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FROM THE VALLEY TO THE HIGHLANDS
Challenging Times Ahead
SARS Threat Not Over
Our last case of SARS was three
months ago. But the threat is not over for Singapore. Experts have
warned that the virus may make a comeback when winter arrives. We
hope they are wrong, but we must remain vigilant. Do not throw away
your thermometer.
Terrorism: Still Lurking
SARS is not the only threat to
Singapore. We are also worried about terrorism.
Two weeks ago, Jemaah Islamiyah
(JI) terrorists exploded a car bomb outside the Marriott Hotel in
Jakarta. Many people died. Many more were injured, including Singaporeans.
Our Embassy in Jakarta is only a 10-minute walk from the hotel.
When the bomb went off, our Embassy staff heard a loud bang, and
the Embassy windows shook.
So you see, the JI terrorists
remain a threat, despite the crackdown by regional authorities.
Their support infrastructure is largely intact. Hambali has now
been caught, but several other leaders are still out there, planning
further terrorist attacks.
Singapore is a prime target for
the terrorists. We provided witnesses to help the court case against
JI's spiritual leader, Abu Bakar Bashir. Moreover, we were the ones
who exposed the JI terrorist network. We must never let our guard
down.
No country is safe from terrorism,
not Singapore, not even Saudi Arabia. In May, terrorists launched
suicide attacks in the Saudi capital, killing many people. Now,
the Saudi government has uncovered many terrorist cells in the country.
Experts have stressed that the
fight against terrorism will take a long time. This is because we
are not dealing with a single organisation with a central command.
If we were, we could destroy it. But here, we are dealing with an
ideological movement, a movement that has many sympathisers around
the world.
It will take some time to defeat
the terrorists. As a researcher on terrorism put it in a CNN interview,
"For every single terrorist captured or killed, there are another
five coming along on the assembly line. There is an endless supply."
This threat of terrorism will
affect the region's economies, including Singapore. Companies may
worry about the security of their investments, and tourists may
stay away.
Whither the Singapore Dream?
No wonder young people fear that
this is the end of the Singapore Dream. We have suffered one setback
after another in the last few years.
Ng Boon Yian, a young journalist
with TODAY, wrote, "The skies are airbrushed a gloomy grey.
People are not placing any bets on their future."
Laurel Teo, another young journalist,
from The Straits Times, lamented, "The pay has been lousy since
we started work. It doesn't look like improving, and we'll have
to slog doubly hard just to keep our jobs. Now, we may never be
able to make long-term plans such as buying a car or a bigger home
… This … is tantamount to the shattering of the Singapore
Dream."
I met Boon Yian and Laurel over
dinner with some other young journalists. Both ladies are under
30. Laurel is a Singapore Press Holdings scholar. She attended school
in RGS and RJC and went on to Yale University in the US. Boon Yian
will soon leave on a postgraduate scholarship for Johns Hopkins
University in the US.
Why are these two bright, young
girls with promising futures not placing any bets on Singapore?
Maybe they were reflecting the
low morale and high expectations of their generation. Our recent
setbacks were probably the first serious ones they have encountered
in their young lives.
To these young Singaporeans,
I say, no, the Singapore Dream is not shattered. True, the sky is
grey now. But grey clouds do not stay forever. After the rain, they
give way to clear, blue skies. If we use this grey period to remake
Singapore, and trim ourselves to become more nimble, we will be
ready to grow again when the sun comes out.
All cities and countries evolve,
Singapore too. They grow and thrive, or wither and vanish, just
like individual species of animals. China was a great nation for
two thousand years. Then it went into decline. Now, it is rising
again. Great Britain ruled history's biggest empire for several
centuries. Now, Britain is not a super-power.
Take also the example of the
Pyramids. Before the Suez Canal reopened in 1975, I went to Egypt
to look for shipping agents for NOL. I took the opportunity to see
the Pyramids. I thought to myself: what magnificent monuments from
a glorious past! Egypt had seen better days.
There are many reasons why civilisations
rise and fall, and why cities wax and wane. The biggest factor is
their ability to adjust and adapt to their changing environment.
Young Singaporeans are Adaptable
I believe that young Singaporeans
will adapt to the changing environment.
The Straits Times columnist,
Chua Lee Hoong, told me that the shampoo girls at her hairdresser
used to be Malaysians. When she was there recently, Singaporeans
had taken over. She noticed too, that the waiters at a restaurant
that she frequents are now largely Singaporeans. Before, they were
Filipinos. A Channel News Asia staff told me that her daughter and
her friends, who were about to graduate, were realistic about jobs.
In the past, they would have been like other university graduates:
choosy. Now, any job would do.
This is good. We must be practical,
as practical as Teochew fishermen. They would say, "Kah
tak hoi, chew liak her. Hoi zao, her liu, aiyah, bor her hay ah
hor." "Catch crabs with your feet, and fish with your
hands. But if the crabs run away and the fish slip through your
hands, prawns will do just fine."
Some graduates have also taken
to roasting gao luk, or chestnuts, for a living. Others are running
their own porridge stall. I commend their attitude. They did not
sit around and moan and groan. They went out and made a living for
themselves.
To Singaporeans who say this
is a loss of face, I offer this Hokkien advice, "Lao quee
buay xi, bo quee jia eh xi": "Loss of face will not
kill you. You will die only if you lose your breath."
Will our graduate hawkers be
stuck forever in their present positions? No. I believe they will
become successful entrepreneurs one day.
The fact is, there is no fairy
godmother who will wave her magic wand to make us rich. The Government
can create the conditions for the country to thrive. But the people
will have to carve out their future themselves. We should seize
even the tiniest opportunity to make a living. Even if it means
squeezing water out of rock, we should find a way.
Margaret Thatcher thinks this
is what we have done. In her book, "Statecraft - Strategies
for a Changing World", she described Singapore as a "man-made
miracle". She explained:
"… this little city-state now has everything precisely
because it began with next to nothing. Only the skill, creativity
and enterprise of men could make it what it has become. It is when
talented people… find themselves having to rely on their brains
rather than their muscles, that societies progress."
Resourceful Singaporeans
I am confident that if we apply
our brains, Singaporeans will be able to adapt this man-made miracle
to the changing environment. Our people have a track record of being
resourceful.
For instance, we have no oilfields,
but Singapore is the world's 3rd largest oil refining centre. We
have a small domestic telecoms market, but our telecoms companies
have expanded overseas. SingTel is now a major player in Australia.
ST Telemedia is bidding to buy over Global Crossing, an American
telecoms company.
Even for ornamental fish, we
have 25 percent of the world market! When I was young, I used to
catch guppies in the longkang. Now, our fish breeders have turned
this longkang fish into million-dollar exports! That's resourcefulness.
Of course, there are also Singaporeans
who are resourceful for the wrong reasons. During the SARS outbreak,
on several occasions, when our police officers were about to arrest
criminals, the criminals started coughing. You know coughing is
a symptom of SARS. The criminals thought they could frighten away
the police officers with their coughing!
But our police officers were
not fooled. They caught the criminals, sent them to Tan Tock Seng,
then to jail!
Let me come back to a positive
example of resourcefulness: Jack Neo. Our movie making industry
suffers handicaps, including the small domestic market and the lack
of acting talent. But still, Jack Neo and a few other Singaporeans
have lifted the standards of the industry several notches.
I went to see Jack Neo's latest
movie, "Homerun", last Sunday. It moved me, because I
had lived through the scenes in the movie. In 1961, after my A-levels,
I taught for a few months in Kay Wah Chinese Primary School near
Thong Hoe Village in Lim Chu Kang. It was a rural school. The students
were poor. I saw many toes peeping out from worn-out shoes.
The movie brought my mind back
to our past. But I wondered whether our children could appreciate
the deeper symbolism of the torn and tattered shoes. Our villages
have given way to HDB estates, our cheap shoes to branded shoes.
Last year, I praised Jack for
his movies "Money No Enough" and "I Not Stupid".
I told my wife, who felt he deserved a National Day award, that
two good movies were not enough. Well, Jack's latest movie has become
a box office hit. Looks like I may have to revisit the matter of
an award for him!
International Confidence in Singapore
So you see, we have many strengths
and skills - an indomitable spirit, strong national cohesion, an
adaptable and resourceful people. Many international analysts and
companies have noted our strengths. And the way we handled SARS
has increased their confidence in Singapore.
A global financial ratings agency,
Fitch, gave Singapore its highest credit rating in May. Fitch upgraded
Singapore because of our proven ability to cope with economic shocks
and our success in containing the SARS outbreak.
A market manager of Caterpillar
Asia said on BBC that,
"… the way the Singapore authorities dealt with the outbreak
is well-noted and, therefore, Singapore is safe, and a place to
invest, to live and work. That reputation has grown."
The CEO of an international management
consultant company wrote to EDB,
"… I would like to commend (you) on how well your country
is handling (SARS)… For me, this is again a sign of Singapore's
global competitiveness, as no other country so severely hit has
reacted so responsibly and with such effectiveness as Singapore.
As we walk into an uncertain global future, these are the qualities
a country needs to sustain itself."
These compliments, plus many
others worldwide, are worth millions in paid advertisements.
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