A new era awaits Singapore with Wednesday’s changing of the guard that saw the city-state inaugurate only its fourth prime minister since gaining independence from Malaysia in 1965.
The Southeast Asian nation is a great success story and deserves all the accolades it receives, but this moment is also an opportunity for new Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) to build a more compassionate society in one of the world’s most competitive cities.
Whether he embraces that challenge with the sincerity and enthusiasm that his predecessors exhibited in lifting Singapore from third world to first will determine how well the tiny island state survives in the coming decades.
K.M. Wong knows firsthand the challenges of living in one of the costliest cities on the planet. The 72-year-old starts his day at dawn, heading into the Zion Road hawker center in central Singapore to wipe down tables and clear the plates of the food court’s early morning commuter crowds. Six days a week from 7am to 3pm, he dons his light-green uniform along with the other “uncles” and “aunties” as they are known.
Almost every cleaner at this center is above the age of 60, he tells me. Many should have retired, but that is a luxury not everyone can afford.
K.M. Wong has some retirement money saved up in his Central Provident Fund, the pot every employed Singaporean can count on at the end of their working life. It is only a small sum though and he says the extra money he earns at the hawker center gives him room to breathe.
“Plus coming here keeps me busy and I have something to do to pass my time,” he said. “It makes life less lonely.”
Another 72-year-old is in the news this week — Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍), who stepped down as prime minister after two decades at the helm. Under his watch Singapore’s GDP per capita more than trebled to nearly US$92,000, now one of the world’s highest. The government has invested more in education and tried to address inequality.
Despite these laudable achievements, Singapore has become more expensive to live in, although inflation has started to moderate this year. There is also a constant race to outdo your neighbor and for too many Singaporeans the weight of trying to upgrade to the five Cs of material success — cash, condo, credit card, country club membership and car — has become a corrosive way of life.
Lawrence Wong is unlike his predecessors. He did not attend the Singapore equivalent of the Etons and Harrows that most ministers hail from and instead graduated from what is considered a non-elite school. Described as an “everyman,” he has already talked about the importance of creating a more compassionate society and this chimes well with what many citizens want.
As far back as 2013, surveys have shown that Singaporeans crave a change, asking for a less competitive, more holistic education system — one that is more inclusive, where students learn with others of different abilities and backgrounds. Many are also concerned about the cost of living, immigration, work-life balance and the growing gap between the haves and the have nots.
Some improvements are already on the cards and being discussed by the new prime minister and his team, under the framework of a “compassionate meritocracy.”
The 2023 Action Plan for Successful Ageing even recommends replacements for the five Cs with the three Cs of care, connectedness and contribution.
However, more than this alliteration, Lawrence Wong should seek out alternative views, particularly from the opposition, which has a different approach to governing than the People’s Action Party. It would be worth listening to Workers Party Member of Parliament Jamus Lim (林志蔚), who outlined the challenges facing the city-state in a speech last year about poverty.
“If we can all agree that a good life includes opportunities to education and decent healthcare, employment with work-life balance, and a sense of inclusion when one participates in social, cultural, and religious activities, then why do we not extend these to the most economically vulnerable in our midst?” Lim said. “Life is not just about making it day to day, but about thriving. All humans — poor or not — have aspirations.”
This new version of the Singapore Dream should not be out of reach for people living in Asia’s richest city. Lawrence Wong has his work cut out.
Karishma Vaswani is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia politics with a special focus on China. Previously, she was the BBC’s lead Asia presenter and worked for the BBC across Asia and South Asia for two decades. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
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