Straits Times Forum 12 May 09;
I REFER to Thursday's report, 'Singapore's green trump card'.
While Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew stressed that 'clean and green' is Singapore's secret weapon and recalled his efforts to clean the 'smelly and dirty' Singapore as a priority amid myriad challenges shortly after independence, I cannot help admiring his vision and leadership that helped to build a nation from scratch and lift it from Third World to First within several decades.
The story began with the shocking news that Singapore was abandoned, with scarce resources and people different in colour, language, culture and religion. Indeed, there seemed to be no hope that Singapore could survive and become a nation. However, not only did it survive, but it also endured; not only did it endure, but it also prospered. Within decades, it became a nation where hardworking people, regardless of colour, race, religion and culture, live harmonious, affluent and happy lives.
Singapore's success is an undeniable miracle, but the Singapore story is not about how supermen transformed a nation, but how decent people built decent neighbourhoods that are clean, green and safe, and how these neighbourhoods bind a nation.
As Mr Lee said, what could be done immediately after Singapore left Malaysia, was 'to show investors that this was a well-organised place'. To build order, he and his people set out to clean the city and plant trees. Once the infrastructure was in place, they worked to improve people's manners. Meanwhile, they worked to build other pillars of community - rule of law, science, education, etiquette and culture. The rest is history.
It is hard to believe that simply by sprucing ourselves up, showing good manners, and cleaning and greening our neighbourhoods, ordinary people can build a nation or sharpen its competitiveness. But the Singapore story has proved it all.
Singaporeans will do well to carry on this legacy. And foreigners like me, born and raised in 'reform and open policy'-steered China, learn that there are other ways to spur economic growth than simply sacrificing the environment and relying on cheap labour.
Jessica Wang Jing (Ms)
