The success of Singapore over the last 6 decades could be due to Singapore's decision to join the winning side. Singapore became an independent state in 1965, in the midst of the Cold War between the Americans and the West versus the Soviet Union and Communism. It may be a simplistic view that just joining the winning side, the Americans and the West, is a major reason for what Singapore is today. Other things aside, plugging into the western world system, being very useful to the Americans at a time and in a region that is hostile to the Americans, found Singapore in a sweet spot for American investments and influence in the region. American investments poured into the little island, including everything American, influence, propaganda, brainwashing and Hollywood.
This was acute political thinking of the first generation of Singapore leaders. Singapore had to survive at a time when neighbours were not too friendly and there was no one else to turn to. America was at the peak of its power and influence. Being friend of America, under the protective umbrella of the Americans, provided Singapore with an era of peace and security and rapid economic growth to the envy of the neighbouring states. Caveat, Singapore workers then were hardworking and talented, unlike today's daft Singaporeans.
The geopolitics of the world has changed over the last few decades. The Americans are still powerful and rich and still behaving like a rogue state, bullying the rest of the world. The rogue behaviour of the Americans is getting under the collar of many states of the Global South. Never mind if the developed states of the West are also feeling the heat.
In addition, powerful states from the Global South are also rising and now posing a challenge to the American dominance and hegemony. The signs are all there that America is in decline and the challengers are rising rapidly and looking likely to overtake the Americans in all areas, economics, science and technology, politics and even military. The new Singapore leaders, especially under Lawrence Wong, would be in serious thought about the future of Singapore amidst the changes in the balance of power. For a while, the mantra is to be neutral, not taking sides, hide under the Asean umbrella and try to be friendly to both America and China, if this is possible, but still leaning more on the American side.
With each passing day, with the gangsters in Washington behaving like irresponsible and aggressive mafia, being neutral is getting more difficult and uneasy. Which way would Singapore turn to? Who is going to be the winner for Singapore to choose to be on the winning side again and ride the wave?
So far, it seems that Singapore has made the choice, the wrong choice, to be on the losing side, picking the loser. The decision to sanction Russia is a poor choice. As it is turning out, Russia is the winning side. Ukraine is the loser, and the Americans are also trying to wriggle out from the losing war. Russia is not alone. Practically the whole of Asia and the Global South is on the side of Russia. The latest parties in Tianjin and Beijing are optics that said Russia is winning. Singapore had made a bad choice, not as clever as the first generation leaders.
Singapore is now picking India as the next winner. Is this a wise choice or another bad choice? Is India a winner? The Indo Pakistan War said it without apologies, that India is a loser. India is also a big loser in its relations with the USA. India is also a loser in economics, trade and industrialisation and high tech revolution. Can anyone be so blind not to see that India is a loser in everything, on every count, despite all the bragging, gloating and fake statistics? India has nothing that is world leading and in the forefront of technology.
Singapore prospers for the last few decades by picking the winning side, staying on the winning side. Would Singapore continue to prosper by picking the losing side? The world today is more vicious and moving very fast. Picking a loser and staying on the losing side is going to have bad consequences for Singapore. It needs the acute wisdom and foresight of the first generation leaders to keep Singapore afloat for the immediate future. Believing in fantasies and make beliefs, in wet dreams, are very telling on the wisdom of leadership. Singapore cannot make its policies on hopes, false hopes and believing in smooth talks. Singapore has to make hard decisions based on hard thinking and hard facts.
What do you think? Is Singapore choosing the winning or losing side? America is appearing as the loser by the day. Only the Anglophiles think America will forever be the winner, the Empire that will not fall.
14 comments:
Singapore sorely miss the wisdom of LKY . . .
"Small states must always behave like small states. Sadly, we will probably never again have another globally respected statesman like Mr Lee. As a result, we should change our behaviour significantly," said Kishore Mahbubani (July 1, 2017)
Good morning Mr RB and All,
Singapore or SinkiesLAND or Sinking Land is Doomed!
For 60 decades no new innovations and industries
Auto Pilot thought that the same old economy is enough.
Service and commissions agents and middle men trading businesses.
Now panic stations trying to have what's new economy and believed pains must follow before Sinkies rise again with realities and pramaticism like the first few generations.
Supposedly the new generation leaders should be smarter than the old but turned out Duds!
Actually frankly, like LKY used to say "When you are hungry you strived to be the best and survive"
When the present lots are been fed fat with plenty and lived comfortably lives, the downfall is near.
Already no instincts and ambitions to strive anymore.
I had seen real life realities of some of my early days 60s rich families children as neighbours and friends which are now mostly lost in their wildness which they're been pampered their whole childhood and adult lives by their rich grandparents and later wealth passed down to their parents and later all vanquished.
They cannot even held a job throughout their lives and now living like the Americunts paupers.
Last few days no choice had to visit a relative in intensive care in Koo Tupat oops apology Khoo Teck Puat hospital and seen in buses and trains and passed thru some malls of at least half the population of Singapore I told my spouse are not working at all.
I'm usually at home no need to be out with the maddening crowds as most Seniors must.
It's seemed like they are on holidays with every corners full of them causally.
Is it now they are RTS aka Roam The Streets that they are been retrenched or now they are all so well to do no need to work?
Or alternatively been well fed and supported by their still rich parents who made it thru their ingenuity of hard works or cunning schemes of making their wealth by hook or crooks?
Our time all running up and down like mad dogs making a living.
So not to be long winded, my take at this rate SinkiesLAND is DOOMED.
Anyway no eyes see had seen enough
Just to add there's a saying "1st Generation prosperous and wealthy the next be Papuers "
That's usually the case as the next be sloths livings and fought for their downfall killing each other to demise"
The 1st Generation suffered the next be Prosperous as they knew to survive thru their hard work and NOT sloths livings.
But the truth is that if the next generation were to be complacent and have sloths livings then it be full circle again.
But if their wise Ledaers know how to manage the mentalities of their peoples which i believed to be like China they be still prosperous.
Chinese civilisations are different with inborn ingenuity and hard work unlike the Western Barabians and Savages and their followers the Bananas and idiots and imbeciles and the overseas Gollywoks or WOGs aka Westernised Oriental Gentlemen which most are short lived.
Following and eating the Ang Moh Sais
Betting on a loser is like gambling. Just hope for a miracle. OPM never mind.
Just like betting on TOTO. Know sure to lose but hope against all hope, hope to be lucky.
Just ask a simple question, why investors are running away from India? India is known as the cemetery for investors. Only out of this world genius aka gamblers, would think India is a good place for investment.
Let us all pray that Singapore's investment in India is safe.
Let us all pray that the decision to invest big in India is based on sound judgment, not by listening to snake oil salesmen.
I will join the crowd in Waterloo Street to pray for the safety of our hard earned money. When all else fails, praying is the last resort.
Daft Singaporeans are easily conned by smooth talkers. Scams are flourishing in daft Singapore. There is a saying, when it is too good to be true, run for your life.
Maybe no choice. Door in China closing. Attacking China everyday must have its consequences. No fish, smelly prawn also can.
There is no formula for success that works forever. The world changes, geopolitical alliances change, leadership also changes, and policy matters also change as well.
Right now, the only sector pulling us forward seems to be the bricks and mortar sector, with MRT extension, airport expansion and a new housing enclave springing up around Mount Pleasant among others. You can see the amount of digging and excavation going on around just about every street and corner, some looking like a war zone, especially along the construction of the Cross Island Line route.
I am not too sure the building of more MRT Lines can alleviate the overcrowding problem on trains and in MRT stations, some of which are already serious bottlenecks catering to the morning crowd. Complaints have been registered about huge crowds at Bishan and Hougang Stations with commuters unable to even board successive trains that were already bursting at the seams. Merging stations as places for commuters to change to multiple lines is causing even graver situations arising during the morning rush hour.
I just feel the problem getting worse but let us leave it to the planners how to overcome the overcrowded trains and stations, since they said they have plans for a ten million population.
Singapore's limited land and human resources have reached a point that pushing harder would see blood oozing out. Singapore must think of new models of growth, not doing the same thing over and over again. India is not the place for high tech or semiconductors. India did not have these capabilities. Be real and be smart to see through the smokescreen of Indian fantasies.
Go to India to build houses and flats. This is the forte of Singapore. Build on our core skills, not make beliefs. Just building toilets for India is a multi billion dollar industry. Forget about chips. India doesn't even have potato chips.
Be real, brick and mortar are what India needs, not fictitious high tech and semiconductors that even Singapore did not have.
Caveat, when investing in India, money upfront. Pay first then do. Another caveat, be clear that you are earning rupees, not Singapore or American dollars.
Don't be stupid and pour all our good money into a dark pit. It is the people's money, not your money.
Hi Anon 3.35
A county robust economy needed to earn their wealth NOT from within slaughtering your own peoples.
Also to ready slaughter your own you still needed for your own to be able to also earn their wealth by their abilities to produce saleable products of either services or innovations and goods
A real GDP strong earning country is from the outside not what's internal economy of own dead end stale one that shall surely come to a halt in a matter of time.
If the peoples just have mundane and lower grade of economy of just Servile services the progress and wealth of that country is slow moving.
An example of China as Factory of the World not only their manufactured goods but also their superior technologies.
Their High Grade engineering of building high tech and class infrastructures for so many countries.
Here, just still acting and on the mercy of the World's just services in logistics, tourism, and other countries also have their usual transportation services etc.
Ours only hawking's, logistics and other mundane what's MICE services and once a while attracted ad hoc Swift Taylor Concerts and F1 Races.
These are just simply random incomes which are not substantiable in the long run.
Own citizens still have to compete with outsiders to make up the numbers so that it's feasible that the trains and buses must have volume to be profitable.
Own mundane and meagre salaries and yet have to pay a limb and arm for their BTOs housings which is supposedly meant as cheap housings for their own.
Instead it became a main income economy by the government.
Years in years out still having the same type of mundane White collars useless degrees which how many a year you can have jobs and professions for Property and Insurance Agents?
How many in the Hotel and Logistics services?
Most be delivery food and parcels agents.
PHDrivers and Hawkers!
Ones that goes overseas to those also useless Unis back with the same mundane no use degrees.
Long ago should gave cajoled and persuaded the young to go for tough prospects high technologies courses and manufacturering skills with innovations of own.
Also pay high renumerations to go into building industries of high tech infrastructures and leant from the others.
Not die die same mundane dead white collars jobs.
Aiya no eyes see
India needs all the housing for its people. Why keep squeezing to build more housing in this little piece of rock? If not careful, the weight of all the concrete would cause the island to sink.
India has massive land and 1.4 billion people that need a home. Go and build homes for the Indians. The building programme would take decades to build. But make sure it is to build for profit, not for charity.
India's industrial base is not even that of Hong Kong in the 70s. Cannot even make cheap toys. Most of its little factories are just assembly plants, importing parts and components for assembly.
India is largely an agricultural economy that also tried to shift focus to services like call centers catering to the West, which AI is taking over. I just wonder whether India has even tailored its education system to turn out talents to cater to a manufacturing hub.
India and China took different routes for progress, with China focusing its economy on manufacturing, tailoring its education system to support the agenda. It has paid off handsomely. Not to say that China is totally oblivious to the importance of agriculture, know that it is a National Security issue. But going forward, China is aware of total dependence on one country for its food and is spreading out its food reliance on multiple sources. It has also paid off.
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