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Singaporeans have grown used to the PAP’s media monopoly on a regular basis citing studies showing Singapore topping one or more global indices or statistics proving that we are one of the richest countries in the world. These include indices for global competitiveness, transparency and lack of corruption and economic freedom. Singapore also is at or near the top of the PISA rankings for maths and science. Our universities are also ranked ahead of many more prestigious and venerable institutions despite the fact that academic freedom when it comes to Singapore is non-existent.
While we should be proud of Singapore’s achievements, which owe next to nothing to the PAP, we should rightly be sceptical of the fake news machine of our state media. Many of the announcements and economic statistics do not stand up to scrutiny. For instance the PAP is fond of citing Singapore’s very high GDP per capita. However this is inflated both by a very low dependency ratio, because so much of Singapore’s population consists of foreign workers without dependents, and by the long hours we work. When measured as GDP per hour worked Singapore’s record is appalling, coming in at around the same level as countries like the Czech Republic or South Korea. This is despite the fact that Singapore is a city with a relatively small population and should rightly be compared with other global cities such as London, New York or Los Angeles, which boast much higher GDPs per capita. It is also difficult to understand how Singapore can rank highly for economic freedom when the Government controls so much of the economy and owns most of the land as well as having a stranglehold on people’s savings.
A good example of the way state media aims to deceive foreign observers by comparing Singapore as a city with countries, all in the interest of boosting the PAP’s argument that authoritarian kleptocratic government is good for you, is the announcement in Today Online on 24 January that Singapore had maintained its second position in the INSEAD Global Talent Competitiveness Index. This supposedly measures the way nations and cities lure, develop and retain talented people. The first sentence reads:
“Switzerland, Singapore and the US are the top three countries in the world when it comes to fostering and attracting talent, according to an index compiled by INSEAD business school.”
More at
State Media Attempt to Bamboozle Us Yet Again With Fake News
While we should be proud of Singapore’s achievements, which owe next to nothing to the PAP, we should rightly be sceptical of the fake news machine of our state media. Many of the announcements and economic statistics do not stand up to scrutiny. For instance the PAP is fond of citing Singapore’s very high GDP per capita. However this is inflated both by a very low dependency ratio, because so much of Singapore’s population consists of foreign workers without dependents, and by the long hours we work. When measured as GDP per hour worked Singapore’s record is appalling, coming in at around the same level as countries like the Czech Republic or South Korea. This is despite the fact that Singapore is a city with a relatively small population and should rightly be compared with other global cities such as London, New York or Los Angeles, which boast much higher GDPs per capita. It is also difficult to understand how Singapore can rank highly for economic freedom when the Government controls so much of the economy and owns most of the land as well as having a stranglehold on people’s savings.
A good example of the way state media aims to deceive foreign observers by comparing Singapore as a city with countries, all in the interest of boosting the PAP’s argument that authoritarian kleptocratic government is good for you, is the announcement in Today Online on 24 January that Singapore had maintained its second position in the INSEAD Global Talent Competitiveness Index. This supposedly measures the way nations and cities lure, develop and retain talented people. The first sentence reads:
“Switzerland, Singapore and the US are the top three countries in the world when it comes to fostering and attracting talent, according to an index compiled by INSEAD business school.”
More at
State Media Attempt to Bamboozle Us Yet Again With Fake News
