Not trying to look down on our neighbor. But it does take sacrifice and hard work to move to top and maintain it.
Just look at Burma who use to be top and now bottom in SE Asia. I don't see any key factor why Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia or maybe even Philippines can even move up or catch-up less maintaining there.
If i am to put my dollar for a 10-bagger say 50 years later, it will still be Singapore. Is the quality of the people in the nation that counts be it FT or Locals.
My point is that it does not matter what the track record has been but how Singapore is going to move forward from now. We have moved higher and higher up the value chain and like all things in life, when expectations are too high, it will come down one day. Similarly using the Myanmar example, which went up and down, we may face the same problem sooner than later.. Imagine if the canal built across Thailand and ships can bypass the Straits in maybe 10 years time..
The article is written too biasedly in my point of view. It mentions alot of petty issues which will not surface in publications now or the future. Trying to stir Sh** (or propoganda) for nothing..
There's a saying that to create wealth you can mine, farm, or invent.
I think sometime we think too highly of ourselves, we not so creative like the swiss who are innovators inventors and tinkerers.
Our neighbors may not have our qualities our standards but they are blessed and well endowed with resources, oil tin, gas rubber plam much land.
We laugh at them at their antics or when they screw up but notice this they can afford to mismanage and screw up and still recover after a few years. We on the other hand cannot afford any mistakes or we are really going to be screwed big time.
So we are neither tinkerers or inventors and we have no natural resources we are just a nation of administrators very good at running around and taking care of things for people ask yourself what's the big deal about that?
Look at china they copied our system and 2 decades later they almost on par with us. Now Myanmmar Vietnam all say they also want to be like china learn and copy our system. That's great.
And Lau GOH (GCT) says we should copy the SWISS. Copy What? We only manage to copy Swiss's cost of living and still very very far from Swiss's standard of living. Can we really be the Swiss of Asia? Maybe open more casinos and moving our $Reserves around the Globe will do if PAPYs run out of ideas.
(31-10-2012, 10:49 PM)Temperament Wrote: [ -> ]Hey! Is "Woodlands" Singapore's or Malaysia's? Or "Woodlands" is Singapore's is Malaysia's one day. Especially the day the people of Singapore couldn't afford to pay the $million team of Ministers and Civil Servants anymore.
(31-10-2012, 10:18 PM)Hongwei Wrote: [ -> ] (30-10-2012, 10:58 AM)brattzz Wrote: [ -> ]i always think that singapore and malaysia are 1 country, just that the political leaders believe otherwise.
Did anyone noticed that at the Malaysian customs, the directions sign states "Woodlands" rather than "Singapore"?
Aiyah, this is an old one. Highlighted by people trying to stir Sh**. Did you notice that in Singapore on the BKE and Woodlands Road, the sign to Causeway says "Johor" and not "Malaysia"? So does this mean that Singapore thinks that Johor is part of Singapore?
The answer is that road signs are to tell you where to go, not about politics. If the sign in Johor says "Singapore" instead of "Woodlands", people may be confused whether it is Tuas or Woodlands. The reverse also applies.
When you book an air ticket to United States, it would be silly for the ticket to say "USA". Instead, it says "New York City Dulles Airport" or "Los Angeles International Airport".
(01-11-2012, 10:33 AM)snowcap Wrote: [ -> ] (31-10-2012, 10:49 PM)Temperament Wrote: [ -> ]Hey! Is "Woodlands" Singapore's or Malaysia's? Or "Woodlands" is Singapore's is Malaysia's one day. Especially the day the people of Singapore couldn't afford to pay the $million team of Ministers and Civil Servants anymore.
(31-10-2012, 10:18 PM)Hongwei Wrote: [ -> ] (30-10-2012, 10:58 AM)brattzz Wrote: [ -> ]i always think that singapore and malaysia are 1 country, just that the political leaders believe otherwise.
Did anyone noticed that at the Malaysian customs, the directions sign states "Woodlands" rather than "Singapore"?
Aiyah, this is an old one. Highlighted by people trying to stir Sh**. Did you notice that in Singapore on the BKE and Woodlands Road, the sign to Causeway says "Johor" and not "Malaysia"? So does this mean that Singapore thinks that Johor is part of Singapore?
The answer is that road signs are to tell you where to go, not about politics. If the sign in Johor says "Singapore" instead of "Woodlands", people may be confused whether it is Tuas or Woodlands. The reverse also applies.
When you book an air ticket to United States, it would be silly for the ticket to say "USA". Instead, it says "New York City Dulles Airport" or "Los Angeles International Airport".
This may be an old one, but we can always read it between the lines ma? Ha! Ha!
(01-11-2012, 09:29 AM)mrEngineer Wrote: [ -> ]... Imagine if the canal built across Thailand and ships can bypass the Straits in maybe 10 years time..
In the past when ships use winds to propel for merchant goods using the monsoons, i may agreed.
With today modern ships, aircraft and possibly space travel 50 years later ... i doubt there is significant impact.
That's do not mean we should not be prepared for it. We still have to continue to be more efficient, better service and management ... is all about people.
(01-11-2012, 09:29 AM)mrEngineer Wrote: [ -> ]My point is that it does not matter what the track record has been but how Singapore is going to move forward from now. We have moved higher and higher up the value chain and like all things in life, when expectations are too high, it will come down one day. Similarly using the Myanmar example, which went up and down, we may face the same problem sooner than later.. Imagine if the canal built across Thailand and ships can bypass the Straits in maybe 10 years time..
The article is written too biasedly in my point of view. It mentions alot of petty issues which will not surface in publications now or the future. Trying to stir Sh** (or propoganda) for nothing..
It is a difficult task indeed. From the current point onwards, I do not expect Singapore to grow at the kind of rate that we see in the last ten years.
The value of Singapore lies in providing services, good financial framework, security, political stability and good workforce to overseas investors that are unmatched in the region. Looking at asia countries, there isn't a country that come near Singapore in this aspect.
None of the Asean countries are in our league in the next 10 years.
The ugly truth is that our main advantage in asia is in fact our efficient and rather mercenary government and civil services. If we somehow dismantle it without a good replacement, we probably will sink to nowhere.
Having an efficient civil service and government is probably the key to survival in Asia or even most parts of the world simply because it is hard to duplicate. Other asia countries can offer cheap land, cheap labour, cheap materials but they cannot offer an efficient civil service that can get things done and no kopi money, undertable ang bao are needed.
(01-11-2012, 09:56 AM)sgd Wrote: [ -> ]There's a saying that to create wealth you can mine, farm, or invent.
I think sometime we think too highly of ourselves, we not so creative like the swiss who are innovators inventors and tinkerers.
Our neighbors may not have our qualities our standards but they are blessed and well endowed with resources, oil tin, gas rubber plam much land.
We laugh at them at their antics or when they screw up but notice this they can afford to mismanage and screw up and still recover after a few years. We on the other hand cannot afford any mistakes or we are really going to be screwed big time.
So we are neither tinkerers or inventors and we have no natural resources we are just a nation of administrators very good at running around and taking care of things for people ask yourself what's the big deal about that?
Look at china they copied our system and 2 decades later they almost on par with us. Now Myanmmar Vietnam all say they also want to be like china learn and copy our system. That's great.
it is okay that we dont have any natural resources. We have quite a substantial bit of foreign reserves, if our government is smart enough to compound these reserves at a decent rate, they can be seen as a substsitute for natural resources
(01-11-2012, 01:39 PM)corydorus Wrote: [ -> ]In the past when ships use winds to propel for merchant goods using the monsoons, i may agreed.
With today modern ships, aircraft and possibly space travel 50 years later ... i doubt there is significant impact.
That's do not mean we should not be prepared for it. We still have to continue to be more efficient, better service and management ... is all about people.
I cannot imagine lifting a 85,000tons Panamax into the sky and land safely at affordable cost. Capesize will be worst (>100kt). How about oil tankers with all the pressure concerns? Land and explode?
Maybe technology will advance to that stage one day. Maybe.