At the threshold of a new Singapore

• Main Author: EUGENE, Tan K. B.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2013
• Subjects: Asian Studies; Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/3757; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/5715/viewcontent/today_20130819_1.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law and NMP Eugene Tan shared his views on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally Speech. He noted that PM Lee had outlined a vision for Singapore that epitomised opportunity, hope, fairness and social solidarity. This, marked a new direction in governance, and would form the basis of a strategic reconceptualisation of Singapore's future and how we would get there. Associate Prof Tan noted that with the call for a fundamental relook of policies, Singapore Inc's hedonistic treadmill, with its emphasis on economic values, affluence and consumption, must now compete for mind-share with the growing importance of transcendental pursuits, values and quality of life. He opined that PM Lee's refreshed approach to nation-building requires a calibration of the roles of the individual, the community and the State. He concluded that whether the policy shifts would revitalise the society would have to be considered against a global context of many countries, which are also plagued by challenges such as ageing population, widening income gaps, globalisation, unemployment, economic turmoil, among others, and that Singapore would have to find its own unique equilibrium.