The universe, the world around you and you exist because you’re alive, conscious and aware of it!
– Reubeno_Wise
In 2015, Singapore took stock of past successes to mark its 50th birthday with a medley of celebrations-both government-organised and ground-up. This collective drive not only created a strong sense of national pride, it arguably also strengthened the notion and core of nationhood in Singapore since it involved active citizen participation in nation-building.
Malminderjit Singh, with some friends came up with the idea of publishing a book, entitled The Birthday Book , to capture the thoughts and hopes of 51 Singaporeans (mostly younger than 45) on the topic “What is Singapore’s Next BIG Thing?”. The contributors comprise literary personalities, academics, journalists, entrepreneurs, civil servants, a stand-up comedian, among others.
Interestingly, among the 51 essays, a majority address Singapore’s internal considerations, namely
- New Compasses, New People Less precedented dimensions to our national identity, culture, social qualities and values that are emerging over time, especially as our economy, politics and society mature.
- What should we reclaim? Aspects of ourselves that we know well but could afford to “reclaim” in the way we reclaimed land, to discover them more deeply and intimately: including aspects of our history, heritage, culture, identity and core values like meritocracy and social mobility.
Even so, it is telling that a substantial proportion of contributions still deal with Singapore’s regional and global opportunities and challenges, acknowledging the continued relevance of the nation’s external environment to its future.
Towards SG100: the future is ours to create
Will our efforts to build the world’s Smart Nation succeed?
“For government to remain bold and innovative, it must continually infuse the public sector with new ideas and fresh perspectives. This means forging an inclusive organisational culture that embraces diversity of views and skills so that people from non-traditional backgrounds-such as technologists, entrepreneurs, and designers-feel valued and empowered to meaningfully contribute to the government’s overall objective of delivering better services to citizens.”
– Daniel Lim Yew Mao
Recently, Singapore celebrates its 53rd year on 09 August 2018, as an independent nation with much to be proud of.
Han Fook Kwang, ST Editor-at-Large in an Insight article dated August 26, 2018, commented on the state of the country and the mood of the people.
“The city has been transformed, the economy is humming along even if it’s not quite buzzing the way it used to, and Singaporeans live in peace and stability.
Yet, there seems to be a certain sourness on the ground, with more grumbling than usual about issues especially to do with the Government.”
What’s not to be happy about? The mood reminds him of the run-up to 2011 General Election when public unhappiness over housing, immigration and overcrowded MRT trains caused the ruling party to suffer an unprecedented setback at the polls. All those “problems” are being tackled and much progress have been made since then.
He does not think that the moodiness this time has to do with any particular policy. He feels that this gulf between leaders and the people does not stem from a lack of empathy and understanding of what is happening on the ground. Rather, it is has to do with the disconnect between what Government decisions on issues that affect the singaporeans in a significant way and what the people think and feel about politics and society and the assumptions that go with it.
He urges the 4G leaders to be bold and take this opportunity to define their leadership, win over a new generation of Singaporeans and establish a relationship of trust and respect with the people.
Interestingly, Lewis Liu had written an article on the subject ‘How Might The Next Phase of governance Look?’ in The Birthday Book. He suggested, “The first step will be to build a quality relationship on foundations of trust, sincerity and authenticity. In Singapore, influence has traditionally resided with the government, but no relationship can be sustained without reciprocity. Members of the public will also need to play their part to govern themselves, and be governed.”
Aaron Maniam, “Beyond a Scarcity Mindset, A Letter from My Future Self (2065)” imagined a world so much different and exciting, just like ours.
“…the real world doesn’t usually exhibit stable or immutable equilibria; it is much emergent and evolving. Life in 2065 is much messier than in 2016… we need a change not just in our policies and business approaches to resources; we need a fundamentally new language for, and way of thinking about, resources themselves.”
From a short commentary of above, you could see why Cassandra Pee’s piece, “The People as Our Future: Resilience as a Society” is so relevant in our current age and time. The focus will shift from “what can we do for you?” to “what can we do together?”
“…the kind of resilience necessary for a small nation like Singapore to survive in the 21st century requires more than the sheer grit of our forefathers. Instead, it entails building societal capacity to endure domestic or international turbulence. We must craft a lexicon of resilience unique to our own cirucmstances, based on the challenges we face.”
In concluding, I would urge all Singaporeans to be ‘As One’ as Eugene K B Tan expounded, “This challenge takes place against the harsh reality that Singapore has to be relevant to the world, as a global city. The moment we become irrelevant is the start of our decline. But we must be relevant to the world on our own terms. While we must be fully alive to our constriants, we should not fear them. Utlimately the fundamental of social cohesion is sustained by a shared sense of empathy, belonging, responsibility, and fair play. A cohesive society is more likely to surpass the best facets of its predecessors’ and, in the process, bring everyone together as one.
Your Contribution to Country Matters, Anyone?
Products or Services Markets respect only three things, no matter your age, race or any other factor: creating value, delivering value and capturing value. Creating value means product or service innovation, delivering value means marketing innovation and capturing value means “no money, no value or revenue model innovations” for businesses.
Everyone is a salesperson, all of your life. Whether you are a mechanic, a teacher, an engineer, a doctor or a manager, you are selling ideas. You are negotiating. You are communicating, persuading, influencing others so that your ideas could be accepted.
I’m starting a Mastermind Group, with the aim of members achieving Own Marketing success through the guiding motto of “Everyone’s A Salesperson, So Why Not Be A Great One?”
If interested to join the group, please drop me a line to reubeno@reubenointernet.com, stating your aim and how the Mastermind Group can help you to achieve your personal goals.
Thank you for dropping by.
Reuben Ong
#Singapore Is Our Home
