Y Saturday, April 11, 2009 10:49 PM
Can Singapore Fail?
The People's Action Party suffered its first defeat at the polls in 1981. On why the PAP lost, Dr Goh Keng Swee said, "We failed because we did not even conceive of the possibility of failure." So, can a nation like Singapore which is held as a model for success fail? Yes – if we do not conceive of failure. According to Prof Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, "To ensure Singapore does not fail, we must think of how it might fail." By looking at our strengths as our greatest vulnerabilities, he saw three scenarios that could lead to Singapore failing:
(a) Globalisation ----> De-Globalisation
Being "the best surfer on the tidal wave of globalisation" has brought success to Singapore. However, with the current economic downturn, there are warning signs that countries are turning inwards. If globalisation fails, where would that leave Singapore?
(b) Good Governance ----> Over-reliance on Government
Good governance is not the norm; in fact, most societies will experience bad governance. What would happen to Singapore if we had a weak government? Prof Mahbubani remarked that a way to cope with this is for Singaporeans to rely less on the government to solve their problems. Think about this: "Singapore is one of the cleanest cities in the world. But this happens because we employ an army of cleaners...one way to create a greater sense of responsibility is for each citizen to take individual responsibility for litter."
(c) Ethnic Harmony ----> Awareness of Ethnic Differences
Among former small British colonies (e.g. Sri Lanka, Cyprus), only one has experienced ethnic harmony - Singapore. But Prof Mahbubani is not sure if our younger generation can match the older generation's near total blindness to ethnic differences. According to him, "The likelihood is that if Singapore fails, the failure will be due to a completely unanticipated cause." One example was the fall of the "supposedly invincible fortress of Singapore" in 1942 because the British had their big guns pointed in the wrong direction. This incident "...provides a text-book example of how things can go badly wrong when you don't think of alternative ways of failing."
[Source: The Straits Times, 25 Mar 09; Article available at http://www.straitstimes.com/vgn-ext-templating/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=a560d2a4b2930210VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=0162758920e39010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD]
What else can go wrong for Singapore? How can we prepare for and prevent potential pitfalls? Would having the best plans and resources ensure that we will never fail? If we are prepared for the worst, we can minimise the risks, and should the worst happen, we will be ready to deal with the consequences.
