From SG History: Rajaratnam's vision of Singapore as a Global City
From the IPS Singapore Perspective 2022 video:
How did Singapore, the "Accidental Country" become the Nation that it is today?
In the early 1960s, as discussion and negotiations were going on, Lee Kuan Yew began a series of radio talks to make the case for merger:
Everybody knows that merger is inevitable. The Tunku has said merger is inevitable. The PAP have also said that merger is inevitable. The Communists also admit that merger is inevitable. The inevitable is now happening.
For Lee Kuan Yew, Merger was inevitable and necessary for Singapore's continued existence and survival. The conventional wisdom then was that Singapore could not survive as an independent, separate, island city state. It was impossible! Or at least, inconceivable.
Then came Separation. And Independence was thrust unwanted upon Singapore.
It was a fait accompli. Whether we wanted it or not, we were Independent. The Impossible was not only conceived, it had birthed a nation. An Accidental Nation.
And Lee Kuan Yew, famously cried on TV, when he told Singaporeans that we were Independent.
So 1965. Singapore became an independent city state. And island city state. No hinterland. Not even with enough water for her people. Fortunately, we had the British - they had their military bases here and they were a major employer in Singapore (about 20,000 jobs?). Singapore was the HQ for the British Far East.
It would be okay.
Then in 1968, the British announced that they were pulling out of Singapore by 1971.
Dafaq!
So Singapore would not have the British to provide defence, and we would need to find jobs for 20,000 people who used to work for the British Military, and who knows how many other jobs that depended on British officers and their families needing drivers, servants, cooks, and other domestic services.
Dafaq!
Oh, I already said that.
So let's recap what has happened so far:
1963 Merger. Good news! Singapore part of the Federation of Malaya.
Also Konfrontasi. Bad news. Sabotage in Singapore.
1965 Separation. Bad news. Or Good news? So good until Lee Kuan Yew cried?
1966 Good news! Sukarno is ousted. New President (Suharto) ends Konfrontasi.
1967 Bad News! British announce pull out. No defence for Singapore. No more jobs for 20,000+!
Even more bad news! National Service introduced!
1968 Even more bad news! British brought forward their withdrawal to 1971 (previously mid-70s).
1969 Er... Good news?* At Singapore's National Day, Tanks (AMX-13 Light Tanks) were paraded.
(For comparison, Malaysia did not have tanks, then.)
So by 1971, we had achieved (or were in the process of achieving) "poisoned shrimp" status for our defence and somewhat secured our existence. But what were we? Lee Kuan Yew is oft-quoted (by Bilahari Kausikan) to have said that "small island states are a political joke". We still had to find jobs for those who used to be employed by the British. We needed to find our place in this world. To hitch our wagon to a star. We had no mineral wealth to exploit. Not enough land to grow anything. No oil. We didn't even have enough water for our people.
Fortunately, we had S. Rajaratnam.
And he had an idea. A vision of Singapore as a "Global City". This was before "globalisation" was even a word.
The speech and the video that tried to explain his speech may not make much sense.
Not to me anyway. Nothing in the speech and the explanations told me what Singapore would do, or how Singaporeans should act, or what our choices should be.
It was all context-dependent.
BUT, I did get this: Work with the world. Work with other global cities. Be open to possibilities wherever it may be. Malaysia has its own problems. Indonesia has its own problems. Philippines has its own problem. Brunei is too small. Thailand has its own problems.
But there are countries beyond this circle of "problematic" neighbours.
We can focused on and get mired in the problems of the region, but as a Global City, the World is our oyster, and we can shuck it!
I do not know if I am right, but it seems to me, that being a "Global City" simply means look farther than your immediate neighbour. In the 1970s, the world is getting smaller. And with internet (about 20 years later), it was getting flatter and more connected. You do not need to compete with your neighbours. You can transact beyond the horizon, with other like-minded people. You just need to find them wherever they are.
And so Singapore did.
We "graduated" from "import substitution" as a strategy, and brought in MNCs who wanted to manufacture in Singapore to sell to the world. When our neighbours copied us, and offered even cheaper labour, we moved up the ladder, transferred better technology, and manufactured higher goods to be sold beyond our borders and beyond our neighbours. The world is our oyster. We just need to shuck it.
--------
[*The AMX-13 Tanks in 1969 - Good news? One blog (on scale modelling) suggested that the SG Govt then (in 1969) was concerned that there was talk about Malaysia "re-absorbing" Singapore back into the Federation. This narrative resonates with me because I suspect that ejecting Singapore from the Federation in the first place was not out of some altruistic belief in Singapore's potential and ability to make it as an independent state. But to teach Singapore (and Lee Kuan Yew) a lesson: That Singapore NEEDS Malaysia to survive. That Singapore cannot survive let alone thrive on its own (conventional wisdom). That we would be impoverished and a failure on our own. But we were terrible students and didn't learn that lesson, and instead made our own way, our own success and not only survived, but thrived.]
No comments:
Post a Comment