Never take Singapore for granted: Chan Chun Sing

S’pore needs to fight odds to survive
He says it should not be taken for granted that nation will be around for next five decades
By Wong Wei Han, TODAY, 8 Aug 2014

With the Republic in a celebratory mood, Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing yesterday delivered a sobering message: It should not be taken for granted that Singapore will be around for the next five decades or more and the country will need to continue fighting against the odds to ensure its survival.

Ahead of Singapore’s 49th birthday tomorrow and its golden jubilee anniversary next year, Mr Chan said: “I have never taken for granted that Singapore will always be around. While I look forward to celebrating SG50, I always challenge myself (on whether) ... we will be around to celebrate SG100.” He noted that in South-east Asia, not many countries of Singapore’s size have been able to last 100 years. “Let’s work hard … to defy the odds of history so that our children and our grandchildren will have the chance to celebrate SG100.”

In a speech at the Economic Society of Singapore’s annual dinner, Mr Chan outlined the myriad of external and domestic challenges facing the Republic. He also recounted his despair when he heard the responses from international business leaders when he asked them — during a recent meeting — to name the country they thought would be the most successful by 2030.

Many chose China and the United States, while some picked Indonesia and India. The top three reasons for their choices were demography, resource endowment and size of markets, he said.

“When I heard this, my heart sank, because if resource endowment and market size determine destiny, then I’m sure not many people will give Singapore a fighting chance … We have our work cut out for us to even try to interest people to give us a chance to do business with us.”

On external challenges, Mr Chan cited ties between the US and China, which will have a significant impact on the world, including Singapore and the region. The Republic will also have to develop a “constructive and complementary relationship” with fast-growing neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

To stand out among regional and global cities, Singapore’s advantage lies in innovation and value-add, said Mr Chan, who stressed that Singapore has to compete against cities, not countries.

“The challenge for us is to ensure we compete on the quality of ideas, not the quantity of input and, God help us, not on price,” he said. “We need to identify the part of a value chain where we have competitive advantages, be it production, services or sales.”

At home, Singapore will have to continue managing the integration of immigrants, among other challenges. This will depend on whether it can forge a national identity as “a forward-looking and inclusive concept based on values, ideals and vision”, Mr Chan said.

Noting how technological advancements may displace certain jobs, he added that issues such as income inequality and social mobility must also be addressed.

“What we can and must do is to allow our people to have the best opportunities to realise their talents … This is why we must continue to push hard for continuous meritocracy,” he said. “Our challenge is to keep the definition of meritocracy broad and not just on academic achievements.”

He said that as more individuals succeed, they must realise their responsibility to give back to society, in order for Singapore to avoid “a fractured social system where the winner takes all without due regard for the role society has played in his success”.

To overcome the challenges, Singapore will need people who are rooted to the country even as they seek their fortunes elsewhere, he said.

It must also continue to turn constraints into opportunities, he said, citing Singapore’s success in water management.

The Republic should leverage on its brand in terms of standards, law and trust. This would enable Singapore to use its competitive advantage to stand out amid global competition, he said.

“We can only achieve all these and more if we have the right social compact and values — leadership, innovation, openness, meritocracy , cohesion and resilience,” he added.

During the question-and-answer session, Nanyang Technological University economics professor Ng Yew Kwang asked whether Singapore can afford the economic disadvantages that result from reducing foreign manpower.

In response, Mr Chan said: “The fundamental thing is not the number. It’s what kind of opportunities we want to create for our young ... It’s not a given whether we can or cannot manage a six-million population — much depends on us. But (the inflow) must be at a pace that society can accept.”

Mr Chan was also asked to comment on former Urban Redevelopment Authority chief planner Liu Thai Ker’s recent remarks that Singapore should plan for a population of 10 million.

Noting that Mr Liu was speaking from the perspective of urban planning, he reiterated that much depends on the population size that Singaporeans can live with.

He added: “I don’t think anyone can say that this is the number and we’ll grow towards it. Very much also depends on how people find us as a place to work and do business. We can plan for five million or six million, but people won’t come unless we can value-add and create synergies. Otherwise, it’s just a number.”

Help for needy 'will remain targeted and be sustainable'
Key principles unchanged as S'pore tries to stay competitive: Minister
By Chia Yan Min, The Straits Times, 8 Aug 2014

A KEY member of Singapore's fourth-generation leadership has set out what he sees as the country's challenges over the next decade and beyond, and proposed strategies for staying competitive, relevant and united.

Social and Family Development Minister Chan Chun Sing was addressing members of the Economic Society of Singapore at their annual dinner, days before Singapore, whose existence as a small, independent nation he said he never takes for granted, celebrates its 49th National Day.

He kicked off his speech with a survey of geopolitics, where one uncertainty comes from United States-China ties.

For a small country like Singapore, another challenge is how to stay relevant as its larger neighbours reach milestones: Indonesia on the threshold of middle-class status, and Malaysia seeking to break into the ranks of developed countries.

"The challenge for Singapore is to develop a constructive and complementary relationship with our closest and fast-growing neighbours. Our risk is that if we are unable to create value and lose our strategic weight, we can be easily marginalised and relegated to irrelevance - where others dictate what we do and not do."

Singapore must also learn to adapt to rising volatility due to disruptive technologies. Here, he highlighted as a key concern the displacement of middle-income jobs, which could accentuate inequality and fracture society.

Stating his stand on a much-debated issue among economists on the right scale of transfers between rich and poor, Mr Chan said: "Our real and greater challenge is to strengthen the ability of our middle-income earners to compete on the global stage, rather than only arguing about the scale of transfers."

The key principles behind Singapore's established approach to social transfers to the needy will remain unchanged, he added.

These are to provide targeted rather than universal help so that those with the least get the most help, and to keep spending sustainable - so as not to transfer the burden to future generations, ensure continued support from society's most productive members, and avoid running down the national reserves so they can remain a buffer against the vagaries of intensifying economic cycles.

Mr Chan also offered four strategies for Singapore to prepare for significant social, political and economic shifts.

First, even as Singaporeans "scale the mountains of the world", they must remain rooted to home and want to give back to the country. Second, Singapore "must continue to turn constraints into opportunities". Third, it should leverage the faith others have in its standards and laws. Finally, it must stay cohesive, adaptable and resilient, with "the right social compact and values", and good leadership with the four Cs of being "committed, capable, connected and clean".

On social mobility, he defended Singapore's meritocracy, saying there is "nothing intrinsically wrong" with a system that rewards talent and effort, rather than kinship ties and inheritance.

"We can never equalise inheritance or endowment. But we can endeavour to allow our people to have the best opportunities to realise their talents and blessings," he said. "We must continue to push hard for continuous meritocracy. That one's fate and achievement is not pre-ordained by one's initial endowment, or any single achievement in life, but shaped more by one's talent and continuous efforts."

Chan Chun Sing: What if population falls below four million?
By Robin Chan, The Straits Times, 8 Aug 2014

WHEN discussions here turn to Singapore's potential population size, numbers such as six million and 10 million have been bandied around.

But yesterday, Social and Family Development Minister Chan Chun Sing offered another possible figure: a population size of below four million.

"Strangely, when we talk about any number, there is another scenario - a number below four million... It is not inconceivable that we have a scenario where the transient workers or others may not find us so attractive," he said at the annual dinner of the Economic Society of Singapore (ESS).

He noted that Singapore's current resident population is just about three million, while the rest who make up the total population of 5.3 million are foreigners who come and go.

Immigration and integration remain key challenges going forward and Singapore's ability to attract the right kind of immigrants is not a given, he pointed out.

Mr Chan, recalling the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, said that before it hit, there had been about 100,000 people in the queue for Housing Board flats.

But when the crisis hit, there was then a surplus of flats, in places such as Sengkang town. "My sister got a unit in Sengkang. She had no neighbours for five years."

His point was that the Government had to not only plan for when there is an increase in the population size, but also for the possibility of a decline.

"I don't think people will say there is a number and we will go towards it. A lot depends on how attractive people find us as a place to work and live," he said.

He was asked by moderator Yeoh Lam Keong, vice-president of the ESS, at the dinner at the Mandarin Orchard Hotel, about what population size he thought would suit Singapore.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last year at the end of the debate on the Population White Paper that he expected the population in 2030 to be "significantly below 6.9 million", while former chief planner Liu Thai Ker said Singapore should plan for a population of 10 million possibly by the year 2100, Mr Yeoh noted.

Mr Chan said "nobody knows" what Singapore's future population size would be.

With technological changes, the type and quality of housing would also change and the living environment we can build is open to possibilities, he said.

"Will it be 10 million? Will it be less or more? Nobody knows."

Asked by Nanyang Technological University economics professor Ng Yew-Kwang whether the Government could resist anti-immigration pressures, because immigration had "enormous advantages for Singaporeans", Mr Chan said there were economic, social and political considerations, and much depended on how well immigrants could be integrated.

"What we hope to do is, first and foremost, not focus on numbers, but ask ourselves what are the opportunities we need to create for our younger generation to fulfil their dreams and aspirations."

He added that even as Singapore was slowing down the inflow of foreign labour, "we are clear in our mind, we can never compete on numbers".

TAKING CARE OF EVERYONE

Like any other city, our ability to integrate will determine the pace of immigration. As a city state, our advantage lies in being able to control the type and pace of immigration. But unlike other cities, we don't pass on the challenge of taking care of the economically inactive or economically less-productive to the hinterland.

We again don't have that option.

We take care of all our people. We take care of all our people, regardless. And that is the fundamental basis of how we will organise our society going forward.

- Social and Family Development Minister Chan Chun Sing