SMALL NATION, NO RESOURCES

The phrase has been used over and over and over and over and over again as an excuse to justify Singapore's politics...recently, ive come to realise that my one of my closest and most intelligent friends buys into it as well...

singapore will IMPLODE if it does not operate at a ga-zillion miles an hour all the time, because we are a SMALL NATION WITH NO RESOURCES..malaysia and indonesia will crush us, and our nation will cease to exist...longer hours and smaller paycheques are a tiny price to pay to preserve our delicate, delicate, quality of life...

i of course believe that Singapore prioritises the quality of life of the rich over that of its vast 'average-joe' majority...my friend says average joes just have to stay true to the Singaporean vision, and everyone of them will eventually have access to a 5000-bucks-a-month job, provided they put in the hard work for 5 to 10 years..im not sure where to even begin with that...

oh wait, i do..if everyone's got the promotions and 5000-bucks-a-month jobs, who'd be doing all the real work? hmmm...i guess thats where the foreign labour comes in...3.5million singaporeans pushin pens ard, and 1.5 million foreigners actually doing things...sounds workable

i dont want to fault singapore too much on being competitive..its allowed us a way of life that other places in the region can only have wet dreams about...but at what cost, and where do we draw the line..? when does the well-being of the average joe become more important than our need to remain competitive?

in my opinion, we might alredi have crossed the line a long time ago without even realising it..it's quite normal to see a Singaporean having to work for more than 12 hrs a day, not to accumulate great wealth, but to make ends meet..

is this really acceptable? do we as a nation really not have a choice, being a SMALL NATION WITH NO RESOURCES? will Singapore self-destruct by slowing down in order to look after its ppl better?

I posted a comment on a blog i chanced upon after googling SMALL NATION NO RESOURCES..it belonged to a Mr Rajan Rishyakaran, a political science major from SMU, who i was surprised to learn my close and intelligent friend was a fan of on facebook...

I was more suprised to find that Mr Rajan had passed away, rendering my question somewhat moot (is moot the right word here?)...

nonetheless, i shall post my question here...i will point out at this point, however, that posting my question here might be even more "moot" (i'm taking creative liberties with the word moot) than posting it on the dead man's blog, considering the dead man actually had an audience, and i dont...

here's the question regardless...

"Hi there,

My name is clyde, and on Saturday, i was debating with my friend over Singapore’s recent immigration policies

i was of the impression that such widespread immigration was detrimental to the quality of life of the average Singaporean, and that governments ought to be protecting the well-being of its citizens, and not the pockets of the MNC’s, that clearly appreciate the cheaper labour brought in from neighbouring countries

my friend, however, was firmly rooted in the ‘fact’ that in order for Singapore to stay relevant and competitive in the region, it would need to remain competitive by ensuring cheap labour was readily available, even if this is at the expense of the average Singaporean

his main reason was the “small nation, no resources” argument u mentioned in your post (i googled the phrase, and was led here)

imo, i do not believe that Singapore would implode if the country slowed down productivity-wise and took better care of its ppl..i found my friend’s argument somewhat elitist, in that it looked after the rich and neglected the plight of the ordinary Joe

nonetheless, i would still value your input, because uve been trained in political science, which i guess kinda makes u an expert…can singapore afford to slow down and look after its ppl better?"


i might have added that while cheap labour does ensure companies stay healthy and competitive and efficient, it is worth noting that really cheap labour has a name for it...the system of really cheap labour which made America into the most prosperous country in the world was called slavery

Your opinions would be much appreciated (i'm taking creative liberties with the "Your", considering nobody's probably ever gonna read this)...

RIP, Mr Rajan..i may not have known you, but your dissidence was admirable