government policy and was deemed ‘undesirable’, reflecting ‘hippy’ and ‘negative ideals’.
Therefore, men with long hair had to get it cropped before entry.
This was one of LKY’s strange quirks in his plan for a better Singaporean society and we just had to abide by it.
He learned positively from the West – we weren’t all ‘foreign devils’ – but youthful degeneracy and unkempt appearances didn’t impress him one bit.
Incidentally the 1970’s rock bands Led Zeppelin and the Bee-Gees didn’t accept hair cuts – they cancelled their Singapore tours.
Still, I wasn’t the only long haired crew member at the airport and despite how others felt wasn’t so dismayed in having my locks shorn: it was done in a polite manner and furthermore now I had carte blanche to enter Singapore.
To me it was another rigid immigration encounter, like clearing airport officialdom in the US in which passengers are brusquely told to ‘wait behind the line’ whilst checked against being ‘an undesirable alien’ – nothing unusual.
Although Singapore was an new experience, it was plain there.was an air of optimism and common purpose.
People were driven by a promised better life as the old colonial Singapore disappeared.
Architectural and building contracts were drawn up with major UK and Japanese construction companies transforming the landscape. Kampongs– basic dwelling places with primitive sanitation – were the first to go as also were shopfront houses which although doubling-up as residence and self-employment were unsafe.
These also were bulldozed down.
It was becoming a densely populated mega-city then with clean and modern flats – the latter albeit of uniform appearance.
Housing apart, the transition to regular employment succeeded with workers being signed-up by familiar overseas names such as Black and Decker, Hewlett Packard, General Electric and Gillette to work in assembly plants.
Then came the bankers, accountants and law firms such as Citibank and Deloitte – all integrated within a thriving economy.
So although upwardly mobile, the only natural resources Singapore has are is its people, a strategic location and a natural harbour.
And from a sailor’s point of view that harbour gives the freedom to visit and give an insight into the people.
Anyway, a subsequent port visit in the ‘90’s plainly revealed the financial publications write-ups of Singapore advancing from reliance upon assembly plants towards IT and precision engineering.
Time, Newsweek and Forbes magazines lavished praise as glittering technology parks were constructed.
They never stagnate in this town, I thought – indeed, business boomed as LKY rallied his country by extolling the virtues of Japanese work ethics and education: ‘Learn from Japan’ was a favourite quote as also was ‘The art of government is to build team spirit.’
Such inspiring thoughts helped lift Singaporeans out of poverty, but also appealed to civic pride. with rules for harmonious living enshrined in law.
The above is a pun on Singapore’s ‘fine’ city, but every rule is on display and strictly enforced.
Although Western visitors may escape with just a warning, there are reports of wardens on rooftops with binoculars looking for litter-droppers and pigeon-feeders.
Community Work Orders are imposed: repeat litterers will often find themselves issued with a broom to sweep city streets – and usually for a twelve-hour day’s worth.
It prompts enquiries about freedoms for sure; but in the UK I think we’d better look at the mess in our own litter-strewn streets before we get judgmental.
Strict laws prevail on certain book sales. Red Lines:Political Cartoons and the Struggle Against Censorship is banned due to its promotion of ill will between races.
But to cut the government some slack on this one, the book allegedly contains anti-Muslim views, and as a multiracial society, Singapore is mindful of the fallout from similar publications – terrorist killings in France, for example.
In the film world, movies about religious or LGBT topics are sometimes banned, but Crazy Rich Asians a satirical film taking a dig at Singapore’s rich elite enjoyed box office success. So what gets past the censors is rarely predictable.
Still, the most whimsical ban involved sales of the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper album due to its drug references. The track ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ belongs to another era and happily the album ban is now rescinded – 56 years after imminent danger from ‘hippies’ you’d sure hope so.
But moving forward to the year 2003 on yet another Singapore port call, much was revealed from an official tourist guide whom we met in a bar.
And this is how we roll whilst on shore leave: get talking to folks because you never know what you might learn!
The guide was probably weary of parroting the same old stuff to tourists and newly relaxed in the company of sailors instead, he vented some sharp criticisms about freedom of the press.
After ordering beers the conversation went as follows:
Tourist guide:
‘Well, I’m glad you like Singapore. It’s indeed a dynamic city.
But freedom of the press here is suffocating and although they don’t arrest journalists – this isn’t China – any article the government disapproves of is retaliated against with lawsuits. As I said, I was a university student in Manchester and your UK media is refreshing.
Your citizens have full freedom of expression and I enjoyed the open criticism of politicians.’
One of our group responded by saying:
Yes, but lies and untruths are an insult to our democracy and we hope the media seeks out truth but sometimes they don’t.
For example, we have an ongoing enquiry about the Hillsboro’ football disaster [this was 2003] with the establishment using the right-wing press to save its own skin.’
Also, some of our papers are little more than comics for adults, full of unsupported stories just to sell copies. Is that what freedom of the press is about?
So a lively debate which ended on good terms with handshakes all round.
We figured the guy wanted to get something off his chest, reassuring us that Singapore, although an authoritarian state, is nonetheless a benign authoritarian state, i,e, public debate is encouraged when it ‘s convenient, but rules are considered made for the good of all.
But the government continues to liberalise and we were told that a ‘speakers corner’ was set up in Hong Lim Park in the year 2000. Based upon London’s Hyde Park Speakers Corner, orators are required to register, but the idea is to give citizenry the chance to exchange views and opinions.
So free speech isn’t so curtailed after all.
Of the whole electorate, the Han Chinese majority in Parliament represents the people and if the latter are uneasy about an authoritarian state, they acknowledge that prosperity, full employment, efficient services and modernity are part of the social contract they get in return.
In 2015, LKY passed away, but his PAP replacement, Lee Hsien Loong continues the policies of the most successful post-colonial nation.
Indeed, Singapore’s dynamic reputation for business is such that a delegation from China visited in 2005 on a fact-finding tour.
And the economy has surged ahead, this time advancing into profitable services industries, IT, and bioscience.
But there are challenges and with a projected double-digit population increase by 2040 in an area only half the size of London, land availability is limited.
Of the seafarer’s Singapore, there are hardly any traditional sailor’s bars anymore. The raunchy dives of the Jockey pub and Bugis Street would now be called respectable; but If crew are lucky to get ashore in these times of fast vessel turn-rounds, then they’ll find themselves in a cocktail-type establishment rubbing shoulders with international tourists and financiers.
Neither group will find value for money 1973-style however; at that time a pound sterling would buy over six Singapore dollars – at time of writing one pound sterling only buys 0:59 Singapore dollars. A half-century later there aren’t any prizes for guessing which country has the better business savvy.