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DYNAMICS OF SINGAPOREAN ECONOMY PROSPERITY By

ABAYOMI, Quadri Kolapo

Faculty of Social Science

Political Science Department

University of Ilorin.

Ilorin. Nigeria.

08022412140

kolapoabayomi@gmail.com.

ABSTRACT

After gaining independence in 1965, Singapore faced a future filled with uncertainties. Most people had no

access to public health services and diseases such as cholera and smallpox caused severe health problems,

especially in overcrowded working-class areas. Unemployment, poverty, inefficiency, maladministration and

etc. rampaging the entire polity. Initially on 16 September 1963, because of its hopeless future, its leader-Lee

Kuan Yew alongside others merged Singaporean federation with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak and formed

Malaysia. However, the Singaporean government was aggressive in promoting export-oriented, labour-

extensive industrialization through a program of incentives to attract foreign investment. By 1972, one-quarter

of Singapore’s manufacturing firms were either foreign-owned or joint-venture companies, and both USA and

Japan were major investors and the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced annual double-digit

growth. Today, Singapore is one of the foremost ASIAN TIGERS.

INTRODUCTION

If you are new to Singapore, you’re probably wondering how this small city-

state in Southeast Asia with a total land area measuring only 273 square miles

(707.1 square kilometers) (Kennet, 2007) and one of the youngest nations in the

world became one of its most successful. Its population is as at last head count

exercise is 5.6 million inhabitants; consist of about 76 percent of Chinese, 15

percent Malay, 6.5 percent Indian, and 2.5 percent other.

The answer lies in a unique set of geography and history - Singapore’s

strategic location on the major sea route between India and China, its excellent

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harbour, and its free-trade harbour status granted by its visionary founder Sir

Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1818. However, while Sir Stamford Raffles created

the framework for Singapore’s early success, it was Singapore’s former Prime

Minister Lee Kuan Yew who shaped the first quarter-century of Singapore’s

existence as an independent nation and defined the path to its current success.

Moreso, Singapore is multi-religious as well as multi-ethnic. Major religious

preferences reported in 2010 were Buddhism (28 percent), Christian (19

percent), no religion (17 percent), Islam (16 percent), Daoist (13 percent), and

Hindu (5 percent) (Elvin, 2012). What follows is a brief history of the country’s

origins from a colonial outpost to the developed nation that it is today.

Mythical Origins

The name Singapore was coined after Lion (Kennet, 2007), but recent studies

have verified that lions have never lived on Singapore but legend has it that a

14th century Sumatran prince spotted an auspicious beast (probably a Malayan

tiger) (Borschberg, 2010) upon landing on the island after a thunderstorm. Thus,

the name Singapore comes from the Malay words “Singa” for lion and “Pura”

for city (Borschberg, 2010). Prior to European settlement, the island now known

as Singapore was the site of a Malay fishing village and inhabited by several

hundred indigenous Orang Laut people.

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The Founding of Modern Singapore

In late 1818, Lord Hastings – the British Governor General of India – appointed

Lieutenant General Sir Stamford Raffles to establish a trading station at the

southern tip of the Malay peninsula (Barbara, 1989). The British were

extending their dominion over India and their trade with China was expanding.

They saw the need for a port of call to “refit, revitalize and protect their

merchant fleet” as well as to prevent any advances made by the Dutch in the

East Indies (Barbara, 1989).

After surveying other nearby islands in 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles and

the rest of the British East India Company landed on Singapore (Barbara, 1989),

which was to become their strategic trading post along the spice route.

Eventually Singapore became one of the most important commercial and

military centers of the British Empire. The island was the third

British acquisition in the Malay Peninsula after Penang (1786) and Malacca

(1795). These three British Settlements (Singapore, Penang and Malacca)

became the Straights Settlements in 1826, under the control of British India

(Borschberg, 2010). By 1832, Singapore became the center of government of

the three areas. On 1 April 1867, the Straights Settlements became a Crown

Colony (Landow, 2006) and was ruled by a governor under the jurisdiction of

the Colonial Office in London.

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Loosening Britain’s Stronghold

During World War II, Singapore was occupied by the Japanese, precisely on 7

December 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbour and the Pacific War began in

earnest. One of Japan's objectives was to capture Southeast Asia and secure the

rich supply of natural resources to feed its military and industry needs.

Singapore, the main Allied base in the region, was an obvious military target

(Lim, 1999). British Prime Minister Winston Churchill described this “as the

worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history” (John, 1971). In the

aftermath of the war, the country faced staggering problems of high

unemployment, slow economic growth, inadequate housing, decaying

infrastructure, labour strikes and social unrest (Blackburn, 2000). Nevertheless,

it sparked a political awakening among the local population and saw the rise of

anti-colonial and nationalist sentiments, as epitomized by the slogan “Merdeka”

which means “independence” in the Malay language (Chan-Chung et. al. 2012).

In 1959, Singapore became a self-governing state within the British

Empire with Yusof Bin Ishak as its first Yang de-Pertuan Negara (Malay for

“Someone who is the eminent Master of the State”) (Smith, 2005) and Lee

Kuan Yew as its first and long-standing Prime Minister (he served from 1965

until 1990) (John, 1971). Before joining the Federation of Malaysia along with

Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, Singapore declared independence from Britain

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unilaterally in August 1963 (Blackburn, 2000). Two years later, Singapore left

the federation after heated ideological conflicts arose between the Singapore

government’s major political party called the People’s Action Party (PAP) and

the federal Kuala Lumpur government. On 9 August 1965, Singapore officially

gained sovereignty (Harper and Miller, 1984). Yusof Bin Ishak sworn in as its

first president and Lee Kuan Yew remained prime minister.

With independence came bleak, if not precarious economic prospects.

According to Barbara Leitch Lepoer, the editor of Singapore: A Country Study

(1989): “Separation from Malaysia meant the loss of Singapore’s economic

hinterland, and Indonesia’s policy of military confrontation directed at

Singapore and Malaysia had dried up the entrepot from that direction.”

According to the same book, Singapore also faced the loss of 20 percent of its

jobs with the announcement of Britain’s departure from the island’s bases in

1968.

SINGAPOREAN: MOST DIFFICULT MOMENT IN HISTORY

Despite their successes in governing Singapore in terms of the social front that

launched an aggressive and well-funded public housing program to solve the

long-standing housing problem. More than 25,000 high-rise, low-cost

apartments were constructed during the first two years of the program (Martin

and Patrick, 1979).

The PAP leaders, including Lee, Goh, believed that

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Singapore's future lay with Malaya. They felt that the historical and economic

ties between Singapore and Malaya were too strong for them to continue as

separate nations, and they campaigned vigorously for a merger. On the other

hand, the sizable pro-communist wing of the PAP were strongly opposed to the

merger, fearing a loss of influence as the ruling party of Malaya, United Malays

National Organisation, was staunchly anti-communist and would support the

non-communist faction of PAP against them. The UMNO leaders were also

skeptical of the merger idea due to their distrust of the PAP government and

concerns that the large Chinese population in Singapore would alter the racial

balance on which their political power base depended. The issue came to a head

in 1961 when pro-communist PAP minister Ong Eng Guan defected from the

party and beat a PAP candidate in a subsequent by-election, a move that

threatened to bring down Lee's government. Faced with the prospect of a

takeover by the pro-communists, UMNO did an about-face on the merger. On

27 May, Malaya's Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, mooted the idea of a

Federation of Malaysia, comprising existing Federation of Malaya, Singapore,

Brunei and the British Borneo territories of Sabah and Sarawak. The UMNO

leaders believed that the additional Malay population in the Borneo territories

would offset Singapore's Chinese population (Martin and Patrick, 1979).

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On 9 July 1963, the leaders of Singapore, Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak

signed the Malaysia Agreement to establish the Federation of Malaysia (Martin

and Patrick, 1979).

Merger

On 16 September 1963, Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak were formally

merged and Malaysia was formed (Martin and Patrick, 1979). The PAP

Government felt that Singapore's survival as a nation would be difficult. They

lacked natural resources and faced a declining entrepot trade and a growing

population which required jobs. Therefore, Singapore felt that the merger was

thought to benefit the economy by creating a common free market, eliminating

trade tariffs, solving unemployment woes and to support new industries. The

British government were reluctant to grant full independence to Singapore

because they believed it would provide a haven for communism.

The union was rocky from the start. During the 1963 Singapore state

elections, a local branch of UMNO took part in the election despite an earlier

UMNO's agreement with the PAP not to participate in the state's politics during

Malaysia's formative years. Although UMNO lost all its bids, relations between

PAP and UMNO worsened. The PAP, in a tit-for-tat, challenged UMNO

candidates in the 1964 federal election as part of the Malaysian Solidarity

Convention, winning one seat in Malaysian Parliament.

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Racial Tension within the Federation

Racial tensions increased as the Chinese in Singapore disdained being

discriminated against by the federal policies of affirmative action, which

granted special privileges to the Malays guaranteed under Article 153 of the

Constitution of Malaysia. There were also other financial and economic benefits

that were preferentially given to Malays. Lee Kuan Yew and other political

leaders began advocating for the fair and equal treatment of all races in

Malaysia, with a rallying cry of "Malaysian Malaysia!".

Meanwhile, the Malays in Singapore were being increasingly incited by

the federal government's accusations that the PAP was mistreating the Malays.

The external political situation was also tense; Indonesian President Sukarno

declared a state of Konfrontasi (Confrontation) against Malaysia and initiated

military and other actions against the new nation, including the bombing of

MacDonald House in Singapore 10 March 1965 by Indonesian commandos,

killing three people (Harper and Miller, 1984). Indonesia also conducted

sedition activities to provoke the Malays against the Chinese (Martin and

Patrick, 1979). Numerous racial riots resulted and curfews were frequently

imposed to restore order. The most notorious riots were the 1964 Race Riots

that first took place on Prophet Muhammad's birthday on 21 July with twenty

three people killed and hundreds injured. During the unrest, the price of food

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skyrocketed when transport system was disrupted, causing further hardship for

the people.

Separation of Singapore from the Federation

Seeing no other alternative to avoid further bloodshed, the Malaysian Prime

Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman decided to expel Singapore from the federation.

Goh Keng Swee, who had become skeptical of merger's economic benefits for

Singapore, convinced Lee Kuan Yew that the separation had to take place.

UMNO and PAP representatives worked out the terms of separation in extreme

secrecy in order to present the British government, in particular, with a fait

accompli.

On the morning of 9 August 1965, the Parliament of Malaysia voted 126–

0 in favour of a constitutional amendment expelling Singapore from the

federation; hours later, the Parliament of Singapore passed the Republic of

Singapore Independence Act, establishing the island as an independent and

sovereign republic. A tearful Lee Kuan Yew announced on a televised press

conference that Singapore was a sovereign, independent nation. In a widely

remembered quote, he uttered that: "For me, it is a moment of anguish. All my

life, my whole adult life, I have believed in merger and unity of the two

territories" (Lee 1965, and Khoo 1998). The new state became the Republic of

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Singapore and Yusof bin Ishak was appointed the first President (McIntyre,

1979).

FUTURE FILLED WITH UNCERTAINTY: 1965 TO 1979

After gaining independence in 1965, Singapore faced a future filled with

uncertainties. Most people had no access to public health services and diseases

such as cholera and smallpox caused severe health problems, especially in

overcrowded working-class areas, unemployment, poverty, inefficiency,

maladministration and etc. rampaging the entire polity (John, 1970). As a result

of the administration's ineffectiveness and the predominantly male, transient,

and uneducated nature of the population, the society was lawless and chaotic.

The Konfrontasi was on-going and the conservative UMNO faction strongly

opposed the separation; Singapore faced the dangers of attack by the Indonesian

military and forcible re-integration into the Malaysia Federation on

unfavourable terms. Much of the international media was sceptical of prospects

for Singapore's survival. Besides the issue of sovereignty, the pressing problems

were unemployment, housing, education, and the lack of natural resources and

land (Kang, 1981). Unemployment was ranging between 10–12%, threatening

to trigger civil unrest.

Singapore immediately sought international recognition of its

sovereignty. The new state joined the United Nations on 21 September 1965,

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becoming the 117th member; and joined the Commonwealth in October that

year. Foreign minister Sinnathamby Rajaratnam headed a new foreign service

that helped assert Singapore's independence and establishing diplomatic

relations with other countries (Borschberg, 2010). On 22 December 1965, the

Constitution Amendment Act was passed under which the Head of State

became the President and the State of Singapore became the Republic of

Singapore. Singapore later co-founded the Association of Southeast Asian

Nations on 8 August 1967 and was admitted into the Non-Aligned Movement in

1970 (Borschberg, 2010).

The Economic Development Board had been set up in 1961 to formulate

and implement national economic strategies, focusing on promoting Singapore's

manufacturing sector (Lim, 2002). Industrial estates were set up, especially in

Jurong, and foreign investment was attracted to the country with tax incentives.

The industrialization transformed the manufacturing sector to one that produced

higher value-added goods and achieved greater revenue. The service industry

also grew at this time, driven by demand for services by ships calling at the port

and increasing commerce. This progress helped to alleviate the unemployment

crisis. Singapore also attracted big oil companies like Shell and Esso to

establish oil refineries in Singapore which, by the mid-1970s, became the third

largest oil-refining centre in the world (Kang, 1981). The government invested

heavily in an education system that adopted English as the language of

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instruction and emphasised practical training to develop a competent workforce

well suited for the industry.

The lack of good public housing, poor sanitation, and high unemployment

led to social problems from crime to health issues. The proliferation of squatter

settlements resulted in safety hazards and caused the Bukit Ho Swee Squatter

Fire in 1961 that killed four people and left 16,000 others homeless (Lim,

2002). The Housing Development Board set up before independence continued

to be largely successful and huge building projects sprung up to provide

affordable public housing to resettle the squatters. Within a decade, the majority

of the population had been housed in these apartments. The Central Provident

Fund (CPF) Housing Scheme, introduced in 1968, allows residents to use their

compulsory savings account to purchase HDB flats and gradually increases

home ownership in Singapore (Leong, 2003).

British troops had remained in Singapore following its independence, but

in 1968, London announced its decision to withdraw the forces by 1971

(Vijayam, 1997). With the secret aid of military advisers from Israel, Singapore

rapidly established the Singapore Armed Forces, with the help of a national

service program introduced in 1967 (Lim, 2002). Since independence,

Singaporean defense spending has been approximately five percent of GDP.

Today, the Singapore Armed Forces is among the best-equipped in Asia.

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DEFINNING MOMENT: SINGAPOREAN SECRETS OF ECONOMIC

PROSPERITY

Instead of demoralizing Singapore, these problems motivated Singapore’s

leadership to focus on the nation’s economy. With Cambridge-educated lawyer

Lee Kuan Yew at its helm, the Singaporean government was aggressive in

promoting export-oriented, labour-extensive industrialization through a program

of incentives to attract foreign investment. After all, Singapore still had its

strategic location to its advantage.

By 1972, one-quarter of Singapore’s manufacturing firms were either

foreign-owned or joint-venture companies, and both USA and Japan were major

investors. As a result of Singapore’s steady political climate, favourable

investment conditions and the rapid expansion of the world economy from 1965

to 1973, the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced annual

double-digit growth.

With the economic boom of the late 1960s and 1970s, new jobs were

created in the private sector. The government provision of subsidized housing,

education, health services and public transportation generated new jobs in the

public sector. The Central Provident Fund, the country’s comprehensive social

security scheme sustained by compulsory contributions by employer and

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employee, provided the necessary capital for government projects and financial

security for the country’s workers in their old age.

By the late 1970s, the government changed its strategic focus to skill and

technology-intensive, high value-added industries and away from labor-

intensive manufacturing. In particular, information technology was given

priority for expansion and Singapore became the world’s largest producer of

disk drives and disk drive parts in 1989. In the same year, 30 percent of the

country’s GDP was due to earnings from manufacturing.

Singapore’s international and financial services sector was and still is one

of the fastest growing sectors of its economy accounting for nearly 25 percent

of the country’s GDP in the late 1980s. In the same year, Singapore ranked with

Hong Kong as the two most important Asian financial centers after Tokyo. By

1990, Singapore played host to more than 650 multinational companies and

several thousand financial institutions and trading firms. On the political front,

Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee Kuan Yew and in 2004 Lee Hsien Loong, the

eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became Singapore’s third prime minister.

To buttress the explanation above, further economic success continued

through the 1980s, with the unemployment rate falling to 3% and real GDP

growth averaging at about 8% up until 1999. During the 1980s, Singapore

began to upgrade to higher-technology industries, such as the wafer fabrication

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sector, in order to compete with its neighbours which now had cheaper labour.

Singapore Changi Airport was opened in 1981 and Singapore Airlines was

developed to become a major airline (Leong, 2003). The Port of Singapore

became one of the world's busiest ports and the service and tourism industries

also grew immensely during this period. Singapore emerged as an important

transportation hub and a major tourist destination. The Housing Development

Board continued to promote public housing with new towns, such as Ang Mo

Kio, being designed and built. These new residential estates have larger and

higher-standard apartments and are served with better amenities. Today, 80–

90% of the population lives in HDB apartments. In 1987, the first Mass Rapid

Transit (MRT) line began operation, connecting most of these housing estates

and the city centre (Leong, 2003). The political situation in Singapore continued

to be dominated by the People's Action Party. The government of Singapore

underwent several significant changes (Wikipedia, 2013). In 1990, Lee Kuan

Yew passed the reins of leadership to Goh Chok Tong, who became the second

prime minister of Singapore. Goh presented a more open and consultative style

of leadership as the country continued to modernise. In 1997, Singapore

experienced the effect of the Asian financial crisis and tough measures, such as

cuts in the CPF contribution, were implemented.

In the early 2000s, Singapore went through some post-independence

crises, including the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the threat of terrorism. In

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December 2001, a plot to bomb embassies and other infrastructure in Singapore

was uncovered (Ministry of Home Affairs, 2003) and as many as 36 members

of the Jemaah Islamiyah group were arrested under the Internal Security Act

(Chua-Beng, 1995). Major counter-terrorism measures were put in place to

detect and prevent potential terrorism acts and to minimise damages should they

occur (AFXNews, 2005). More emphasis was placed on promoting social

integration and trust between the different communities (Loong, 2005).

In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the

third prime minister of Singapore. He introduced several policy changes,

including the reduction of national service duration from two and a half years to

two years, and the legalisation of casino gambling (Singapore News, 2006).

Other efforts to raise the city's global profile included the reestablishment of the

Singapore Grand Prix in 2008, and the hosting of the 2010 Summer Youth

Olympics.

The general election of 2006 was a landmark election because of the

prominent use of the internet and blogging to cover and comment on the

election, circumventing the official media (Channel NewsAsia, 2006). The PAP

returned to power, winning 82 of the 84 parliamentary seats and 66% of the

votes (Channel NewsAsia, 2006). In 2005, Wee Kim Wee and Devan Nair, two

former Presidents, died.

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The general election of 2011 was yet another watershed election due to

the first time a GRC was lost by the ruling party PAP, to the opposition party

WP (Channel NewsAsia, 2006).

SOCIAL ISSUES FACED BY THE SINGAPORE COMMUNITY

Social problems, also called social issues, affect every society, great and small.

Even in relatively isolated, sparsely populated areas, a group will encounter

social problems. Heather (2012), contended that part of this is due to the fact

that any members of a society living close enough together will have conflicts.

It’s virtually impossible to avoid them, and even people who live together in the

same house don’t always get along seamlessly (Heather, 2012). On the whole

though, when social problems are mentioned they tend to refer to the problems

that affect people living together in a society (wisegeek.com).

The list of social problems is huge and not identical from area to area. In

the US, some predominant social issues include the growing divide between

rich and poor, domestic violence, unemployment, pollution, urban decay, racism

and sexism, and many others. However, in Singapore, though has received

many accolades for its achievements in many spheres, have several of its kind

which shall definitely synthesize in this work. Some visitors (and even

residents) believe there is no poverty in Singapore. To give some perspective,

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below is a list often issues in no particular order, and it is by no means

exhaustive.

1. Ageing population: Singapore is one of the fastest ageing populations in

the world. Long term care is a problem and we potentially face a

dementia tsunami. Care givers are under stress caring for frail and ill

elderly. Many elderly may also face social exclusion, emotional and

physical abuse, and neglect. If unaddressed, financial inadequacy is likely

to be a serious problem for many elderly, and their families.

2. The Environment-“Everyday in Singapore, citizens and government do

record in fear that some species of flora and fauna will become extinct.

The deserts are expanding. The oceans are becoming more polluted. Fish

stocks are being over exploited. Many cities are turning into slums and

are being strangled by traffic congestion.”–Professor Tommy Koh

(February, 2010). This is one of the major problems due to the small

space of land occupied by Singaporean as well as ever increasing

foreigners in the land competing with the little resources being shared by

the Singaporean.

3. Carrier over marriage and Family/youth at risk– Families and youth

are under a lot of stress, with small and dual income families, rising

marital problems and increased work/life tension, low fertility rate. Many

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people are divorcing, and kids are stranded too. Divorce has been on the

rise for a long time and Kids these days in Singapore are so rebellious,

and parents are busy earning money, so nobody teaches them manners,

moral and ethics. So they turned bad and commit crimes. More so, many

people are not getting married, because many guys are struggling with

their career (Elvin, 2012) and the ladies are too highly educated (Tan Kin

Lian, 2011). Youth need better guidance and role-models, and to be

channelled into meaningful activities. These scenarios describing above is

a serious issue bordering the minds of policy makers in the Singaporean

polity which needs urgent address before it escalate. In 2008, Singapore saw

20,513 foreigners being accepted.

4. Treatment of migrants and Question of Disparity– In the study of

Kaur (2012) on poverty and welfare in Singapore contended that disparity

bridges sectional poverty in which national of other countries in

Singapore bear most and as well face several consequences. According to

her, one such social group would be low-income families with member

(s) suffering from long-term medical conditions. She continues by saying

in the recent years in Singapore, we have often heard the saying “If

you’re sick in Singapore, you better be rich, If you’re poor, you

better not fall sick”. It is one thing to hear and utter statements such as

these; it is quite another thing altogether to be living and experiencing

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poverty and sickness in Singapore. Over a period of 4 months, I had the

opportunity to be connected to 12 such families through two welfare

organizations; the Ang Mo Kio Family Service Centres & the Singapore

Sikh Welfare Council, where she confirm this incidence and study

various ways at which government is tackling it. Immigration policy is

seen as a political problem. Foreigners now make up 36 percent of

Singapore's population of 5.1 million, up from around 20 percent of 4

million people a decade earlier, which is becoming an irritant to many

citizens. They have complained about competition for jobs and housing,

the dilution of Singapore's national identity, as well as increasingly

crowded roads, buses and trains. For the many foreigners who work in

Singapore, and firms that use the city-state as their regional base, the key

issue is whether the government will continue the open immigration

policies that make it easy for foreigners to work in Singapore if there is a

sharp drop in support for the PAP. Despite stellar economic growth in

one of Asia's wealthiest nations, many poorer Singaporeans feel they

have fallen through the cracks as government policy is focused on

expansion and attracting foreign investment. GDP grew 14.5 percent last

year, but government data shows the city-state's median household

income rose a much smaller 3.1 percent, or 0.3 percent after adjusting for

inflation, to S5,000 ($4,022) a month last year. Singapore's bottom 10

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percent of households with at least one working member had an average

monthly income of $1,400 last year, versus $23,684 for households in the

top 10 percent, according to the Department of Statistics. In housing

situation, many young Singaporeans feel they can no longer afford

homes, unlike their parents' generation, and they feel that government's

immigration policies are partly to blame. Singapore has one of the world's

highest rates of home ownership at 87 percent, thanks to a home-building

programme to provide cheap housing for its citizens that began in the late

1960s. But the government's Housing and Development Board (HDB) is

building fewer flats and charging more for them. We can’t afford to

ignore a quarter of our total population. Most migrants are workers who

have played an important role in ensuring the economic success of

Singaporean d in bringing wealth to Singaporeans. But many migrant

workers are subject to sub-standard living environments and poor

working conditions. We need to nip any growing local-foreign tensions in

the bud.

5. Primary healthcare-With world class tertiary healthcare, Singapore is

excellent at keeping people alive. But are they good at keeping them

well? We can do a lot better at preventive health care and the prevention

of chronic diseases. However, this is an unglamorous area of work, and

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outcome stand to be very long term. Many stakeholders need to be

involved, and they need to work together to provide integrated care.

6. Mentally ill–Compared to other social issues in Singapore, this is a

relatively neglected area. Ministry of Health estimates that 1 in 6

Singaporeans suffer from some form of mental health problem. Suicide

rates have also been gradually rising. Persons with mental illness may

find it difficult to access services on an on-going basis. They find a lack

of employment opportunities. There is unwillingness for them and their

family members to seek professional help. With smaller families, it is

becoming harder for families to cope financially with caring for persons

with severe mental illness. More early assessment and intervention

mechanisms are needed.

7. Impact of economic restructuring–We continue to feel the effect of

globalization and economic restructuring. This means that more

Singaporeans, without relevant job skills, would face stagnating real

wages, increasing job insecurity and a higher risk of becoming

structurally unemployed. This would put more Singaporeans and their

families under duress. One concern is that spending on merit goods by

these families is low. Social cohesion, due to increasing income

inequality, may also come under strain.

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MAJOR SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN SINGAPOREAN POLITY

Carrier Over Marriage and Family/Youth at Risk

In 2008, Singapore saw 20,513 foreigners being accepted as new Singapore

citizens and 79,167 new Permanent Residents (PRs)—up from 17,334 new

citizens and 63,627 new PRs in 2007 (Bahiyah, 2009). In the 2009 Budget

Debate, the Prime Minister said: “Without immigration, our population will

start to decline by about 2020, just like Japan whose population shrank in 2005.

We need to continue to encourage marriage and parenthood, engage our

Overseas Singaporeans, and bring in suitable immigrants who can contribute to

Singapore.”

Today, one in ten persons in Singapore is a PR while one in seven of the

population of 5 million is a foreigner. This diversity in Singapore’s constituents

has prompted contrasting reactions: It has been both welcomed and frowned

upon. In 2008, Singapore’s Total Fertility Ratio (TFR) fell to 1.08, the third

lowest in the world for that year, (Shirlena and Brenda, 1998) even though in

2007 it was 1.29. The figure has slightly picked up in 2010 at 1.16. The

consequence of this is a smaller pool of talent to draw from to maintain

Singapore’s status as a developed nation. Hence, the need to woo foreigners to

support its economy and perhaps become Singaporeans, remain an essential and

welcomed ideology. This in turn means adjustments to its cultural landscape.

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Currently, almost 100,000 new immigrants become citizens and permanent

residents each year (Manolo, 2009)

An influx such as this sets the scene for increased representation of

different communities at the local and policy levels, and that raises the question:

How do Political leadership make of the Singaporean identity in a global

city?

Also, myriads of social difficulties confronting the families which make

the (families) and youth under a lot of stress, with small and dual income

families, rising marital problems and increased work/life tension. Many people

are divorcing, and kids are stranded too. Divorce has been on the rise for a long

time and Kids these days in Singapore are so rebellious, and parents are busy

earning money, so nobody teaches them manners, moral and ethics. So they

turned bad and commit crimes. Moreso, many people are not getting married,

because many guys are struggling with their career (Elvin, 2012) and the ladies

are too highly educated (Tan Kin Lian, 2011). Parents need help as they often

do not have the capacity to deal with their personal and familiar issues. Youth

need better guidance and role-models, and to be channelled into meaningful

activities.

Based on the analysis above, Singaporean needs to answer the following

sub-set of questions follow, because if it was not answered on time, the future

on the Singaporean is shaken in the committee of developed nations. It includes;

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How will Singapore society evolve and how would they include new

citizens in their paradigm shift?

What is the social glue that will keep them together?

What will be the shared values and common needs?

What social structures will meet their diverse demands?

Who will be the new communities in need?

In reality, many of these questions cannot be answered. But in order to

ensure peace and develop harmony within these diversities, there is need to

reflect on policies that direct or shape its integration. Evidence have evolved

that Singapore has become layered and cross-cutting. It is therefore imperative

to consider a policy approach that is both enabling and collaborative.

Foriegners Disparity Question in Singapore

Singapore is home to nearly 1.5 million foreigners out of 5.2 million total

population, many of whom provide cheap, menial labour in the construction,

shipyard, transportation and garbage refuse industries - positions often shunned

by affluent citizens.

26

In the study of Kaur (2012) on poverty and welfare in Singapore

contended that disparity bridges sectional poverty in which nationals of other

countries in Singapore bear most and as well face several consequences.

According to her, one such social group usually fall on low-income families

with member(s) suffering from long-term medical conditions. She continues by

saying in the recent years in Singapore, we have often heard the saying “If

you’re sick in Singapore, you better be rich, If you’re poor, you better not

fall sick”. It is one thing to hear and utter statements such as these; it is quite

another thing altogether to be living and experiencing poverty and sickness in

Singapore. Over a period of 4 months, I had the opportunity to be connected to

12 such families through two welfare organizations; the Ang Mo Kio Family

Service Centres & the Singapore Sikh Welfare Council, where she confirm this

incidence and study various ways at which government is tackling it.

After 26 years without a strike, labour unrest over low wages and

appalling living conditions has roiled Singapore - drawing attention to the

country's often-exploited migrant worker community (Aljazeera, 2013).

Over the past month, several groups of Chinese migrant workers staged

labour strikes, protests and sit-ins. Similarly, in February, a group of 200

Bangladeshi construction workers launched a seven-hour sit-out to protest

unpaid salaries and the dismal food served by their employers (Elvin, 2012).

27

In response to a strike of 171 Chinese bus drivers in November, the

Singaporean government deported 29 people and imposed $2,000 fines and jail

terms for several others for instigating "illegal" action (Aljazeera, 2013).

Singapore's acting minister for manpower, Tan Chuan-Jin, criticised the

bus drivers' strike, saying, "We have zero tolerance for such unlawful action

because disrupted essential services not only affected the workers in the

industry, but also affect the daily life of all in the community" (Aljazeera,

2013).

"This is very much a symptom of the kind of society Singapore has

become," said Alex Au, a local blogger and prominent internet personality who

writes on various social issues in Singapore. "Singapore has become a society in

which we don't seem to recognise that human beings have inherent rights"

(Reuters, 2011). There are several ordeals of foreigners in Singapore but

Chaung on her comment captured on Abc-cbnnews.com revealed as follows;

"We see ourselves as part of a natural pecking order where the rulers are at the

top and the average people are just subjects of a king rather than citizens of a

republic." In another related story, Sakthivel, another resident foreigner revealed

that he was told that foreigners must not be seen or heard, because it makes

people here uncomfortable and angry," Sakthivel said. "At the end of the day,

28

we must remember that we are here to work, not to enjoy life or become [part

of] society" (abcnews.com, 2013).

Meanwhile, Leggett (2012) noted it is easy for affluent societies such as

Singapore to "despise" those from countries that have not been as economically

successful. "For more than 40 years, Singaporeans have been socialised into a

national sense of themselves - politically, economically and culturally - as

something special, leading them to sometimes smugly dismiss foreigners as

lesser-deserving," said Leggett.

To buttress her point, Leggett said in 2008, the government's proposal to

build a foreign workers' dormitory in the middle of Serangoon Gardens, an

affluent residential estate, drew a huge outcry from residents in the area. The

proposal according to her was a testimony to the disparity in the land. To allay

their concerns, the dormitory was fenced off and trees were planted to hide it

from view. The exit leading to the neighbourhood was also sealed.

Take for instance the strong protest by the residents of Serangoon Garden in

2008 against the building of a migrant worker dormitory in the vicinity. The

reasons that were given, erroneous as they were, included the foreign workers’

propensity to commit crimes. There are numerous other examples of “othering”

the foreign worker. For instance, there are cases of employers disallowing

29

prayer for Muslim foreign domestic workers or even observing religious

festivals by not giving them a day off.

And looking on and seeing these are Singaporean children, for, all too

often, they spend more time in the company of the maid employed by their

parents than they do with the parents themselves. Observing the mixed signals

and double standards in the treatment of their maids can lead to an erosion of

their own values.

The State continues to emphasise that the number of abuse cases is small

as compared to the majority of workers who are happy to work here. But such

an argument focuses on the quantitative and not the qualitative side of the

situation. Focusing on reported numbers also ignores the cases that go

unreported because of ignorance of the law and fear that they may be repatriated

and lose out on the income they came to earn.

Mrs Tan, a resident who has lived in the area for more than 20 years –

according to Reuters (2011) - lives in a house overlooking the site. She said she

has to shut her windows and doors at night to avoid hearing noise coming from

migrant workers who "fight among themselves" and disturb her peace.

Analyzing this disparity through treatment of foreign work force,

(Braema Mathi and Sharifah Mohamed, 2011) lamented that in Singapore there

are around 850,000 lower-skilled or semi-skilled foreign workers, of whom

30

about 180,000 are foreign domestic workers. Of late there has been a greater

appreciation of their contributions to both countries of origin and countries of

destination that there is very little protection for the foreign worker who is now

exposed to wages that are not pegged to a standard, and a sometimes oppressive

placement fee, which is a commission for an agent to match the employee to an

employer.

The problem is that this fee varies depending on nationality, industry, and

level of skills. Indonesian domestic workers get paid around $300 to $450 a

month while Filipinos can be paid between $450 and $600 for the same period

(Leong, 2008). There is also inconsistency in deductions from wages, and the

withholding of wages for between six to 18 months. This high fee often leaves

workers with a meagre monthly sum of as little as $10 during the repayment

period (which can range from 1 month to years) on the placement fee.

Quite frequently, employers face their own financial difficulties and

consequently cut costs on the worker’s welfare, leading to sub-standard living

conditions and non-payment of worker’s medical costs. Media reports have

highlighted the situation at some of the living quarters for male construction and

shipyard workers where as many as a hundred of them are “squeezed” into

rooms and dormitories. One problem leads to another and there have also been

incidents of malaria and dengue outbreaks through overcrowding and the poor

31

sanitation at some of these housing projects. On another occasion, TWC2 did a

survey of 19 workers who suffered work injuries and 18 claimed that they had

to pay their own medical fees because their employers refused to (Leong, 2008).

NGOs fill the gaps in the protection structure but they themselves are

struggling to get by. Just in 2008, TWC2 announced that it may have to shut

down as it was running out of funds. As explained then by its president, John

Gee, when organisations like his approached foundations or donors for funds,

he was told that his organisation “falls between the cracks” as it does not help

Singaporeans and it does not directly help a poor neighbouring country (Leong,

2010). Summing up, security and relief exist through law and mediation but

protection on the working conditions of foreign workers needs to be mandated

beyond the guidelines and processes. This is especially important if we really

wish to send a clear signal to the public that we treasure the welfare and dignity

of these workers. Unfortunately, the very organisations that help to meet the

foreign workers’ needs and that are also working on preventive solutions in

reaching out to the public, are themselves struggling to survive. In the realm of

transformative change, treatment of the foreign worker as a fellow human being

is an issue that Singapore as a nation needs to address.

CONCLUSION

32

Several scholars within and outside Africa world usually shift the blame of the

present predicaments of African nations on colonialism, inter and intra tribal

wars and etc but forget that most Asian countries like Singapore, India, Laos

and etc went through the process and today, they are on top of the world. For

instance, Singapore was colonized by the Great Britain just like Nigeria, both

gain independence in 1965 and 1960 respectively. During the colonialism,

Singapore was a victim of the World War II when Japan occupied it (1942-

1945) in which the templates of development, institutions, structures, resources

and etc. were destroyed.

After gaining independence in 1965, unlike Nigeria that had several

resources, structures and human resources, Singapore faced a future filled with

uncertainties. Most people had no access to public health services and diseases

such as cholera and smallpox caused severe health problems, especially in

overcrowded working-class areas, unemployment, poverty, inefficiency,

maladministration and etc. rampaging the entire polity (John, 1970). Kang

(1981) also confirmed these and lamented that besides the issue of sovereignty,

the pressing problems were unemployment, housing, education, and the lack of

natural resources and land. Thus, the lack of good public housing, poor

sanitation, and high unemployment led to social problems from crime to health

issues.

33

However, Instead of demoralizing Singapore, these problems motivated

Singapore’s leadership to focus on the nation’s economy. With Cambridge-

educated lawyer Lee Kuan Yew at its helm, the Singaporean government was

aggressive in promoting export-oriented, labour-extensive industrialization

through a program of incentives to attract foreign investment. After all,

Singapore still had its strategic location to its advantage.

By 1972, one-quarter of Singapore’s manufacturing firms were either

foreign-owned or joint-venture companies, and both USA and Japan were major

investors. As a result of Singapore’s steady political climate, favourable

investment conditions and the rapid expansion of the world economy from 1965

to 1973, the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced annual

double-digit growth.

With the economic boom of the late 1960s and 1970s, new jobs were

created in the private sector. The government provision of subsidized housing,

education, health services and public transportation generated new jobs in the

public sector. The Central Provident Fund, the country’s comprehensive social

security scheme sustained by compulsory contributions by employer and

employee, provided the necessary capital for government projects and financial

security for the country’s workers in their old age.

34

By the late 1970s, the government changed its strategic focus to skill and

technology-intensive, high value-added industries and away from labour-

intensive manufacturing. In particular, information technology was given

priority for expansion and Singapore became the world’s largest producer of

disk drives and disk drive parts in 1989. In the same year, 30 percent of the

country’s GDP was due to earnings from manufacturing.

Singapore’s international and financial services sector was and still is one

of the fastest growing sectors of its economy accounting for nearly 25 percent

of the country’s GDP in the late 1980s. In the same year, Singapore ranked with

Hong Kong as the two most important Asian financial centres after Tokyo. By

1990, Singapore played host to more than 650 multinational companies and

several thousand financial institutions and trading firms. On the political front,

Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee Kuan Yew and in 2004 Lee Hsien Loong, the

eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became Singapore’s third prime minister.

In terms of resources, Nigeria is the richest country in the world. It is

endowed with fertile land that supports it agricultural products that sustain her

economy since independence until oil boom of 1970s that was mismanaged

which eventually ruined her economy.

Nigeria should try to learn from the Singaporean economical drive that

was said to be aggressive in nature. This, together with infrastructural

35

development, will address the issue of unemployment, insecurity, economy

improvement, technological development and as such will attract several

investors that will set the template of Nigerian member into the community of

developed nations.

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