Assessing Singapore
Published:Tuesday | July 13, 2010 | 12:00 AM
The Editor, Sir:
I am a Jamaican living and working in Singapore for the past two years and my wife is Singaporean. I left Jamaica at the age of 30 and lived another 20 years in the UK, Canada and USA; I think I can speak and make comparisons knowledgeably.
It's marvellous to live here without fear of racist slurs, practically crime-free, in a clean and healthy environment where most things work like clockwork and virtually everyone is certain of food, shelter, excellent health care, personal and religious freedom - and it's all affordable.
Back in the 1960s, Singapore had the world record rate of childbirth - there's no shortage of sex here. Since then, as a nation, they have not rested, making records like per cent of people owning their own homes, internet speeds, size of shipping ports, economic growth and so on. Now, with a rapidly rising standard of living, their birth rates are declining - just as it has in every other wealthy first-world nation.
Cultural and historical gap
Having learnt my manners in Jamaica, I refuse to make disparaging comments about other nations and peoples, not even of my own. I am not so naive to think that the Singapore model, if exported to Jamaica, would be equally successful. I think the cultural and historical gap is too large. But, I would like to offer some of the key lessons I've learnt here that might be transferable to Jamaica.
1. Good, clean government that enforces the law and sets the example;
2. Prosecute crime without rest, criminals must believe they will be caught and punished;
3. Demand the best of everyone and they will give of their best, be responsible and personally accountable for your actions, don't spare your labour because it is the only way to prosper;
4. Singaporean modernity and prosperity did not fall into their laps - they worked damned hard and sacrificed hugely. What would Jamaicans be prepared to sacrifice to finally begin to prosper again? Only you, your God and the electorate knows.
5. At the start, Singaporeans knew they had no natural-resources wealth, just the strength in their backs and the knowledge in their heads. This desperate fact became the secret to their success, and it is the most salient lesson of all. Do not count on any one resource for your salvation, your own hard work and intelligence is the best guarantee of future prosperity and wealth. Yes, you can.
I am, etc.,
PETER LAMM
Singapore