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| Should our American-style democracy be replaced with the Singaporean-style system? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 11 2009, 01:40 PM (234 Views) | |
| daveruffin@chicago | Nov 11 2009, 01:40 PM Post #1 |
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Should our American-style democracy be scrapped & replaced with something similar to the Singaporean system? Mr Lee Kuan Yew is a man who rejected Western-type democracy in favor of authoritarian government to build Singapore into the world's largest port (Hong Kong, in volume, is the 2nd largest) and an ultra modern city state of 4 MILLION, ranked first in 2007 (the US is 12th) in a Foreign Policy Magazine survey. He said that the American-style democracy was not the best one for us. And I think he is on to something. Our politicians criticized him for making that statement & for meddling into our internal affairs. But several years later, Singapore's PM Lee Kuan Yew proved our politicians wrong. Singapore now is one of the most progressive countries in Asia where unemployment and homelessness is practically ZERO during the NON-RECESSION years! Singaporeans are also very strict with implementing their laws. Caning, public humiliation & capital punishment for first-degree murder and drug trafficking are legal punishments for those who break the laws, though some of the Western countries criticized them as inhumane or uncivilized (I guess death penalty is not inhumane?). There is no spitting, littering (and probably no peeing in public too), no graffiti and chewing gums are not allowed there. For the cheapskates among us, you'll be glad to know there is no tipping in Singapore. Definitely, during Lee's rule, Singapore was under a dictatorship. But it is a benevolent one. Their people are the most disciplined people in Asia. And their economy is the best in this part of the globe. Singapore is the 5th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita. In 2009, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Singapore the tenth most expensive city in the world in which to liveāthe third in Asia, after Tokyo and Osaka. Singapore is costlier than New York and Toronto. Definitely, the standard of living in Singapore is HIGH. Their country is also the hub of finance, commerce, shipping, and distribution in Asia. Their population growth is UNDER CONTROL, unlike ours. The population of Singapore including non-residents is approximately 4.99 million. They are the smallest nation in Southeast Asia in fact. Singapore is a parliamentary democracy with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government representing different constituencies. The bulk of the executive powers rests with the Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister. The office of President of Singapore is a ceremonial one - it has some veto powers as for a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of judiciary positions. The position is elected by popular vote. Freedom House ranks the country as "partly free". Censorship, gerrymandering, and civil libel suits against opposition politicians are freely used. Singapore has consistently been rated as the least corrupt country in Asia and among the world's ten most free from corruption by Transparency International. Without question it is a FIRST WORLD city among 3rd WORLD neighbors. Expats rank Singapore highly-least corrupt country in Asia, the best skilled and motivated labor force in Asia Pacific, the 2nd best investment potential in the world for 14 years; so that it is the city in Asia that they most want to work, live and play in. For the 100,000 expat professionals and 10 million tourists a year, it is a high-end city with a world class cost of living.
While it is true that 4 M population (Singapore's population) is relatively easy to manage compared to 90 M (our population), it is not that easy. It took a lot of work on the part of the Singaporean government and their legislators to get to where they are now. But the real story here is how did they manage to control their population at such a low number? Is it because they are not Catholics or is it because there is no meddling church who influence government and elected officials on population control policies? Or are Filipinos just way into sex? :harhar: No matter who the president is, whether it's ERAP, PGMA or Noynoy Aquino, he/she cannot be blamed totally for not being able to effectively stabilize the economy, and efficiently reduce poverty, homelessness, unemployment, hunger, pollution and urban blight. Greater Manila alone has a little less than 12 million in population -- 3 times the size of tiny Singapore. One way to look at the above data is to say that Greater Manila is much much worse than Singapore in so many ways due to GMA's overpopulation. For every example though there is another example that points to the opposite trend. You can interpret that data to mean that Greater Manila should be 3 times more prosperous than Singapore, can we not? Unfortunately, that is not what we have now. Blame it on the governors and mayors, right, or should the blame be solely on the president which is what is happening now? Having a large population as opposed to having a small one is not always bad. Perhaps if the population is high, there would be many people who can be hired by government to serve every segment of society. There would be more teachers, more doctors, more police, bigger army, etc. A bigger population is an advantage if you have an income generating class. The capacity of the population to earn a living is dependent on how well the population is educated or trained on acquiring special skills, the age of the population (the older the population is, the less income they take home), the impact of technology (more automation means a growing economy that can find work for anyone who wants it, even with a growing population), etc. I understand that there are negative and positive aspects (disadvantages and advantages) to having a big population such as these: Disadvantages: 1. Increased drain on fixed natural resources - The pressures on land, water, forests and biological resources dramatically increase to meet the needs of the growing population. 2. Crowding, congestion, traffic, uprise in crime, pollution, unemployment, hunger 3. Lower wages (supply exceeds demand) 4. Increases in population, and concomitant increases in economic activity, crime, demand for medical services, and so forth make the job of government more difficult. 5. More urban sprawl - Land for farming will decrease due to increased demand for human habitation (which means less produce will be grown) 6. Pandemics spread easily 7. More key services including sanitation, housing, transport, energy, education, employment and clothing, among others will be needed 8. If you want to watch a basketball game or a concert, tickets might be sold out (LOL! ) The Philippines ranked 12th among the most populous nations in the world, a sad reality for a country where there is a high degree of poverty. Rapid population growth and high fertility rates, especially among the poor, worsen the state of poverty and gives the gov't a harder problem to solve it. Advantages: 1. Larger economy => economies of scale E.g., public transportation requires high density, bigger markets for movies, books, newspapers => diversity 2. Greater specialization of workers 3. Benefits of open markets/free trade 4. More food supply (because there might be more farmers) 5. Bigger army and police force (END) So is the SINGAPOREAN model suitable to the PHILIPPINES? Just because it worked for Singapore, doesn't mean it will work for us. However, it has always been a standard practice specially among Filipinos to emulate or copy from countries we admire, from clothes, cuisines, architecture, TV shows, and YES, including the system of government, among other things. Well perhaps it was forced upon us. However, we have several years of independence to change that. And we didn't. What we are talking about here is the system of govt used by the US, Singapore and our own. Well actually, we are talking about just two systems here - the American and Singaporean systems. Our system of gov't was pretty much copied from the American system. "We ARE Filipinos, not Americans, not Singaporeans, not Japanese. We should be more interested in what works FOR the Filipino, not anyone else." :hmm: AHA! Yes, that's true! So why are we using the American system after years of being independent from Uncle Sam? Force of habit? Well, at least the Singaporean are Asians like us...hehe. Kidding aside, Filipinos have exhibited our capacity to learn when we are in different countries. Just take a look at the Filipinos here (the US). While they are here, they seem to be very law-abiding all of a sudden. The US is very strict when it comes to their laws. It's a different story back home. Perhaps we need an environment like that which is how Singapore is - very strict and they take their laws seriously. In fact, it is called the "FINE" city :wink: , AKA City of Fines. So adapting to a different style of govt should not be too difficult for us. Everything is hard at first of course. We are not dumb. We can do it. The govt and the people will adjust. But unless we do not initiate change, good or bad, we will NEVER LEARN. If we have to wait for a magic silver bullet formula to adapt, we will never get to the Promised Land. This whole life experience specially when it comes to governing is all about learning as we go along. It's mostly a trial and error thing. That's how we know what works for Filipinos and what doesn't. Here are Singapore's ACCOMPLISHMENTS: * Economic Performance o Singapore is ranked No.2 worldwide as the city with the best investment potential for 14 consecutive years. o Singapore is the world leader in foreign trade and investment. * Competitiveness & Business Environment o Singapore is ranked first for having the most open economy for international trade and investment o Singapore is the world's easiest place to do business o Singapore is ranked the most competitive country in Asia - and is No. 5 worldwide o Singapore is rated to have the best business environment in Asia Pacific and is No. 3 worldwide. o Singapore is Asia's 3rd most "network ready" country. * Business Legislation and Efficiency o Singapore is ranked 2nd in the world and 1st in Asia for having the best protection of intellectual property. o Singapore is the least bureaucratic place for doing business in Asia. * Government o Singapore is ranked 3rd in the world and 1st in Asia for having the least corruption in its economy. o Singapore is ranked as the 2nd most transparent country in the world and it is the most transparent Asian country. * Labour o Singapore maintains top position in BERI's Labour Force Evaluation Measure o Singapore has the most motivated workforce in the Asia and Is ranked 3rd in the world. o Singapore offers the best skilled labour in Asia Pacific. o Singapore's labour regulations are the most business conducive in Asia. o Singapore has the best labour/employer relations in Asia. * Expatriate Living o Foreign talent rank Singapore as Asia's best country to work in. o Singapore is the first choice for Asian expatriates. o Singapore is the best place in Asia to live, work and play. o Singapore immigration laws for foreign talent are the least restrictive in the world. Edited by daveruffin@chicago, Nov 16 2009, 05:42 PM.
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2:12 AM Jul 11