Economic development Quote by Cherian George

““We are told that the main risk factors threatening Singapore's peace and prosperity are, first, our own unreliability as citizens (we may succumb to the temptation of welfarism, communalism, individualism or emigration) and, second, our location in an unpredictable region...As plausible as these risks are, they tend to deflect attention from problems that may arise as the result not of anyone's failure, but of Singapore's success. Karl Max got this much right: history moves through contradictions; every society's greatest strengths eventually turn out to be its most fatal weaknesses. In Singapore, intelligent planning should not ignore the possibility that the rapid economic development and tight political control that characterised the 1990s will be increasing at odds with each other in the coming decade.””

Cherian George

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“But the habit of framing issues in terms of Asian and Western values did distort Singapore's view of its own challenges. Policy-makers looking through the filters of the Asian values debate tend to be unsympathetic to appeals for state welfare from down-and-out Singaporeans - since Asians are supposed to believe in self-reliance - rather than viewing them as the inevitable…

Cherian George

“Since the mid-1980s, the government had sensed that one key reason why the opposition-for-opposition's-sake argument was so compelling to voters was that the did not really have to live with the consequences of electing an opposition MP. MPs were representatives you went to the national parliament; they did not manage municipal affairs. They could appeal for improved services for their…

Cherian George

“Certainly, the PAP applies far more stringent background checks on its candidates than the opposition does on its own. However, in some respects, a new and inexperienced PAP candidate has an easier ride. He is cushioned by the ruling party's institutional support, and faces a press predisposed to treating him with kid gloves. While an opposition member's every move is…

Cherian George

“Singapore's tragedy is not the absence of idealism, but that it systematically rewards the individualistic majority and discourages the socially-conscious minority. This is at odds with Singapore's self-image as a communitarian Asian society, an image conjured up largely to justify the protection of family values and paternalistic government. In truth, the overwhelming ethos is to mind your own business. Singapore's…

Cherian George

“The Singapore School's quarrel with the West was partly over the sequence and pace of democratisation. It was acknowledge that certain norms originating in the West had moral and functional strengths. Tommy Koh acknowledged Singapore's debt to the West for "our independent judiciary; our transparent legal process; our excellent civil service,based upon merit and free of corruption; science and technology;…

Cherian George

“The answer lies in a system of press management combining watertight legal controls with a compelling political ideology that encourages not just obedience, but also active support...The first, which is the older and more common, is made up of various licensing and national security laws. Press laws inherited from the British require all newspapers to be licensed; licenses can be…

Cherian George

“The Singapore School of Thought, as some began to call it, emphasised the lack of universality of many Western political norms...Singapore's own view emphasised…

Cherian George

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“The leaders' adherence to the principle of collective cabinet responsibility makes it difficult to ascertain the respective contributions of each, but enough is known…

Cherian George

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“Of all the attempts to propel Singapore faster along the path of political liberalisation, few have backfired as badly as the West's push for…

Cherian George

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“As the state spreads it tentacles into every corner of life in the name of regulation, rationalization or economic development, people who wanted their…

Cherian George

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“The main rationale for the "elimination of politics' is also its main tool: rapid and broad-based economic development, in PAP thinking, both justifies as…

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“Equally important was the question of whose road map to follow. No country should be expected to arrive at exactly the same destination as…

Cherian George

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