Foreigners love Singapore. A country that is safe, secure and economically prosperous. Yet why do Singaporeans complain ever so often? Has our success caught up with us and in turn blinded us? Or as some would say Singapore has become a victim of her own success. Today, we shall be taking a look at how certain aspects of Singapore that make it so successful is actually suffocating the people as time passes.
For one, Singapore has functioned as a very successful maritime trading post, which allowed it to bring in its initial wealth. Adding to that is Singapore’s honest and corrupt free government which has allowed the country to grow its reputation as a trustworthy country and one where foreign trade and investment are welcome. Now there’s nothing wrong with having a country become rich and prosperous. But when a majority of the citizens are living a life that is higher than the average quality of life in the world, you can expect one thing – complacency. Since everyone is living so comfortably, the current generation gets the chance to live a life devoid of any real hardship. The result? A generation termed as the strawberry generation, with lots of expectations and thinking they are entitled to everything. Now, this is just a generalisation of the population, but as you can see, therein lies the problem. A country cannot expect to grow and innovate if a generation continues with such a mindset going into the world.
The other problem that plagues the country is its reliance on foreigners. Sure, opening up the doors to foreign talent is a good move, as it helps to further the pace of competition in the country and stimulate growth. But by how much would the government be willing to extend its arms to the world? Apparently by a lot, judging from the white paper policy released in 2013. This has resulted in some nasty backlash by the public, with criticism about overcrowding, fall in the reliability of public transport and increasing property prices amongst others. As you can expect, a system that is overly mechanical in its approach, and one that is simplistic in nature such as Singapore’s continuous push for a larger population to sustain itself is bound to fail if no other considerations are taken into account for.
There are many reasons as to why Singapore is a victim of her own success, but let us not forget nonetheless, that it is still a very successful nation, and one that won’t be failing any time soon. In spite of all the criticisms that may plague the country, it cannot be denied that the forefathers of the country had some tough decisions to make and that they were exceptional leaders. Whether or not the current leaders would be able to carry on the legacy of the nation, remains a mystery and there is still much to be seen of a country with so much potential.