"3 things that come to your mind when I think of Singapore" - My thoughts for www.sg blog-off contest

My dear friends in Singapore, Lebanon, Philippines, Thailand, UAE, USA, Germany & Romania,

Thank you very much for showing much love and concern in the last couple of days as my country faced a terrible natural disaster of epic proportions. Your phonecalls, SMSes and FB messages have warmed and encouraged me alot, and I know even more than before about my friends and I deeply appreciate your friendships.

To recap, my parents are well and ok. I only managed to get in touch with my mom late yesterday as the phonelines were hard to get through. Being in Tokyo, I have experienced many strong earthquakes, but to stop all transport even though it did not hit the city, I felt very surprised. The good thing is that my family is alright. With the explosion at the nuclear plant, shortages of electricity, food & water, nothing is certain but prayer. I will pray for my family and my friends that are affected till our family members are safe and protected.


1) Toughening up young Singaporeans: Compulsory National Service

Commandos on their 87km route march at dawn, passing through the marina barrage.
(Uploaded by MICA for http://app.www.sg/photodetails/25/436/Commando-Route-March.aspx)

One thing I am glad for Japan is that this unfortunate disaster has shown that with preparedness and the readiness of the people, we are in a better position to overcome what may come. Likewise, I know Singaporeans are prepared for tough times. As I think back on my many conversations with my Singapore male friends, who shared with me their NS experiences, from Basic Military Training to their 10 year reservist cycles, I can now appreciate more of the compulsory National Service that Singapore has for all her young men. 


Now that I'm mentioning this, I did a simple search and found out these interesting nuggets of facts:

1) All male Singaporean citizens and second-generation Permanent Residents who have reached the age of 18 (voluntary enrolment from 16½ years old) will serve a two-year period as Full Time National Servicemen (NSFs), either in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF), or the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). (http://www.ns.sg)

2) National Service started in 1967 following the decision by Britain to withdraw its forces from Singapore. It was also timely as Singapore was separated from Malaya (now Malaysia) and is independent. (http://app.www.sg/who/40/Development.aspx)

3) National Service is part of five aspects of the Total Defence concept that Singapore adopted from the Swiss and Swedes in 1984. Along with the other four aspects -  Civil Defence, Economic Defence, Social Defence and Psychological Defence - "they also help Singaporeans understand how they can be involved. When we take National Service seriously, volunteer in civil defence exercises, help build a strong economy, strengthen community ties with one another regardless of race and religion, and stay committed to defend the country, we are doing something in every sector of our society to strengthen Singapore's resilience as a nation." (http://www.totaldefence.sg/imindef/mindef_websites/topics/totaldefence/about_td.html)

This Total Defence concept is reminded to Singaporeans every year on August 9, Singapore's National Day, through a grand parade of its hardware and people at downtown Marina Bay. I caught them on TV every year as I so far have yet to get free tickets to watch the spectacle. 

 

NDP 2010 stage view by MICA

 You can get a feel of the parade as a spectator with this video from Charles Yeo that I caught on www.sg.

2) Low Tax & Business Friendly Environment 

When asked by the business-minded, I am always quick to suggest, "Have you thought of Singapore?". My follow up reply to them would always be a why to Singapore. While the obvious would be a stable government, safe environment, good infrastructure and well-trained human resources, doing business in Singapore is relatively affordable. 

Interestingly, the World Bank and the Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum share the same sentiments as me. My experience has been very positive of Singapore, as my line of work entitles me to rub shoulders with many experienced businessmen and entrepreneurs from all over the world. They are all here because they know the government protects their business interests, as well as make the competition as fair as possible. To do so, they make the availability of business grants, and low business tax rates are provided for through government initiatives like the Global Trader Programme for offshore trading. (See Pg 33 of this link: Going Global brochure)

I can't tell where your interests can be best served, but a good place to find info is through this www.sg link: Setting-Up-a-Business in Singapore



3) Probably the Best Education System in the World 

To think that a small country with a well-educated population is to think of the great feat that is Singapore. Rewind a few decades, this country like the size of Jamaica, have had to deal with unemployment and the poorly educated were common. But education has changed everything. Today, the Singapore worker is capable of being a global world class expatriate, like the Japanese, Chinese, Americans, Russians and Europeans.

The recent hot topics in the debate on the education system highlights the importance of this key to the prosperity of Singaporeans. But to me, being fair and available to everyone is the key to success for any education system, otherwise the rich can send their children to the best schools, and the poorer people will have to settle for less. But this is not true in Singapore. If you dare to work hard, opportunities abound for even foreigners to study here. This is very true as I saw it on this www.sg video of how foreign students can make it in Singapore.

In Ending...

Singapore is a place I constantly think of, even as I have been working in Dubai since 2009. Thanks to the great friendships I have kept with my many wonderful Singapore friends here, coming back to Singapore for rest and relax is easy for me. I do not worry about what to eat, who to meet and if it is safe to be out late at night. In a sense, my experience is the same like this video. I can't wait to come back to Singapore again, but maybe after I return again to Japan to visit my parents when things are better.