What will be the Future of Singapore?
- Dennis Toh
- Apr 7, 2015
- 1 min read
From a swampy, land-constrained island to becoming one of the busiest ports of the world and one of the highest standards of living, how are things going to change for Singapore after the passing Mr Lee Kuan Yew?
Trains working normally has become a sort of blessing in Singapore after a slew of train fault issues
Scary projection of 6.9 million population by 2030 heightened concerns over socioeconomic services and capabilities
The fury over the 6.9 million population target was the crunch for many Singaporeans. The social services, whether a question of entitlement or not, has been deteriorating in standards and efficiency. Trains getting massively crowded with frequent breakdowns. Education getting more competitive as the nation rolls out fresh, bright-headed graduates with the disappointing prospect of work and career. Fertility rate falling way below the replacement level at 1.25 for the Year 2014, higher than 1.19 in Year 2013, most likely due to the perks for SG50 new-borns. The politics in Singapore has reached a tenuous point as well; social media providing more than just the vantage points of an issue, but more importantly, personal opinions that end up shaping the thoughts of the young with the current state’s providence of socioeconomic services.
“We disclose what we think they need to know. This is our money, we are trustees, we know what we have to do and we’re going to do this.” – MM Lee on secrecy amidst controversial Shin Corp deal
The demography of Singapore is changing. As more young adults are making up the numbers for the eligible voters, they are also more aware of their power in changing the political scape of the nation. After all, these young adults are the ones having to handle and deal most of the socioeconomic issues; they are least concerned with the kind of gratitude that the older generation are thankful for with the old governance. With the election due by 2017, a rumoured election by the year-end of 2015 is becoming more imminent, with the recent spate of parliamentary issues concerning Workers’ Party major monetary lapses and the CPF.
“Please do not assume that you can change governments. Young people don’t understand this.” – MM Lee in 2006, after winning 82/84 seats in the Parliamentary elections
As PM Lee Hsien Loong calls this the “inflection point (of Singapore),” how will Singapore be in the future? With the prominence of current political embroilment, we look ahead with a little uncertainty.
Photos: Screen grabs from Twitter, Images as linked`
Writer
Chee Seng
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