Khwaish Oct 2015

From the President’s Desk…
“
Greetings from YSA and a very happy 50th National
Day to all Singaporeans! This issue of the Khwaish
newsletter comes at a period which, in many ways, is an
inflection point for Singapore.
"
Mr Malminderjit Singh
The nation just held its jubilee
celebrations in August, and a month
later, it held its general elections to vote
in place a government for the next five
years.
During the course of the year,
Singapore’s 50th anniversary
celebrations provided all of us with a
glimpse of the country’s ascendance
and development in its short history.
Many commentators refer to Singapore
as nothing short of an economic
miracle, in reflection of how the nation
defied all odds to progress from a small
settlement to a developed economy in
a short span of time. Indeed, narratives
such as these provided great source of
pride for Singaporeans.
It should, however, also provide an
opportunity for greater introspection
and to compare the challenges
Singapore still faces, despite evidently
having come a long way in its
development. The nation’s first Prime
Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, himself said
that it would be “a political, economic
and geographic absurdity to have an
independent Singapore”. While many
historians and political commentators
have decoded Mr Lee’s statement
to be a provocative catalyst for the
citizenry to overcome adversity and
drive Singapore to defy these odds, the
question perhaps to ask, as we stand
in this milestone year is, is Singapore’s
future survival still as absurd now or is
it more of a certainty?
I will not delve into my take on
Singapore’s existential probabilities
here since I have discussed this in detail
in a separate piece inside this issue.
I will, however, point out that, since
Singapore still has to deal with such
apocalyptic questions, perhaps more
so than any other developed nation,
highlights its vulnerability as a vibrant
city, state and nation. Singapore still has
to deal with some of the uncertainties
that its founding generation sought
to address 50 years ago – how can it
be economically active, relevant and
dynamic in the future despite having
a dearth of natural resources, a small
market and the lack of a hinterland?
Just as was the case five decades
ago, doomsayers still continue to
doubt Singapore’s future due to its
population challenges, which in turn
leads to the concern if the young nation
can continue to unearth high-calibre
leaders to govern it.
Singapore’s challenges have not gone
away even though the country has
progressed in most indicators by
leaps and bounds. And, perhaps, these
challenges may never go away and may
continue to loom over Singapore, due
to its inherent limitations. However,
these should not stop us. It should,
in fact, spur us a nation to continue
to defy odds and that can perhaps
be the mission of each generation of
Singaporeans – to continue to take
the country forward and prove that it
can continue to be this absurdity for
everyone to marvel over. That will give
purpose and meaning to the notion of
‘Majulah Singapura’, enshrined in our
national anthem.
That takes to me the other big event in
recent times – the General Elections (GE)
2015. For our founding generation to
build Singapore from an absurd concept
to an economic miracle required,
among other things, two necessary
pre-requisites – good leadership that
can rally its citizens to achieve clear
objectives and a strong nexus between
the people and the government so that
the latter can push ahead with difficult
but necessary decisions. The results
of GE2015 have given the government
a strong mandate to take Singapore
forward amidst an uncertain future and
it should leverage on its strong position
to rally Singaporeans towards clearly
defined goals.
Perhaps, unlike 1965, the nexus now also
calls for a greater role for a new player in
this equation –civil society. At YSA, we
believe firmly that civil society groups
will play a key part in Singapore’s future,
particularly as a unifying and rallying
objective force in a more pluralised and
partisan Singapore. As an organisation
dedicated to advance the spirit of
volunteerism, youth activism and
promoting a multi-racial society, YSA is
looking forward to contributing greater
to Singapore’s future.
All hands are needed on deck if
Singapore is to continue to overachieve.
Anything less in itself will be
an absurdity by the young nation’s
standards.
Khwaish
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