How the World See Singapore
January 20, 2005

40 years after its independence, Singapore is still on of the least understood states in the world.  Why?

That was the question discussed at a seminar organized by the Institute of Policy Studies in Singapore yesterday.  

Howie Lim has more in this report.  

HL: Out of 239 political entities, Singapore ranks 199th in terms of size and 121st in terms of population and yet it leaps up the ladder in other important indicators.  Singapore ranks 38th in total Gross Domestic Product and 8th in international foreign exchange.

It is no wonder that Singapore is misunderstood and the reasons for this are complex.  

Kishore Mahbubani is the Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore and he talks about some of these reasons.  

KM: Singapore has its shares of admirers and detractors but one way in which Singapore is unique is that it is one of the least understood states in the world and the lack of understanding is not necessarily a negative comment on Singapore, it merely reflects the fact that the world is mystified by us.  They cannot figure out how this little red dot has done so much and that’s the source of much of the misunderstanding.

HL: These perceptions are always dynamic and they change.  Mr Mahbubani sites the example of Mr Jan Engeland, Senior UN Official in charge of humanitarian operations who recently praised Singapore’s efforts in aid relief for the Asian tsunami victims.

KM: But on 25th June 2004, speaking at a closed door seminar, what he said was that it was unacceptable that rich countries like Singapore and Malaysia were not doing that part in humanitarian relief whereas Norway was always giving substantially when Norway was not as rich as Malaysia or Singapore.  That reflects one stream of perceptions then.  There’s a certain sense of shock and awe of Singapore’s contribution (to the Asian tsunami victims) and over time, this perception will trickle through the world and affect our perceptions.  That’s an example of how perceptions change.

HL: Singapore has more admirers than detractors and Mr Mahbubani gives reason why this is so.

KM: In the UN, the majority of ambassadors there represent developing states and their main goal is to succeed in development.  In 1965 when Singapore first became independent, we had a per capita income of about $500 and now it’s as high as some of the OECD states.  It is the fact that we are one of the few countries that has succeeded that’s the source of admiration and this admiration has in recent years grown even more because more and more people are aware that actually, development is really very difficult and therefore the more they (the world) realize how tough it is, the more they begin to realize how remarkable Singapore’s experience has been.

HL: Besides Singapore’s economic success there is one other important factor why Singapore is admired.

KM: (It) is the contribution that Singapore has made in terms of helping, no the upper classes, but the lowest classes.  One of the least known facts about Singapore is that, when you compare Singapore even to New York, London and Paris, what we have done with our lowest classes is actually quite remarkable.  We have lifted the standards of living in a way that no one else has.

HL: Mr Mahbubani goes on to talk about Singapore’s detractors.  Though significantly less than the admirers, they are far more powerful.

KM: And this explains why whenever people speak about Singapore and praise it, there’s always a ‘but’.  Where does it come from? Most western observers believe that Singapore’s success is only due to its authoritarian rule.  Without it, Singapore would not have succeeded and this is the prevalent western perception of Singapore.  When you have influential organizations (like) amnesty International, Human Rights Watch or take Freedom House whose rankings are even used by the UNDP.  Freedom House in its latest index classifies Singapore as partly free and clustered together with countries like Armenia, Congo, Kuwait, Liberia and Uganda and there’s the New York Times which unfailingly calls us a ‘nanny state’.

HL: Finally, Mr Mahbubani touches on what can be done to change these perceptions.

KM: I talk about the need to share the principles of good governance that Singapore has worked out and here, if we do so, we will remove much of the mystification of where Singapore stands in the world.  With greater recognition of the positive contributions that Singapore has made domestically, regionally and internationally, I believe that we will continue to climb up the totem pole.  Singapore has over the years been helping its neighbors and I believe it can do more and the more it helps the region the less mystified the world will be about its (Singapore’s) standing in the world.

And that was Mr Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, ending that report by Howie Lim.