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[h=1]CHAN CHUN SING: SINGAPORE MAY NOT EVEN SURVIVE ANOTHER 50 YEARS[/h]
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Post date:
8 Aug 2014 - 11:20am
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Minister for Social and Family Development, Chan Chun Sing raised a concern yesterday that Singapore may not be to able to survive another 50 years.
He highlighted that Singaporeans should not take the past 5 decades of success for granted as we will need to "fight against the odds" to survive in future.
“I have never taken for granted that Singapore will always be around. While I look forward to celebrating SG50, I always challenge myself (on whether) ... we will be around to celebrate SG100,” he said.
Mr Chan pointed out that other South-East Asian Nations the size of Singapore in the past have not been able to survive 100 years.
While his concerns had sounded quite pessimistic , he went on to urge Singaporeans to "work hard" to "defy the odds of history".
Mr Chan was giving a speech at the Economic Society of Singapore's annual dinner and he had given the example of a recent encounter he had when addressing international business leaders.
He recalled how he asked them which country they thought would be the most successful in 2030 and why.
Most of the business leaders had pointed out countries like US, China, India and even Indonesia citing their many resources and large market size.
Chan Chun Sing highlighted that Singapore has neither many resources nor a large market and this could threaten its long-term attractiveness as a business destination. As China, India and Indonesia develop more and improve their business infrastructure, Mr Chan warned that many businesses will simply set up directly in these countries rather than needing to use Singapore as a "gateway" to other up and coming markets.
To overcome these challenges, Mr Chan said that it is crucial that Singapore innovate and continue to compete against cities rather than countries.
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“The challenge for us is to ensure we compete on the quality of ideas, not the quantity of input and, God help us, not on price,” he said.
Talking more on what needs to change at home, he said that income inequality needs to be addressed and more social mobility is needed.
He also said we must continue to improve social cohesion and integration while always allowing people to realise their talents through meritocracy.
It is also important for the successful to give back to society he explained.
To achieve this, he suggested that we need more people who are "rooted to the country".
Mr Chan also commented on the recent claim by former URA chief Liu Thai Ker that Singapore should plan for 10 million.
He explained that Mr Liu was coming from a planning perspective where he was setting a projection for the upper limit of Singapore's population so that it is possible to plan ahead.
Mr Chan emphasised that there is no "target" in terms of population, the growth will depend on business and economic factors as well as planning and infrastructure constraints.
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Post date:
8 Aug 2014 - 11:20am
<ins id="aswift_1_expand" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: inline-table; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><ins id="aswift_1_anchor" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: block; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><iframe name="aswift_1" width="336" height="280" id="aswift_1" frameBorder="0" marginWidth="0" marginHeight="0" scrolling="no" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="left: 0px; top: 0px; position: absolute;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></ins></ins>
Minister for Social and Family Development, Chan Chun Sing raised a concern yesterday that Singapore may not be to able to survive another 50 years.
He highlighted that Singaporeans should not take the past 5 decades of success for granted as we will need to "fight against the odds" to survive in future.
“I have never taken for granted that Singapore will always be around. While I look forward to celebrating SG50, I always challenge myself (on whether) ... we will be around to celebrate SG100,” he said.
Mr Chan pointed out that other South-East Asian Nations the size of Singapore in the past have not been able to survive 100 years.
While his concerns had sounded quite pessimistic , he went on to urge Singaporeans to "work hard" to "defy the odds of history".
Mr Chan was giving a speech at the Economic Society of Singapore's annual dinner and he had given the example of a recent encounter he had when addressing international business leaders.
He recalled how he asked them which country they thought would be the most successful in 2030 and why.
Most of the business leaders had pointed out countries like US, China, India and even Indonesia citing their many resources and large market size.
Chan Chun Sing highlighted that Singapore has neither many resources nor a large market and this could threaten its long-term attractiveness as a business destination. As China, India and Indonesia develop more and improve their business infrastructure, Mr Chan warned that many businesses will simply set up directly in these countries rather than needing to use Singapore as a "gateway" to other up and coming markets.
To overcome these challenges, Mr Chan said that it is crucial that Singapore innovate and continue to compete against cities rather than countries.
<ins id="aswift_2_expand" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: inline-table; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><ins id="aswift_2_anchor" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: block; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><iframe name="aswift_2" width="336" height="280" id="aswift_2" frameBorder="0" marginWidth="0" marginHeight="0" scrolling="no" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="left: 0px; top: 0px; position: absolute;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></ins></ins>
“The challenge for us is to ensure we compete on the quality of ideas, not the quantity of input and, God help us, not on price,” he said.
Talking more on what needs to change at home, he said that income inequality needs to be addressed and more social mobility is needed.
He also said we must continue to improve social cohesion and integration while always allowing people to realise their talents through meritocracy.
It is also important for the successful to give back to society he explained.
To achieve this, he suggested that we need more people who are "rooted to the country".
Mr Chan also commented on the recent claim by former URA chief Liu Thai Ker that Singapore should plan for 10 million.
He explained that Mr Liu was coming from a planning perspective where he was setting a projection for the upper limit of Singapore's population so that it is possible to plan ahead.
Mr Chan emphasised that there is no "target" in terms of population, the growth will depend on business and economic factors as well as planning and infrastructure constraints.
