Singapore turns 60 with much to show

Bangkok Post

2 days ago

No country turns 60 like Singapore. In a neighbourhood of political dynasties and varying shades of autocracies and flawed democracies, the little island state of six million got lucky with its strongman rule. When he died in 2015, Singapore's patriarchal founder Lee Kuan Yew left a great country behind. This weekend, Singaporeans can take stock of what's gone by and rightly celebrate its milestone with much to show for.
To be sure, Singapore's success is time-tested. In 1965, when it was virtually kicked out of the Federation of Malaya -- Malaysia today -- the then self-governing island of predominantly overseas Chinese faced dire conditions and dim prospects. The ruling People's Action Party and its leadership under Lee had to build up their poor little island, less than half the size of Bangkok's land area, into a prosperous nation from ground zero.
As the first decade led to another and more, small steps accumulated into leaps and bounds. Singapore went from a backwater nation in the 1960s to an industrialised country by the 1990s. The PAP's initially iron-fisted top-down rule under Lee brooked no dissent and meant that Singaporeans had to work hard, keep their heads down, and trade off lesser rights and freedoms for jobs and better living standards.
As the founding prime minister for 31 years and as cabinet advisor and guardian of the political system thereafter until his death, Lee focused on equipping Singaporeans with skills and education for the country to thrive. His most indelible and lasting legacy arguably is the education system, especially the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, both distinct but in a collaborative fashion connected to a network of research institutes, think-tanks, and the broader policy community.
Today, graduates of these two universities, both among the top-ranked in Asia and worldwide, can go toe-to-toe with peers from renowned universities elsewhere. The nexus of universities, research institutes, think-tanks, policy community, and private sector collaboration has made Singapore the hub in Southeast Asia for global and regional conferences, prominent lectures, and corporate meetings.
Yet Lee did not do it all by himself. As with any great political system, no good leader can be effective without a good team around him. Lee's partners in the PAP included S Rajaratnam and Goh Keng Swee, who were equally instrumental in Singapore's success. University colleges and schools in Singapore today are named after them.
Lest readers think this is an article driven by obsequity and ingratiation, I was a critic of Singapore for many years. Some 30-35 years ago, Singaporean diplomats and public intellectuals, such as Kishore Mahbubani and Bilahari Kausikan, took to the world stage to engage with Western intellectuals about "Asian values". It was their right, but I wondered why these Singaporeans should be self-appointed spokespersons for Asian values.
This was a time when East Asia's phenomenal economic performance, in tandem with shades of autocratic rule, was a puzzle to many. How could autocratic systems do so well economically? The "Asian values" answer from the Singaporeans was Asians' deference and respect for authority, communitarianism over individualism, familial piety and social harmony, discipline, hard work, and so forth. Back then, it was seen as a self-serving rationalisation because Singapore was a single-party-dominant state without a real parliamentary opposition, an independent media, basic freedoms and rights. A socially engineered society, the Singaporean government at one point banned chewing gum and caned an American teenager for vandalism.
While Singapore's ruling tactics were controversial with a lot to answer for, Lee and other leaders were adamant and stayed their course. Lee also passed on the leadership baton to Goh Chok Tong for nearly 14 years to be kept for his son, Lee Hsien Loong, who ruled for nearly 20 years. The dynastic rule from father to son was initially seen as despotic and reminiscent of other ruling families in Southeast Asia.
After the 1990s, my scepticism of Singapore shot through the roof when Thaksin Shinawatra sold his telecom conglomerate known as Shin Corp to Temasek, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, in January 2006 for US$1.9 billion without paying any tax. A simple "due diligence" would have informed Temasek that the deal was scandalous in view of the unfolding Thai political crisis centring on Mr Thaksin's corruption and conflicts of interest.
The title of one of my articles in this space in 2006 was "Is Temasek complicit in scandal?," followed by another questioning "Singapore's culpability," criticising Temasek, whose chairwoman happened to be the prime minister's wife. Having held a visiting position at a research institute in Singapore in 2005, I was quickly disowned by its director, who wrote in a regional newspaper that he had no more respect for me. Communication and invitation from Singaporean counterparts were muted, and I felt like a persona non grata. It was all unpleasant, and I have no regrets.
But the past 20 years have changed my perspective. Singapore has gone up and up, while Thailand has gone down and down. Singapore can boast not just a world-class economy, a merit-driven society with the rule of law, and Oxbridge-quality universities, but also a new generation of leaders, now headed by Lawrence Wong, an outsider not from the Lee family but an offspring of the system Lee built. Singapore now helps carry and keep Asean together. For example, Singapore was the first in Southeast Asia to set up a cyber force, a digital branch of its armed forces, which is now providing cybersecurity capacity-building for other Asean members. The self-interest thinking is that Singapore cannot be safe if its neighbourhood is unsafe.
Moreover, the statesman-like level and stature of Singapore's leaders, their knowledge grasp, and ability to articulate and engage on principle and substance are second to none worldwide. Singapore continues to deliver for its people and to provide them with a future worth working for. Although Singaporeans tend to complain about this and that, they know deep down that they have a good country.
Nowhere is a reflection of Singapore's success simpler and more touching than the arrival announcement of its flag carrier, Singapore Airlines. When landing in Singapore, passengers will hear "Welcome to Singapore, ladies and gentlemen, and to residents of Singapore and Singaporeans, a warm welcome home." Tinged with pride and comfort, the tone of "home" for Singaporeans is surely worth coming back to and celebrating.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, PhD, is professor at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Political Science and a senior fellow at its Institute of Security and International Studies in Bangkok.